In the courtyard, just as Qiao Ziruo was about to touch the coffin, someone suddenly patted her shoulder.
She jumped, then heard the person behind her call:
"Little girl?"
Qiao Ziruo instantly broke into a radiant smile and turned around. Sure enough, she saw an old woman with graying hair, wearing a padded jacket patterned with tiny flowers.
"Grandma!"
Qiao Ziruo threw her arms around her grandmother and cried out happily.
"Good girl..."
Grandma smiled gently with narrowed eyes and patted Qiao Ziruo's back.
Qiao Ziruo did not know what had come over her. Her tears streamed uncontrollably. Hadn't I only gone away to school? It hasn't been that long since I saw Grandma. Why am I crying?
Red sunlight shone on her. Everything around them was silent and deserted, with only Grandma and her embracing in front of the coffin.
But Grandma seemed thinner... shorter, too, and her body was ice-cold...
"You silly girl, how did you end up here? Ah..."
Grandma suddenly patted her head. Qiao Ziruo found it strange, because there seemed to be an odd warmth in Grandma's hand that seeped through the top of her head and into her body as she patted her.
"Didn't someone in the family die? Grandma, who was it?"
The old woman in the flower-patterned padded jacket looked at her and sighed softly.
"All right... all right... it's good that you're here. Now that you're here, stay with Grandma. Don't leave."
With that, the old woman gripped Qiao Ziruo's hand tightly and led her toward the main room.
"Come on, let's go inside and rest..."
Qiao Ziruo looked down blankly at the hand Grandma was holding and asked in confusion, "Grandma, aren't we bringing the coffin in? Who passed away?"
The old woman stiffened and paused briefly. Without turning around,