A sharp, disbelieving gasp tore from her throat as she snapped up from the frozen ground. "It's you again!"
The man offered a knowing nod. "You shouldn't be shocked to see me. This isn't our first, second, or even fourth meeting."
"True. It's the eighth," she blurted out. "Every year since my tenth birthday, I've come here. But who are you? You never age. You only appear when I'm at my loneliest. The coincidence is... strange."
She recalled the birthdays spent in solitude, hoping for a fairy tale or a disappearance, only to encounter this same mysterious man. Usually, they would stare at one another in silence as she spent years pretending she couldn't see him, convincing herself he was just someone fond of cosplay and the eerie quiet of the lake. But tonight, his aura felt different.
"Instead of asking who I am, don't you have somewhere else in mind to go?"
"I do. But I don't know where would be better," she whispered. She knew her siblings would scour the city to find her, desperate for the luxury life they planned to buy with her.
"All right. Why not join me on the boat to clear your mind?" he asked, stretching his hand toward her.
Baiyu's conflicted gaze fell to his inciting slender, pale palm where the snowflakes landed on his skin, melting instantly. Yet, her thoughts raced.
Should I trust a stranger on a boat? What if he pushes me in and I…?
But why am I even hesitating when I have nothing here to live for?
She let out a long, weary sigh. Whatever was meant to happen would happen; she was too tired of living to be afraid of dying.
She accepted his hand, and he guided her carefully onto the old wooden planks. Baiyu settled across from him while the man stood still, wrapping both hands behind his back as usual.
As the boat began to paddle itself, her jaw dropped. Her heart thundered with a mix of amazement and nerves as they moved effortlessly across the water, driven by an invisible force. Curiosity died in her throat, replaced by a strange urge to enjoy this surreal night—just this once.
A heavy silence fell as they reached the center of the lake. His composed voice finally broke the tension.
"I thought humans usually made wishes on their birthdays with tasty cakes like yours," he remarked, looking down at the dessert. "Won't you make one tonight? Who knows? Someone up there might finally be listening."
His words struck a nerve, and a bitter laugh escaped her, echoing in the chilly air.
"I've made so many wishes, and not one was ever answered," Baiyu mumbled, her voice cracking with exhaustion. Her grip on the cake box tightened. "I don't think whoever is watching from above is fair to me."
"Tonight might be different, Baiyu. The day has finally come," he urged.
Baiyu froze. How did he know her name? Before she could ask, a strange pull tugged at her heart. She unboxed the cake sheepishly, pulled a lighter from her jacket pocket, and lit the single candle. The flame flickered against the gentle wind.
Closing her eyes tightly, she offered her silent plea to the void. High above, the thin sliver of the moon didn't merely shift; a hidden force dragged it until it was swallowed by the Earth's shadow. In an instant, the pale crescent vanished, replaced by the bleeding moon, turning a deep, bruised crimson that cast a ghostly red glow over the lake—a reflection of the lunar eclipse.
"I wish I could leave this place and find a happy life elsewhere."
Whoosh!
A sudden wave of icy wind swept over her, trailing a chill down her spine unlike anything she had ever felt.
Her eyes snapped open only to find the mysterious man was gone. The lamp had vanished, and the world around her plunged into darkness, swallowing the horizon.
Only the lake remained, glowing with the blood-red reflection of the eclipsed moon on its eerie, emerald surface.
Terror surged through her. She scrambled upright, clutching the cake box to her chest, her gaze darted across the hollow boat.
"Mister! Get me out of this boat!" she cried, her voice thin and strangled by the stillness.
There was no reply. In her panic, she didn't feel the sharp, invisible edge that sliced past her index finger. She didn't see the single, heavy drop of blood as it fell, hitting the glowing surface of the lake like a spark hitting a powder keg.
"Ouch!" she winced at the throbbing pain from the small, sharp cut on her finger.
She wasn't given a moment to breathe before the water beneath the boat began to waver slightly. Her eyes widened than before, jaw dropping as the surface of the lake transformed, mirroring a strange, distant land covered in towering bamboo forests.
"What's happening?" she whispered.
Before she could process the reflection, a violent force swept Baiyu off her feet, launching her into the air. The cake slipped from her hands, hitting the wood with a dull thud. A surge of intense, sharp energy tore through Baiyu's drumming pulse, her chest arching as a brilliant, flame-colored flash radiated from within her.
In a swift motion, the force dragged her down as Baiyu hit the water hard and began to sink. Her hands flailed desperately, trying to claw back to the surface, but her body felt weighted, as if the lake itself were pulling her into its dark depths. Her hair fluttered around her face like dark silk in the freezing water.
'No. I can't die like this. Not when I haven't even tasted life yet. Please, let me live this once,' she begged, a fierce rejection of death rising within her even as the suffocating weight of the water became too much.
Slowly, the water glow faded, and darkness claimed her vision.
~•~•••~•~
"Hhh—!" A sharp, shuddering breath tore from her throat as she jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat. Her chest heaved, ragged gasps escaping her parched lips.
For a long moment, she couldn't remember where she was. Darkness pressed against her eyelids, and the remnants of something heavy clung to her limbs. Every nerve screamed, recalling the suffocating weight of the water, the crushing pull toward the depths.
Slowly, her gaze drifted over her body. The robe she wore was strange, damp, and sticking to her skin—but she was here.
Alive.
A trembling chuckle escaped her lips.
"I… I guess I am. Thank you… for giving me a second chance." Her fingers dug into the fabric as her heartbeat thundered in her ears, echoing that same sharp terror she had felt as she fell into the lake—only now mixed with a fragile, trembling relief.
But a sudden realization struck her, making her brow snap together. Something was wrong—terribly wrong—with her clothes.
Her head dipped to inspect herself, and she felt a heavy weight pressing down on her by the foul stench of sweat and old blood hit her senses, rising from a worn, tattered robe.
The fabric was shredded across her arms and legs, stained with thick, dark blood.
"Why am I wearing this? This looks like a rag! Where are my clothes?!" she groaned, reaching up to pull the filthy fabric away from her skin. But her hands were restrained, refusing to move freely.
Confusion clouded her mind as she looked down to see her wrists bound tight with rough hemp ropes.
"Where the hell am I? Did my siblings catch me? Are they taking me to the Don?!" Her head jerked upward, scanning a surrounding filled with dense bushes and a deafening, eerie silence.
The only light came from the orange flickers of torches held by men marching on foot. The rhythmic, heavy sound of galloping hooves cracked through the quiet.
Her gaze drifted past the guards and fell on the other people. They looked broken and tattered, trapped inside cages of heavy wood strapped to the steadily moving horses.
She looked back at herself and the space she was enclosed in, realizing she was no different from them. She was in a cage.
Her heart sank at the sight of this grim, unfamiliar reality.
What is happening? Is this human trafficking? Am I... a captive now? she thought, a tight, cold knot forming in her stomach.