Chapter Four: The Reality Where He Died

Lu Xiao reached into Camera Thirteen's viewfinder. The glass yielded like water. Cold morning air came through carrying exhaust, breakfast steam, and the unstructured noise of a real city. His fingertips crossed the lens and touched the damp poster outside the cinema. Behind him, the opening slate began to fall. The white-clad Su Wan caught his left hand. The woman in black caught his right. Both said, “Don't go.” A black funeral pavilion stood inside the image. Lu Xiao's portrait hung above a coffin, dated the day Su Wan had disappeared. Beside it, another Su Wan wore mourning clothes. She placed a red button inside the coffin and looked directly into the lens. “I've waited three years,” she said. Lu Xiao nearly stepped through.