Chapter Three: The Stopped Clock

The oats tasted of a dishwasher's fading homesickness. Those emotions had color and warmth. Her stomach cramped with desire. She forced herself away from them. “Your fixed diet on television was a lie.” “The food was real. The eating was false. Repeated smells drown out memory. They keep us from treating everyone on the street as a feast.” “Us?” “As of tonight, that includes you.” Sirens sounded in the distance. Lu Yao had finally received her delayed message. Gu covered the surviving thirteenth dish. “Before the police enter, you have two choices. Stay and let Wen Qi turn you into the suspect in twelve kidnappings, or come below and find the next memory your sister left.” “Why help me?”