The Mistake (Third Update)
Xiao Huaye and Big Brother Suzuki followed Huahua out of the city and into a small grove in the suburbs. There weren't many people around; after all, most people were at work in the middle of the day, and few came wandering around the outskirts.
The calico cat called Huahua looked around, then trudged over to the shade of a large tree and lay down.
It was old. It had made it this far on sheer determination, and as soon as it stopped, it no longer had the strength to move. It collapsed onto the ground, and the card it had been carrying in its mouth fell beside it.
Wu Biao slowly walked over and glanced at the card.
It was a photograph of a little girl, around seven or eight years old, holding a calico cat. Though she was much younger, Wu Biao recognized her at a glance...
The girl was Xiao Huaye!
Hidden behind a large tree in the distance, Xiao Huaye knew what it was, too. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Huahua struggled to open its cloudy eyes, fixing its gaze on the photograph. Tears glistened at the corners of its eyes. It stuck out its tongue and licked Xiao Huaye's face in the picture.
Afraid that the barbs on its tongue might scratch the photograph, it never let its tongue touch the picture itself. It just licked the air above it.
It seemed to be remembering, and reluctant to let go of everything. Its pale yellow eyes held a deeply human look of longing.
It licked for a long time... or rather, it never stopped.
Only when the tears at the corners of its eyes had dried and its eyes slowly closed did its tongue finally fall limp onto the photograph. It