It was a cool summer evening. As I commuted home from work, I stopped by Aunt Hong's restaurant. It was a part of my daily routine.
Aunt Hong greeted me as usual with her kind smile. Behind her, Little Mei peeked at me curiously. I don't know why, but she had always been shy around me.
After Aunt Hong went to make noodles for me, I waved to Little Mei who, to my surprise, waved back at me.
"Why are you not playing at the park today, Mei?" I asked.
"My friend…is not there."
"Your friend?"
Little Mei nodded.
I thought for a moment. "How about I play with you? We could go get Johnny from next door to join us and play some tag."
Little Mei shook her head. "Johnny is mean. My friend don't like him."
"Okay. How about we go swing?"
Little Mei thought for a moment and then nodded.
At this time, Aunt Hong also came out and put a bowl of noodles before me. We chatted for a moment and Aunt Hong agreed to let me take Little Mei to the nearby park.
I should probably mention that Little Mei was kind of a lonely child. She barely had any friends and rarely associated with other children. Her timid personality was largely due to her parents.
They worked almost every hour for every day of the week and did not have much time to accompany Little Mei. Most of the time, Little Mei would be sent to Aunt Hong.
However, because Aunt Hong also had to run a restaurant, she did not get to spend much time with Little Mei either. I tried to help out form time to time since I knew Aunt Hong ever since I was a kid.
Aunt Hong herself was also a bit unfortunate—I only heard my parents mentioned it a few times, so I might not remember it correctly.
Aunt Hong was a Chinese immigrant, and against her parents' wishes, she moved here to marry her husband who was a retired soldier. The two had a great life, but before their plan to have a child could be fulfilled, Aunt Hong's husband developed stomach cancer and soon past away.
Well, then, who were Little Mei's parents? I only knew that Little Mei's mother was Aunt Hong's sister about a few months ago when I found the courage to inquire.
Anyway, I led Little Mei to the nearby park and we started swinging. There were still a few families left, playing in the distance. I could hear the joyous laughter of children.
I tried encouraging Little Mei to go play with them, but she just shook her head and held onto my hand tightly as if she would be abandoned at any moment. I could only sigh and asked her to get on the swing again.
As we were enjoying the cool evening breeze, the sounds of children playing in the distance slowly faded out. I felt a chill down my spine due to the sudden cold breeze and couldn't help shivering a little.
Suddenly, Little Mei shouted, "Nina!"
A short distance in front of me, I saw a little girl with golden hair tied into a ponytail. She looked like a little princess with her Victorian-style dress.
I noticed that I had never seen the little girl before. As I observed her, I couldn't escape the feeling that she was a little out of place. I just couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was about her that seemed out of place.
"Is she your friend?" I asked Little Mei.
Little Mei nodded and said, "We…always played together."
"How long have you two known each other?"
"A few months!" It was Little Mei's friend that answered me. She sounded a bit energetic and excited, perhaps it was due to Little Mei's presence.
"N-Nina, he's my brother," Little Mei said as she pointed at me.
Wait! Little Mei said that I'm her brother! I felt happy hearing that. It appeared that all my effort to befriend Little Mei had paid off.
"Hello, Mei's brother! I'm Nina!"
"Hi!" I waved. "Want to swing with us?"
"Not right now. My mom said she wanted to invite Mei to some food first."
"Your mom?" I looked around but did not see anyone else besides the three of us.
Nina giggled and pointed behind me. "Mei's brother, my mom is right over there."
I looked in the direction where Nina pointed, and, sure enough, I saw a woman sitting on the grassy patch behind the seesaw. I didn't see her there a moment ago, maybe I was too tired from work.
After asking Little Mei, we followed Nina towards her mother. Nina was oddly quiet on the way, and I still couldn't help but feel that there was something off about her.
As soon as Nina's mother saw us, she waved with a big smile. I was surprised when I got close enough to see her face.
She looked pretty young for a woman her age. Little Mei and Nina should be around the same age of 7 or 8, but Nina's mother looked to be almost in her early twenties.
Either she had Nina during her teens, or she was not really Nina's mother.
After we exchanged greetings, Little Mei and I sat down opposite Nina and her mother on the mat. Nina's mother took out a basket of bread and fruits and also some boiled eggs.
There were even some vegetables that were nicely cooked and fried on the side. I had to say, I immediately became hungry again after seeing those food.
Nina's mother was a very composed woman; she had a calm temperament, and her every move was filled with grace and beauty. She spoke softly and unhurriedly, as if nothing in the world could faze her.
While I chatted with Nina's mother, who I did have a slight crush on, Little Mei and Nina were playing by the side. The two little girls were laughing and running around the sand pit.
It was a great sight. I had never seen Little Mei so happy before. I got to thinking that maybe I should try pushing her to play with her peers more often.
As the evening grew darker, it got a bit more chilly. Nina's mother had somehow gone quiet and was just enjoying the scene of Nina playing with Little Mei.
It was then that I decided to break the silence and asked where the two lived. Nina's mother gave me a vague answer, but I could conclude that it was not far from the park.
It was also at this time that the abnormal feeling hit me again. I couldn't help but watched Nina and Little Mei a bit more carefully.
Even as the two were playing with sand, and as Little Mei's clothes were stained with grains of sand, Nina still looked spotless. I even wondered if my eyes were deceiving me.
I decided to ask Nina's mother, "What kind of material is Nina's dress made of? It seems to be able to keep sand off pretty well."
She looked a bit puzzle by the question, but she still answered, "It's just normal fabric."
Suddenly, I heard Nina's voice from the sand pit, "Hey, Mei's brother! I think Mei needs a bath!"
I turned around and saw that both Little Mei and Nina were covered in sand, including their hair. I thought to myself, "Did I miss something here? I just turned my head around for a moment and now the two are covered in sand."
"Now I have to do her hair again," Nina's mother said with a smile.
I sighed. "Well, I think I should take Mei back for a bath."
The moment when I got up, Nina's mother suddenly pulled my hand. There was a slight hesitance on her face, but she only struggled for a few seconds before she said, "Do you think Nina is a good kid?"
I looked confused, hoping that I could get a clarification, but there was only silence. I thought for a moment and nodded.
"I think Nina is pretty good. She's talkative and seemed to be more mature than her age."
"I'm glad."
I became even more confused. I started to think to myself if Nina's mother was interested in me. My heart beat a little because I wouldn't mind.
Well, dreams are just dreams.
Nina and Little Mei came back, and after we bid our farewells, I took Little Mei back to Aunt Hong's restaurant. Little Mei gave me a warm hug before we said good-bye to each other.
I didn't leave home until after a few minutes of back and forth between Aunt Hong wanting to give me a free meal ticket as a thank you gift and me wanting to politely decline it—I lost that battle, so I went home with a free meal ticket.
When I walked past the park, I noticed the seesaw slightly moving up and down. I could feel the wind howling past my ears. I shivered but still enjoyed the evening air.
I seemed to hear Nina's laughter but I also seemed to see the image of Little Mei and Nina playing together earlier. I sighed that I was too nostalgic even though the memory was only a while ago.
By the time I reached home, it was already dark out. After taking off my work clothes, I felt a light chill on my arm. As as soon as I glanced at it, I saw a light bruise near my wrist.
"That's odd," I thought to myself.
I furrowed my brows and went over what could cause the bruise but found nothing. That was, until I recalled that it was where Nina's mother grabbed me.
It couldn't be caused by her either. I did remember that when she grabbed me earlier, it was just a light touch. She probably couldn't even crush a butterfly.
So I just shrugged and went to take a shower before I finally closed my eyes due to exhaustion.
The night went quickly and the day came even quicker. I got up in the morning and prepared for another day of work. As a part of my daily routine, I also turned on the television and watched the local news.
Immediately, the moment the screen flashed and the television came alive, I saw the image of a familiar face being displayed. I couldn't quite make out where I have seen that face before, but I swore I saw it before.
Below the image, only one line of text was displayed. It read, "Vanessa Smith, single mother of 7-year old, Nina Smith, died in car accident with drunk driver."
It was at that moment, that all the memories of yesterday came surging into my head. I trembled slightly and fell down on the sofa.
I hurriedly checked the date and the accident was yesterday afternoon! Then, as if my eyes were opened, the images slowly played themselves in my head.
From the moment I met Nina to when she left, there was always a woman standing behind her. That woman was always wiping the dirt off of Nina's clothes, and I knew her!
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