Chapter Three: The Person Taken

The video cut off after revealing the lower half of Xia Mi’s face. Wen Yu snatched the phone and replayed the frame, his hands shaking. “I’ve seen her,” he said. “Before White Whale sailed. She told me that if I boarded, you would live.” “What does that mean?” “I didn’t die in the first version of that day.” Fear filled his eyes. “You did.” Midnight bells sounded outside. Though July 30 had begun, the date on the hotel television slipped backward. July 29. Wen Yu’s photograph faded from his badge. On the wedding invitation, the groom’s name slowly disappeared. The impossible program unfolded in Xia Mi’s pocket. Beneath MIA, a second line appeared in blood-red ink: The first time doesn’t count. You turned around.