Chapter Three: A Living Person's Ticket

The music became the lullaby her mother had hummed in childhood. On the first step, six-year-old Lin Wu clung to her mother's shoulder as they fled the burning Yongyao Theater. On the second, her mother covered every mirror in their rented room. On the third, her dying mother stroked her hair and said: Never let applause decide who you are. The memories began to wash away. “The first forbidden figure,” the White Lady said as they turned, “is the Backward Glance. Its price is the first person who taught you farewell.” Something inside Lin Wu was hollowed out. She knew she had once had a mother, but could no longer remember her face.