Chapter Five: Seat Thirteen

Lin understood; she climbed to the controls and released the masking locks. Shen threaded the memorial reel through the projector backward. The flames on the reversed film retreated into its depths. The black curtains withdrew, and the exits returned. Lu stared at the screen. The little girl had not blown out her candle. She looked up and spoke. “Dad, I don’t want to come out.” His daughter, Lu Yao, had died in the fire. While he froze, Lin kicked the canister away and the fuse went dark. Lu did not resist arrest. He only watched the screen. “She is still in Echo,” he said. “Shen Yan promised me. He said everyone could come back.”