Chapter Two: Number Fourteen in the Dream

There was no sister in the film. Xu Kui called. When Lin answered, a child was breathing into the phone. “It’s dark behind the refrigerator,” she said. “Why did you leave me inside?” “Who are you?” A match struck. Then Xu’s own sleepy, terrified voice broke through. “Ms. Lin? I just woke up. Why am I behind the hospital?” At Silver Palace, Gu Wen had dismantled the digital projection server. The film was an encrypted file, yet a strip of 35mm film lay on his bench. “It fell out of the machine,” he said. There were thirteen frames. Twelve showed Xiaoman in the darkroom. The last was a credit: SCRIPT SUPERVISOR, LIN MO. Gu showed her checksums from two screenings. “The file grows whenever it plays.