Morning came quietly.
Too quietly.
The kind of silence that didn't feel peaceful… but wrong.
Lin Xiaoyu slowly opened her eyes, the faint gray light of dawn slipping through the cracks in the roof above her. For a moment, she lay still, listening.
The wind had calmed.
The house was still.
But something felt… different.
She sat up slowly, pulling the thin blanket around her shoulders as the cold immediately wrapped around her skin.
Her gaze instinctively moved toward the corner of the room.
Her brother's bed.
Empty.
At first, she didn't think much of it.
"Maybe he went out early," she murmured to herself.
Lin Wei sometimes left before sunrise, looking for work—though he rarely found any.
Still, something about the emptiness of his space made her chest tighten.
The blanket was gone.
So were his worn-out shoes.
Even the small wooden box where he kept his few belongings—
Was missing.
Xiaoyu's fingers curled slightly.
"…Brother?"
Her voice was soft, uncertain.
No answer.
She stood up quickly now, her bare feet touching the cold floor as she walked toward the door and pushed it open.
Outside, the village was slowly waking up.
Thin smoke rose from a few houses.
Distant voices echoed faintly.
But Lin Wei was nowhere to be seen.
A strange unease crept into her heart.
"Xiaoyu…" her mother's weak voice called from inside.
She turned immediately and went back.
"Yes, Mama."
"Is your brother there?"
Xiaoyu hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then she forced a small smile.
"He… he probably went out early."
Her mother frowned slightly, as if sensing something wasn't right—but her body was too weak to think deeply.
"I see…" she murmured.
From the corner, their father slowly stood up, his brows furrowed.
"He didn't say anything last night?"
Xiaoyu shook her head.
"No…"
Her father didn't respond.
But the silence that followed—
Was heavy.
Hours passed.
The sun rose higher.
But Lin Wei didn't return.
Xiaoyu tried to focus on her chores—fetching water, cleaning, helping her mother—but her thoughts were elsewhere.
Every sound made her look toward the door.
Every passing shadow made her hope.
But each time—
It wasn't him.
By afternoon, even her father began to grow restless.
"I'll go look for him," he said, grabbing his worn coat.
"I'll come with you," Xiaoyu said immediately.
"No," he replied firmly. "Stay here with your mother."
She wanted to argue.
But she didn't.
Because someone had to stay.
The sun slowly dipped toward the horizon.
The cold returned.
And still—
No sign of Lin Wei.
When her father finally came back, his face said everything before he even spoke.
"I couldn't find him."
Her mother's hands trembled slightly.
"He's never stayed out this long…"
Xiaoyu felt her heart sink.
That night—
Dinner was even quieter than usual.
No arguments.
No laughter.
Just silence.
And absence.
Xiaoyu stared at the empty space where her brother usually sat.
Her chest felt tight.
Uncomfortable.
As if something was pressing down on her from the inside.
Later, when the house grew quiet and her parents had fallen asleep, Xiaoyu stood up and walked slowly to her brother's corner.
She knelt down.
Her fingers brushed against the cold floor.
Nothing.
No trace.
No sign.
Except—
Something small, barely noticeable.
A folded piece of paper, tucked beneath a loose board.
Her breath caught.
She quickly picked it up, her hands trembling slightly as she unfolded it.
The writing was rough.
Messy.
But unmistakably his.
"Xiaoyu,
Don't look for me.
I found a way out.
This life… it's not for me.
Take care of Mama and Father.
Don't be like me.
—Wei"
Her vision blurred.
"…What does this mean…?"
Her voice broke slightly.
"A way out…?"
Her grip on the paper tightened.
"No…"
She shook her head.
"No, this isn't right…"
But deep down—
She understood.
Lin Wei had made a decision.
A dangerous one.
Her mind replayed his words from the night before.
"I won't live like this forever."
"I'll find a way out."
At the time, she didn't understand.
But now—
It all made sense.
And that realization…
Terrified her.
Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.
"Brother… why didn't you tell me…?"
The room felt colder.
Lonelier.
Like something important had been taken away.
Something that would never come back the same.
She hugged the letter tightly to her chest.
Her body trembling.
Not just from the cold—
But from fear.
Because she knew…
The path he chose…
Was not a good one.
Outside, the wind began to rise again.
Stronger this time.
Harsher.
As if echoing the storm that had begun in her heart.
That night, Xiaoyu didn't sleep.
She sat quietly in the darkness, staring at nothing.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Praying.
That somehow—
He would come back.
That everything would return to normal.
But deep inside—
A quiet voice whispered the truth.
Things had already changed.
Irreversibly.
And somewhere far away—
In a place filled with danger and shadows—
Lin Wei took his first step into a world that would consume him completely.
Back in the small, broken house—
Lin Xiaoyu held onto his letter like it was the last piece of him she had left.
Her tears fell silently.
But her voice, though soft—
Carried something stronger.
"…I won't follow you," she whispered.
"No matter how hard this life becomes…"
"I won't lose myself."
Because even in the darkest moments—
Lin Xiaoyu still chose light.
But the world she lived in…
Was not kind to people who chose light.
And this—
Was only the beginning.