Recovery

This is a corner of the park.

The sun was shining brightly, and the morning glow shone from the sky, casting a warm and gentle light on the park.

The emerald green lake rippled gently, and dragonflies fluttered their transparent wings, creating ripples on the calm surface.

A cool breeze blew by, bending the lush green flowers and grass.

Ba Du and Raven sat on wooden chairs, squinting, their leisurely faces etched with wrinkles, enjoying their time in the chairs.

Both men were old and frail, with many wrinkles on their faces. Ba Di was already somewhat hunched over, with his black cane resting beside his thigh.

Seventy years have passed in the Mind World.

Raven slightly opened her eyes. Her body was gradually weakening. She was easily tired and exhausted, and wanted to sleep. Even though it was morning and she was out for a walk in the park with her husband, she felt very weak. She guessed that her days were numbered.

She felt that, in the end, she had failed.

It failed to provide Ba Di with a strong stimulus or an intense sense of happiness.

Over the past seventy years, she has gone from initially focusing on improving Ba Di's happiness to gradually, gradually, gradually sinking into a state of enjoyment of the love she shared with Ba Di for the rest of her life.

Their life, which involved mutual support but also occasional trouble for Ba Di, sometimes made her worry that he would divorce Ba Di because she caused too much trouble. Fortunately, Ba Di always forgave her and loved her. This feeling was so wonderful that it moved her and made her fall in love with him.

In the end, it was not possible to help Ba Di escape reality.

But, with someone by his side, accompanying him to his death in the Mind World, he shouldn't be lonely.

I'm so sorry, Ba Di! I couldn't save you.

The Raven's aged face was somber, and tears welled in its eyes.

Sunlight streamed down from Ba Di's profile. Raven's aging eyes gazed at Ba Di's blurry outline, as if she were seeing him clearly once again on her wedding day, the warm sunlight pouring down, his face gentle, the sunlight carrying hope.

Throughout these decades, Ba Di has continued to live with her with his usual gentleness, optimism, and hope.

A slightly trembling index finger gently touched the corner of Raven's eye, where a few crow's feet were visible, wiping away the tears.

Ba Di smiled faintly on his aged face, truly helpless with his wife, who often did strange things, claiming it was to make him feel happy.

When I was young, I could hold her down, but now I don't have the strength anymore and I can't hit her.

What if she gets injured again because of her strange behavior? I'm too old to carry her to the hospital.

"What's wrong? Is it cold? Let's go back."

Ba Di took her wrinkled hand, then picked up his cane from beside his thigh, planted it on the ground, bent slightly, and began to lead Raven home.

A gentle breeze stirs the emerald lakeside, rippling the water and causing willow branches to sway softly.

A cool breeze carries a message, a message that has lasted seventy years, now drawing to a close, nearing the end of life.

Raven at Ba Di's slightly hunched back, his figure weathered by wind and rain yet still moving forward for her, the raven couldn't help but ask, "Ba Di, are you happy?"

Ba Di stopped, stunned. The wrinkles on Narasong's face were as thick as mountain rocks. His mind flashed back to his past life with Raven. Although his wife, Raven, had done many funny and silly things, the things she did for him, the things she forced herself to do for him, always made Ba Di feel warm.

Because having someone work hard for you is undoubtedly a very happy thing.

"Thank you, I am very happy."

"Ba Di said warmly, his aged wrinkles radiating warmth in the sunlight."

A slight smile appeared on Raven's lips, his eyes narrowed, and more wrinkles appeared around his eyes. He gripped Ba Di's hand tightly and stepped forward.

A gentle breeze swept by, smoothing the furrows on the Raven's face.

Sudden.

The Raven suddenly felt a pang of fear.

This was a feeling she had never experienced in all the decades she had spent with Ba Di, because no matter what, Ba Di's presence always gave her the strongest sense of security.

The wind suddenly stopped.

The whole world suddenly stopped.

The other elderly people who were walking stopped moving and making noise. The willows swayed and then stopped falling. The ripples on the lake stopped. Dragonflies skimmed the water and then fell without rising.

Leaves drifted through the air, seemingly frozen in mid-air.

The world has frozen.

Suddenly, Ba Di's hand left Raven's hand.

"Ba Di ..."

Raven was stunned and looked at Ba Di.

Ba Di's hunched back stood straight, like a mountain peak reaching the sky. From the side, the loose skin on his face was firm, the wrinkles had disappeared, and the scar had reappeared on his cheek.

White clothes, a trench coat, reappeared on Ba Di.

However, the Raven did not feel joy; instead, it felt a sense of unease and palpitations.

Suddenly, Ba Di unleashed a violent aura that overwhelmed the space.

A large hand, like a python emerging from its hole, suddenly rose from beneath the Raven and grabbed her neck, suffocating her instantly. Her eyes widened, unable to resist.

The moment she was choked, the wrinkles on her face were instantly smoothed out, and her pale complexion returned.

She was wearing a black cloak.

She was lifted up, her neck pinched painfully by Ba Di's fingers, turning red and her pale face flushed with pain.

"You... altered my memories?!"

Ba Di's face was cold, his eyes filled with a violent rage, and his deep, low voice suppressed his anger.

He could still feel the pain from before, and the difference between the pain now and before startled him from his Mind World! He felt the memories loosening, and a large amount of his experience with the Raven occupied his mind.

It made him feel as if someone had altered his memories and stuffed them into his head.

"Cough cough... I... just... want you... to be happy!"

Raven turned red, and she pressed her hand against Ba Di's, unable to breathe, looking like she was about to run out of oxygen and be strangled to death by Ba Di.

Even the Trigon Projection couldn't contend with Ba Di in the Mind World, so how could the Raven possibly resist?

Upon hearing Raven's words, Ba Di stiffened, the cold anger on his face froze, and his hand loosened.

The Raven choked and fell to the ground, panting heavily.

In just a few words, he accurately reviewed all his memories of Raven and learned about Raven's efforts over seventy years to recover.

Ba Di turned his gaze to Raven, his cold expression softening. With a thought, Raven instantly returned to full health.

"Um??"

Raven touched his neck a few times and found that nothing was wrong. He paused for a moment, then realized that Ba Di had restored him.

With a touch of embarrassment, she pulled her cloak hood back to cover herself, letting her face sink into the darkness. She felt her face was burning hot.

"Thank you."

Ba Di was silent for a while, his gaze complicated. If it weren't for the Raven, he would really be trapped in this cycle until his death.

But those seventy years of her Mind World and the life she experienced are still vivid in her mind.

The Raven nodded slightly, its face hidden beneath its cloak, and made a soft "hmm" sound like a mosquito.

Now that Ba Di had recovered, she was momentarily at a loss for what to do. Those decades in her Mind World were truly vivid in her mind, even including many private matters.

This really embarrassed her, making it difficult for her to face Ba Di.