Chapter Two: The Deleted Woman Looked Back at Me

When Shen Wu left, the moon was full. Every streetlamp went dark at once. Doors opened. Townspeople emerged in silence and paired off at the crossroads, exchanging coats, rings, keys, and phones. The baker gave his apron to a schoolboy. A young mother handed her baby to an old stranger. A police officer pinned his badge to a vagrant's chest. When the exchange was complete, they all faced Shen Wu. Hundreds of mouths called one name: "Shen Zhao." Remembering the tape, she bit her tongue and did not answer. The crowd parted. At the far end stood the other Shen Wu, wearing the coat Shen Wu had lost that evening and holding the keys Zhou had given her in the recording.