Chapter Two: The Day Remade

The woman on the tape reached the chorus. Someone knocked. “Xia Mi,” Tang Li called outside. “Open the door. Don’t listen to that tape!” Xia Mi turned instinctively. The world stopped. The warning returned to her: Whatever voice calls you, don’t turn around before the song ends. But she was already in the past. Why did the rule still apply? Wen Yu seized her hand. His palm was warm and real, but his face began to blur like a reflection struck by rain. “Remember me,” he said. The tape reached its final note.