In her daze, she seemed to hear someone calling her name, yet she felt inexplicably unhappy. She should have been glad, but she simply could not feel any joy.
She woke from a long dream, only to feel as though she had fallen into an even deeper one.
Opening her eyes, she saw afternoon sunlight falling across an unfamiliar square.
The quiet little town was peaceful and still. Only the bells echoed from its towering clock tower.
She sat on a bench, as though she had accidentally dozed off, and forgotten where she was or where she was going.
She saw two unfamiliar figures nearby.
One was rather thin, travel-worn, as though she had finally returned from a long, long journey. She bent down, smiling at the little girl beside her, reaching out to stroke her hair and gaze into her eyes.
As though she were looking at the most precious treasure in the world.
Her eyes shone with tenderness and affection.
But Ye Chun could not make out her face.
Beside that woman stood an excited little girl, holding her hand, bouncing up and down as she chattered. Noticing that Ye Chun had woken, she pointed toward her and told the woman about everything she had experienced.
The woman seemed to smile then, too, nodding to Ye Chun with heartfelt gratitude.
Soon, the bells rang.
They rang again, and yet again, like a silent urging.
And so, one last time, she reached out and embraced the child before her, pressing her cheek against the girl's. After four hundred years, she felt that familiar warmth and touch again, unable to contain her smile, or hold back her tears.
The final chime faded.
She disappeared.
The girl remained where she was, staring blankly in the direction she had gone. She wanted