Chapter Four: Two Identical Faces

Wanzhao stood before the wall. “Then don't decide for them whom to forget. Let them call one another back.” Xinghe struck a guitar string beside the silver bell. He did not sing. He read the first name on the wall. The young man whose fiancée was recovering from surgery read the second. One voice after another joined along the street. Each name came with something insignificant. “Cheng Lu, who never puts scallions in her wontons.” “Fang Ye, who steals the entire blanket in his sleep.” “Mom, whose knees hurt when it rains.” The black wisps grew lighter among these ordinary details. Mianmian opened its starry mouth, swallowed only the fear, and breathed the names back over the crowd. A fourth note began to shine in the bell.