Chapter Three: One Person Missing from the World

A wedding table had a perfectly set, unused place. Seven firefighters rested arms on the shoulders of someone invisible. "I've documented four hundred seventeen gaps in three years," Lin said. "There are no missing-person reports or death certificates. Families insist the number was always correct. But composition, bills, and body posture prove someone used to be there." Her last photo showed a family on a beach. Two parents held one boy's hands while each reached toward empty space. "My family. I know I had a younger brother, but I can't remember his face or name." "Lin Chao," A-Li whispered. Lin spun around. She could not see A-Li, but she heard the words because Gu Ye activated Borrow One Sound, took A-Li's voice, and played it through his