Chapter One: The Words He Missed

He raised his head. The tower reflected a leaden sky, every window a closed eye. “What did you see?” someone beside him asked. A woman with a red umbrella stood beyond the shattered glass. There was no rain. Shadow hid her face beneath the umbrella’s edge; he could see only a pale chin. “Are you asking me?” Lin said. She did not answer. People passed between them. A bus rolled by, blocking his view, and when it had gone, so had she. That evening, building management reviewed the security footage. It clearly showed Lin stopping, the glass falling, and the crowd gathering. A guard rewound it three times and blamed unsecured construction material. Lin pointed at the monitor. “Where is the woman?” “What woman?”