In the winter of that year, the snow flew across the strange yet familiar city, leaving the impression of a picturesque scenery in people’s memories. Within this obscured city, countless sets of footprints were scattered over the surface of the vast white land, each going towards a different direction. But there was one footprint that remained. It was the footprint of a teenage boy. People walked past him, yet he remained in the same place.The boy who had only worn a light brown wool sweater had his head down, sniffed his nose from time to time while concentrating on fiddling with something between his hands.

 "Mommy, look! A foreigner!" A child's clear and high-pitched voice sounded in his ears.

 The boy looked up, his skin significantly paler in the snowy weather. He saw the little girl who was pointing at him and gave her a slight smile.

 "Ah, I’m sorry, my girl is ignorant." A young woman hurried over and held the little girl with one hand. She was stunned when she saw the boy's appearance, and again apologized using her broken English as she waved at him.

He smiled at the mother and daughter as they walked away, and continued to fiddle with the gift. It was his first time buying a mechanical watch, and it had cost him a large portion of his savings. He took out his flip phone, noted the time it showed, and continued to adjust the time displayed on the watch.

 "I got it!" Ilos whispered to himself with excitement as he adjusted the watch to 6:23 pm. It was the first time that he ever bought a gift for anyone. 

I still have two hours left, he thought as he finally moved, leaving behind a pair of deeply sunken footprints. He couldn’t be late for Pete’s birthday, Kathy was waiting for him at home. With this in mind, Ilos ran towards the main street sidewalk and waved for a taxi. It’s always hard to get a taxi in the city, especially in the middle of January with Lunar New Year quickly approaching. However, he got lucky this time and was able to hail a taxi within only ten minutes. 

Ilos lived with the Wences in a neighborhood located far away from the city’s downtown, in a place without all the noise and the crowd. The Wences, Pete and Kathy, were an American couple who had been continually traveling from city to city in China. They decided to finally settle in the city of Sanyi a couple years ago, and had bought a two-story house in the Jiuxi District after a whole decade of endless work and labor. They spent two years completely remodeling the house destined to be their retirement dream home. It was a custom home with a Mediterranean and Italian themed exterior with walls painted light tawny and the garage doors painted chocolate brown. Inside, they had an elegantly designed transitional style interior, with old fashioned curtains built on every window and blue willow vases placed at every corner, emitting a warm and cozy vibe. 

The taxi stopped after it had passed through the security gate at the entrance to the community. Ilos took out a 20 yuan bill and handed it to the taxi driver.

“Thanks,” Ilos thanked the driver politely in Chinese. The taxi driver nodded and smiled unexpectedly, and waved at Ilos as he drove away. 

A woman's voice sounded just as Ilos stepped into the door.

 "Aren't you cold, Ilos?" 

 "I’m fine," Ilos replied, looking at his slightly red face in the reflection from the mirror on the wall. At home, he mostly spoke in English with the Wences, and the transition was sometimes awkward. 

"Come’on, hurry up, your face even got red from the cold! Would you like to have some hot chocolate?" asked Kathy with concern; she was a middle-aged woman of curly brown hair and dark blue eyes. She quickly came down to Ilos, who was still standing at the door.

"Don't worry about it, Kathy," said Ilos. smiling gently at her, "let's have it when Pete gets back." He took out his phone and glanced at it, it was 7:30 in the evening.

"Whatever you say," Kathy smiled back at Ilos, "today is his birthday, did you prepare anything?"

Ilos patted his pocket.

"Oh, you want it to be a surprise," said Kathy, "can't even tell me?"

"Nope," Ilos shook his head.

"Ok then, I guess I’ll just go and prepare dinner then." joked Kathy, feeling a bit hurt, as she walked into the kitchen.

"Well, do you need any help?"

"What?" Surprised, Kathy turned around, but quickly adjusted her expression. She waved to Ilos and said, "If you want."

The kitchen was located to the left of the front door separated by a wall. Just about ten feet away, angled towards the front door, was a light brown, red oak dining table with six delicate brown maple chairs scattered around the table, forming a small but cozy dining space. The table was covered with an elegantly designed white lace tablecloth. On the top center of the dining table sat a blue and white patterned ceramic vase filled with a variegated bouquet of flowers. 

The sound of the lock came through the front door when the clock turned to 8:15. A middle-aged man wearing a thick black leather jacket walked inside the house. 

 "Oh darling, what are you cooking? It smells so delicious in the house." Pete said with excitement.

 "Dear Professor Pete, how have you been in Beijing these past few days?" asked Kathy, as she came out of the kitchen to greet him.

 "It's been very–” Pete replied while kissing Kathy on both cheeks, but paused as he saw Ilos busy in the kitchen.

"I’ll get to try Ilos’ cooking today!?" Pete spoke with astonishment.  

 "That's right! Ilos remembered it was your birthday today and helped me make your favorite meatloaf," said Kathy, her eyes almost disappearing as she smiled. Ilos, who didn't even want to talk to them before, is actually cooking for them! She couldn't hide her excitement.

 Whether biological or not, having children is a joy of life.

 After putting the last plate on the table, Ilos looked up at Pete with a slight smile, "Dinner is ready."

In the past few days, Pete had been busy with his speech and presentations at a University in another city close by. He was invited to give a speech at Z University, a well-known university in the city of Beijing. After all, he was a famous astronomy professor from the United States. It just so happened that the day he came back was his birthday.

"Why are you still standing here?" Kathy patted Pete on the shoulder, then pushed him towards the dining table, "Let’s try out Ilos’ cooking."

Pete sat down next to Ilos across from Kathy, looking at the table that was neatly arranged in front of him. It seemed to him that Ilos was finally integrating into the family, and he couldn't help but to smile happily.

"That’s right," Kathy remembered suddenly and walked towards the refrigerator. "I made carrot cake," She said as she dragged out a multilayered blueberry sponge cake from the refrigerator. There was a piece of chocolate on top of it with “happy birthday” written crookedly.

"Aw thank you my darling! You do know me, I love your desserts!" Pete kissed Kathy again on the cheek, then laughed as he saw the words written on the chocolate, "your Chinese has improved a lot."

 "It was always good, okay?" Kathy answered in Chinese proudly.

 Right then Ilos fumbled out a small blue box from his pocket and handed it to Pete, "Happy birthday, Pete."

 Pete’s eyebrows seemed to rise to the top of his head, "Let me guess what this is..."

He opened the small blue box and saw a delicate silver mechanical watch. He stared at it, looked at Ilos, and turned to Kathy in wonder.

 Kathy immediately slapped him on the shoulder, "Don't look at me, I didn't buy it for you."

 "Ilos!" Pete stood up and turned to hug Ilos while patting him on the back, "really, thank you so much, I'm very happy."

Ilos froze in place.

 Pete noticed his discomfort and backed away, pretending to not notice. He turned and started bragging in front of Kathy with the little blue box in his hand.

Ilos looked at the new but familiar scene in front of him. A feeling that he had not felt for very long arose from his heart, slowly spread throughout his body. It was a feeling of warmth, a sense which he had not experienced since seven years ago. The memories he kept deep inside of him ever since the day he stepped into the door of the Wences came before him again. 

He didn’t know or remember much about his biological parents. His father was Chinese but he had never met his mother. He could only remember living with his alcoholic father. All the endless abuse came to an end after his father was struck by a glass beer bottle and suffered a stroke  Afterwards, Iloswas sent to the orphanage until he was adopted by Pete and Kathy, four years later. The orphanage was located in Yan Cha, a small town far away from the city. It was a place where there were no bursts or clamors in the broad daylight nor rumbles from business and people. The orphanage was small and classic, it had an old European styled design and a small backyard. Ilos’past was carved deeply in every corner of that orphanage, the moments of sadness, frustration, anger, pain, and playful joy. But most importantly—it was at this orphanage where he met Ling Xu. 

Ling Xu was his roommate at the orphanage, and was the first person to ever embrace him despite his different appearance. The times they spent together seemed to have been seared into his memories. Almost by surprise, the little boy with a small bottle full of origami stars and all the times they ran together under the starry nights seemed to have reappeared in front of him. Back when they had nothing in their minds but endless innocence and cheerfulness. He couldn’t believe it had been five years already. 

 When they were separated, Ilos thought that he couldn't make it through a month, but now seven years have passed in a blink of an eye.

 "Ilos!" called Kathy, waving her hand in front of him .

 "Huh?" Ilos was taken aback.

 "Wow, are you asleep? I've been calling you for a long time." Kathy laughed.

 "...sorry," said Ilos, lowering his head..

 "About that Ilos, did I just scare you?" Pete asked in a low voice.

 "Huh? No, I was just distracted." Ilos explained quickly.

 "The food is gonna get cold if you two keep on talking like this!" Kathy picked up Pete's plate and served him enthusiastically, "Hurry up and eat!"

 "Okay, okay, it's all up to you my darling, I guess we shall eat now." Pete surrendered, putting a spoonful of meatloaf in his mouth.

"Oh my God! Ilos, you were hiding this," Pete’s eyes widened, and he leaned towards Ilos as he whispered,"this is better than Kathy’ meatloaf!"

 "What are you talking about!" Kathy raised her voice over the two, pretending to be offended.

 "Honey, you're hearing things," joked Pete, and laughed at Kathy, who rolled her eyes playfully.

 "Oh, forget it, I don't care about you anymore."  

 The doorbell rang just when Kathy was about to serve Ilos some food.

 "Who is it? It's really late at night," she murmured as she put down Ilos’ plate, then looked at the door with uncertainty.

 Ilos suddenly felt a sense of discomfort. The Wences lived in a secluded villa, and the nearest neighbor was at least five minutes driving distance away from here. Just about when he was going to get up, Pete stood up and started walking towards the ringing door.

"I'll take a look." Pete said, leaning over to the peephole and glancing outside.

"Who is it?" Kathy asked in a low voice.

"I don’t know, it's a guy with his face covered. But I do see that he is wearing a New York Yankees cap," he said. 

 Ilos got up instantly listening to his description.

“Let me take a look."

Pete turned the lock, and suddenly shuddered.

“Run!!” 

Kathy screamed as two loud shots echoed across the house, cutting off Pete’s voice. Ilos froze in place. Abruptly, a sharp alarm-like noise arose from the dust and disturbed the silence. He couldn’t feel anything besides the dull pain from the numbness of his forelimbs as he entered the hallway and saw Pete’s body 

The first shot had hit his chest while the second struck Pete’s head. 

Unable to process what just happened, Ilos closed his eyes for a moment, as if everything was just another terrifying dream of his. It’s just another nightmare right? But when he opened his eyes, his dreams shattered as he saw Pete quietly laying on the carpet. Pete’s face was indistinct. His face was covered in blood with the upper right side of his head fractured. 

  Ilos started shaking as his legs gradually weakened. He suddenly felt a fierce blow of pain in his head. Not able to maintain his balance, he staggered forward and collapsed onto the cold stone ground. The world slowly blackened as his consciousness gradually faded away.

…

"Ling, what is that?" A boy with a foreign European appearance asked suddenly, while pointing to the snow flakes falling down from the sky.

"That's snow, Ilos, " Ling Xu whispered to him, "it snows in the winter sometimes when it gets really cold." 

This was the first snow in Yan Cha in many years. Ilos frowned as a snowflake hit his face. He had just turned seven years old and he had never seen anything like it before.

Ling Xu turned around and laughed as he saw the snowflakes landing on Ilos’ slightly flushed face.

"Snow is fascinating if you look at it closely," Ling Xu captured a few snowflakes then held out his hand in front of Ilos, "every snowflake has a different shape, and is unique, just like fingerprints” he pointed at one of the snowflake, “look, this is a hexagonal shaped snowflake, and that one is in the shape of triangular crystal..." The last time Ling Xu saw snow had been when he was five years old. Ever since then, he had read many books about snow and the winter. Just like cherry blossoms in spring seasons, snow is a form of beautiful scenery in this world, from the moment of its arrival to its fond farewell in a swift transient blow.

Ilos blinked, half understanding while looking at the snowflakes in Ling Xu’s hands. He had never thought about winter like that before. Winter to him had always just been just cold, but now the snow was full of wonder. 

As the snow melted and faded in Ling Xu’s hands, he squatted down and dug two clumps of snow from the ground. 

"If you gather many of these snowflakes together, you are able to create many different shapes from them. For example, you can create something like this," said  Ling Xu,as he showed Ilos the star-shaped snow ball rolled in his hands.

Ilos stared at the star in Ling Xu’s hands for a good while, as if he was processing something very difficult, then finally laughed happily. He squatted down next to Ling Xu and started to dig and play with the snow. 

"How is it, do you like it?" Ling Xu asked.

"It's fun," Ilos responded quietly, then held up a smaller star-shaped snowball and showed it to Ling Xu, "I like snow, it’s really pretty.”

Ling Xu patted Ilos on the head, who was brimming with satisfaction and joy.  

The two of them played for hours. In the distance, snowflakes lightly fell on top of the orphanage, seeming to create a gentle white mink coat on the rooftop. The sky became dim with gentle touches of pink and orange as the sun slowly hid behind the western hills of Yan Cha, and the coldness intensified with the fading light. 

“It’s getting cold, let’s go home.” Ling Xu whispered, softly pulling Ilos’ hand. His comforting scent of maple trees reached Ilos. 

“It’s not cold,” Ilos replied. 

“Don’t lie to me, both of your hands are red,” Ling Xu lifted Ilos from the ground and stuffed his hands into his own pockets, “it’s warmer this way.”

“I’m not!” Ilos laughed, “I am actually not cold.”

“Well it’s getting dark too,” said Ling Xu, pressing his forehead against Ilos’, “come on, let’s go home, we can always play tomorrow.” 

Being two years older, Ling Xu was about a head taller than Ilos. In close distance, Ling Xu looked into Ilos’ eyes. His pupils were like a pair of amber stones, full of childlike mischief. 

Ilos giggled. The warmth of the maple, like the drifting dawn in the autumn embraced him and shielded him away from the coldness. 

“I want to play in the snow with you in all the upcoming winters."  

…

Seven years later, another winter, another round of snow, the wish that was once made seemed to be so unattainable now. He had waited, hoped, and dreamed, but he was still unable to find the boy from his memory. Ling Xu looked down at the few snowflakes that landed in his palm, overwhelmed by an unexplainable emotion. 

"You look a little lost," Hong said as he patted Ling Xu on the shoulder, "come on, shake it off. Let's go to Yang's place for noodles."

“Sounds good.” Ling Xu agreed and followed after Hong.

Accompanied by two "ding" sounds that echoed across the entrance, Hong and Ling Xu walked into the bustling noodle shop. Ling Xu lowered his head and warmed up his slightly frozen hands by rubbing them together.

"We'll go get you some gloves after this." said Hong, noticing that he was cold.

"Hey, aren't you Hong and Ling Xu? So happy to see you two visiting my place in the winter!" A man with a short ponytail and a dark green apron dappled with orange dots came out from the back door of the kitchen with a smile on his face visible from miles away, "Hurry up you two! Come sit and get warmed up, it must be freezing outside." 

“When were the winters here ever not cold?" Hong smiled and sat down with Ling Xu at the table prepared by Yang.

"Did you guys come here to have my Yangchun noodles?" Yang asked with satisfaction.

"Of course! You know the rules," Hong waved his hand at Yang, "it's been a while since we had your noodles."

"Oh, look at you, you are too polite!" Yang smiled happily, his eyes narrowing in joy, before heading into the kitchen.

Ling Xu slowly relaxed under the laughter and the lively atmosphere of the noodle shop, as his hands gradually warmed up. Not long after, Yang returned with two bowls of steaming Yangchun noodles.

Yang was an artisan who started his noodle shop as one of his hobbies rather than with ambition. The success of his noodle shop was very unexpected, but validated the old saying “fruition is often paired with passion”. His noodle shop was always packed with people, mainly tourists from other cities, all excited to savor the so-called “peerless” Yangchun noodles of the district. The noodle soup was light and refreshing, the noodles as thin as dragon whiskers paired with a layer of shiny scallion oil cooked to golden brown, and sprinkled with a layer of emerald green scallions on top. The bowl was overflowing with fragrance. Ling Xu has always liked Yang’s Yangchun noodles. While looking at Hong, who was having fun chattering and laughing with Yang, his thoughts slowly drifted away.

"Why aren’t you eating, Ling Xu? Don't the noodles suit your appetite?" Yang suddenly asked, turning to him.

"Yes, of course, your noodles are the best." Ling Xu smiled at Yang as he picked up the chopsticks and started digging into his bowl.

"Is there something on your mind?" Yang continued.

Almost imperceptibly, Ling Xu froze for a moment, but he immediately replied: "I’m fine Uncle Yang, I’m just a bit cold."

"Oh, look at you. Hong, didn’t you buy him any warmer clothes? It’s winter time!" Yang scolded him.

"I'll go buy him some at Fengyun Mall after we eat. It’s just a few blocks away from here." Hong replied while chewing a mouth full of noodles.

Ling Xu glanced at Hong. Hong has fulfilled almost every single one of his needs since they started to live together and was never annoyed or frustrated. However, Ling Xu was not always good at expressing his emotions and feelings, especially appreciation despite how thankful he was. 

Abruptly, the chattering from a group of aunties with curly hair and black framed glasses sitting at a nearby table interrupted their conversation, "Hey, have you seen the news? I heard that a villa located in the Jiuxi District has burned down!"

Ling Xu was disquieted by the auntie’s words.

"Huh? Isn't Jiuxi District that rich neighborhood? Shouldn’t their security facilities be very good?"

Ling Xu quietly listened to the gossip while eating the noodles in small sips, perfectly drawing out his meal. 

"Of course the houses and mansions in the district are good, but that doesn't necessarily mean the people who live there are also good. “A sardonic voice made its way faintly across from the opposite side of the room. A tiny and gaunt lady with salt and pepper colored hair tied up in a bun was sitting at an empty table. With her legs crossed and her chin raised, she stared at the aunties, as if she was looking down upon them.

“Just look at how many rich kids there are, spending money like water, looking for excitement and craziness, living in these luxurious villas. Who knows what kind of corruption hides there? This fire incident is probably another so-called “accident” caused by those hideous people." 

"Well,that has probably occurred in the past," one of the aunties replied, "but this was the villa of a very famous foreign professor—"

"Isn't that even more common?" The lady interrupted without hesitation, "Have you seen how crazy foreigners are? Oh actually, your grandchildren may know better than us, from Animal World and other various documentaries. Aren't those foreigners the ones who are always chasing lions, tigers and crocodiles? This is probably another crazy biology professor.”

Ling Xu usually was not drawn by gossip conversations like this, he was never interested in the empty criticism of society or culture that people loved so much. It never led to anything. However, this time he felt an unexplainable concern.

The aunties silently ignored the lady’s loud comments and her annoying attitude.

“Is the accident serious?" 

"Well, probably, I don't really know the details, but it seems to be serious," The auntie sighed.

Ling Xu’s heart skipped a beat when hearing this. 

Hong, who was done eating long ago, watched Ling Xu finish the last sip of his noodle soup, then took 20 yuan out of his pocket and smiled at Yang: "It's getting late, Ling Xu and I will head out now, thank you for your company today, Yang."

"Why are you being so polite to me, you know I don’t charge you for the food, feel free to come whenever you have time." Yang pushed back Hong’s hand, but at the end still took the money as he couldn't resist Hong’s silent plea for him to keep the money. 

As Hong and Ling Xu got up from their table and walked past the crowd to the entrance, Yang waved at them before he turned around and returned to the kitchen behind the curtain.

Ling Xu pushed open the door of the noodle shop, only to feel a gust of cold wind blowing towards him, like an invisible razor slicing across the sides of his face. He shuddered involuntarily, and streaks of goosebumps arose across his body. Hong, who was behind him, let out a sharp hiss, as the cold air embraced his body that had just warmed up not long ago. He patted Ling Xu on the shoulder vigorously and said, "Let's go get some clothes for you."

"Thanks Hong, I appreciate it." 

“Sure thing.”

Located just a couple blocks away, at the city’s downtown, Fengyun Mall was the largest mall built on the most bustling street of Sanyi. From the beginning to the end, there was not a single corner of the street that did not exude the feeling of sumptuousness. The buildings, tall and short, were all covered in uniquely patterned metal screens. On the facade of many buildings jumbotrons played different commercials and company advertisements. The flashing lights of the big screens on the buildings paired with the undulating noises of the crowd created a sense of restlessness. It was the city’s heart and bustle, but Ling Xu hadn't really liked this street since the first time he visited three years ago, when he was first adopted by Hong. 

It’s possible to find everything that the city is known for on this street, ranging from malls, supermarkets, sport arenas, to hospitals. Expectedly, with the flow of people, the hospital became the largest hospital in the city. However, being the largest hospital of the two hundred mile radius led to the constant overcrowding of the people in and out of the hospital and on the streets. Often, there would be ambulances delivering patients to the hospital while a group of hyped young drunk adults partied on the street, causing traffic and delays. 

In the autumn three years ago, Hong and Ling Xu had gone to do some shopping. Ling Xu, who had been peeking out of the cab with curiosity, saw a limousine parked right at the hospital reserved parking, blocking the way of two ambulances. That was the first time he saw this sort of behavior: how careless entertainment could cost the lives of innocents. But soon afterwards he realized that these were actually relatively common occurrences in Sanyi. 

As Ling Xu and Hong walked side by side on the bright and colorful street, the sound of a siren in the distance grew louder, its pitch increasing rapidly as it approached. An ambulance was being followed by two police cars, and Ling Xu suddenly remembered the incident that the aunties had been arguing about. His eyes followed as the group of cars went past him and headed towards the hospital. 

The ruckus of car horns arose in front of the hospital entrance. Ling Xu frowned. Feeling unmoored, he sprinted past Hong towards the entrance of the hospital. This was not the first time something like this happened, but he felt a pull towards this case that he couldn’t explain. Hong was surprised to see him run.

“Hey Ling Xu, be careful! Where are you going?” 

“I will! I am going to see what’s happening.” Ling Xu replied as he raced to the parking lot, losing him in the crowd. 

Unsurprisingly, there was a crowd of people gathered in the empty space of the hospital reserved parking lot. The people looked relatively young, each held two or three shopping bags in their hands. They seemed to be drunk and weren't fully unaware of their surroundings. They looked around as they walked unsteadily on their feet, confused and amused by the sound of the sirens and the car horns. The signs and placards for the hospital reserve parking were partially buried under the snow. 

“Get out of the way, this is hospital reserve parking!” The ambulance driver was trying his best to make them move, but his voice was overpowered by the noises made by the sirens. There wasn’t a minute to be lost. 

“This is hospital reserve parking!” Ling Xu shouted as he approached the crowd.

“We didn’t know, this is our first time traveling to this city” muttered a young girl, confused and trying to move off the way.  “I am so so sorry!”

“We couldn’t tell, the signs are covered under the snow!”

The crowd stumbled away from the reserved parking spot, as the ambulance driver took advantage of that moment to rush in.

Ling Xu kept his eyes on the ambulance. As soon as it stopped, three nurses pushed out a gurney. On top of the gurney laid a young boy, his forehead wrapped in a layer of gauze. Streaks of gray ashes stained his body, covering his pale skin. In this freezing temperature, the boy only had a thin sweater on. His slack face paralyzed Ling Xu.  

 It was a moment of uncertainty, followed by a complex and unspeakable emotion  that seemed to last for an eternity. All the scenes from his memories came flashing upon his eyes. He couldn’t hear anything besides his harsh breathing and the erratic beating of his heart like mallets pounding on a bass drum. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t know if it was the irony of fate.

The movement of the gurney wheels rattling on the pavement awoke him from his thoughts. Without hesitation, he ran after the nurses that were pushing the gurney into the hospital. 

“Hey kid, are you okay? You do not look so good, ” said one of the people at the front desk. 

“I know him.” Ling Xu said breathlessly, while pointing at the gurney. 

“Oh, are you related to the patient?” The front desk lady asked, increasingly concerned. Her serious expression seemed to waver.  

Ling Xun paused, for a second he didn’t know how to reply.

“Please let me help him! We grew up together,” he finally begged, “please, let me do something, I need to make sure that he is okay!”

Moved by Ling Xu’s anguish, the front desk lady guided him to the waiting area. “I can’t let you in right now, because he needs attention, but I’ll tell my coworkers to let you know how he is as soon as possible”

Ling Xu wanted to run towards the gurney, but it had already been rushed into the emergency room. A nurse returned with documents, and the front desk assistant rushed to her. Ling Xu followed her, reaching for the nurse. 

“What are you doing kid?” she said, shocked by his presence. ”Lisa, who is this?”

“He knows the patient,” said the front desk assistant. “He just wants to stay close”

“Can you please let me know how he is?” Ling Xu said.

“I know how you feel. We will let you know immediately after we examine his current condition.” The nurse calmed Ling Xu down, realizing the extent of his fragility, before leaving the room.

Ling Xu sat in the waiting area, thinking about the boy lying quietly on the gurney beyond the curtains. His dark ebony hair that hung lifeless. Nothing seemed to have changed yet everything had changed. It was still Ilos, but it seemed loss still chased them.

Five years seemed to be so long. There were times when he was counting hours and days, as if he was imprisoned in a shadowy cell. There were times where he stayed up all night, looking up at the stars, hoping they would one day guide him to find the boy that he had lost. There were also times where he didn't want to get up, wishing to forever live in the scenes of illusion and unreality of his dreams where he had Ilos with him. And there were the times where he hoped, disappointed, and felt lost, not knowing what should be the next step in life. But it wasn’t until this moment where everything finally faded away. The return of his boy went along with the return of his long lost tranquility and peace. 

He sat on a bench outside of the emergency room. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Hong had finally sorted the crowding outside.  

“He is the one that you have been looking for all these years right?” He said as he sat down next to Ling Xu.

Ling Xu nodded, looking down at his feet.

Hong sighed. He always knew that there was something on Ling Xu’s mind, however the boy had always kept things to himself. He first met Ling Xu four years ago. It was on a camping holiday he took after countless sleepless nights working on his PhD thesis. Despite living almost half of his life digitally studying computer science, he always dreamed of a nomadic life. He wanted to live in peace off of nature in a place away from noises, humans, and societal obligations. 

That day, Hong was out in the wild, fishing at a small lake near Yan Cha. It was getting dark, so he decided to build his tent. He packed his fishing tools back in his car. Just as he was about to head back to the lake with his tent supplies, he saw a boy in the distance walking towards him. He had put down everything and ran towards the boy. As he got closer, he was shocked. 

The boy had torn clothes and was covered in dirt and dust. The boy looked Hong in the eye with a pallid face, and spoke in a husky voice: “Water…”

It took a few seconds for Hong to process what’s going on. He ran back to his car and took out a bottle of water along with a pack of biscuits and handed them to the boy. 

The boy hastily opened the bottle of water and unsealed the bag of biscuits and shoved them in his mouth like a starving wolf. Hong stood aside and waited for the boy to finish. 

“Thank you.” The boy said, wiping his mouth with his hand.

“No problem. Are you lost? Where are your parents? You look like you haven’t eaten for days. ” Hong asked.

“...I’m alone,” The boy looked down, “I came out of the orphanage, the facility closed down.”

Hong was surprised. He vaguely remembered a news report about the suicide of the director of an orphanage after a series of charges including sexual harrasment towards children in the orphanage. The orphanage closed down, but there had been no mention of what happened to the orphans.

“Hey kid, what’s your name?”

“Ling Xu”

“Come, let’s get you warmed up, it’s gonna get cold soon.” Hong had the boy sit in his car and covered him with a leather jacket he had on. 

“I am gonna pack all my stuff and I’ll take you to the nearest hospital shortly.” 

“Thank you.” 

Hong ended his break early and took the boy to the hospital late that night. He sat on one of the benches and waited for the doctor’s response. The TV on the wall across from him was still broadcasting the news. 

“...The latest report has found that in the last 10 years at least over 20 children have been victims of sexual harassment and abuse from Zhao Xun, the director of an orphanage located in Yan Cha. Officials are still gathering evidence...”

Hong was brought back by the voice of doctor Wang. The doctor told him that the boy was very weak due to malnutrition and fatigue. He was given two options: to wait for the boy to wake up and drive him to one of the local orphanages, or leave so the hospital would deliver the boy to a local orphanage after. The words of the reporter were stuck in his head. He thought of what the boy had told him, and a startling connection popped up in his mind. 

Hong took Ling Xu home the next day after he woke up, and had taken care of him ever since. Ling Xu had always been very quiet and isolated from everyone else. Hong thought that he might have been one of the victims but he later found out that this wasn’t the case. He had tried many times to gain Ling Xu’s trust, but the kid always kept everything to himself. It was not until recently that he finally was able to piece together the boy’s puzzling past. 

On Ling Xu's sixteenth birthday, the day of Christmas Eve, he told him a story about a boy who was abandoned by his family. A four years old boy was left in an orphanage because his parents couldn’t afford to pay the fine from violating the One Child Policy to keep him. Knowing the truth, the boy was always very quiet, playing alone rather than being with other children in the orphanage. However, this changed with the arrival of another boy—his new roommate. His roommate had a different look than everyone, he was very charming. Overtime, they became closer, the warmth of his roommate shone upon him like the brightest sun. For the first time the boy felt what it is like to be loved and to love. His utopia fell apart four years later when the boy was suddenly adopted by a foreign couple from the United States. The boy didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye. It was years later when he found out that the reason why his roommate was taken away all the sudden was due to the suspicion of sexual behavior between the director of the orphanage and the children residing there.

Hong knew the story was about Ling Xu and he had tried to piece together clues of who and where the boy might be. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything. However, one thing did change from the attempts he made…their relationship. Understanding what was on Ling Xu’s mind brought them significantly closer. 

“If you want,” Hong patted Ling Xu on the back and paused for a moment, “he can come and live with us.” 

Ling Xu looked up at Hong and wrapped his arms around his back. Hong’s shoulder was soon wet with his tears.

“Thank you, Hong. Thank you for everything.” 

…

The sound of the gunshots kept on echoing in his ears. Ilos was in and out of a state of hysteria. Different sounds and scenes kept on appearing and disappearing in front of him, like revolving lanterns. For a moment he didn’t know if he was in a dream or reality. 

He felt like something had shattered in him, a piece of him that had kept locked and hidden from inside of him. He saw pieces of many different scenes. Broken bottles, screaming and shouting beside his ears, the feeling of fear, blood dripping down from his arms. The feeling of being mangled to the point where there was nothing but the natural instinct of running away. The white interlocking “N-Y” symbol embroidered on the front of the dark blue colored Yankee cap. The explosion of countless wood scraps mixed with sawdust as the first bullet made contact with the oak wood door and the splash of blood as the second with Pete’s face. The force of the dull object on his head and the feeling of endless pain from the unbearable heat. 

For a moment, he thought it was the end, he could not withstand the tearing pain. Abruptly, a familiar shouting came from the distance mixed with the oscillating sound of the sirens.

 Could this be another dream? If it is, he is thankful that he will have one last sweet dream before he fades away from this aloof world. 

“...let me help him…”

 He heard the muffled voice again, this time much closer. 

Unconsciously, Ilos seemed to have seen the familiar but unfamiliar face from his memory in front of him. Unlike before, this time his face was tightened and frowned together with tears in his eyes. 

From the countless memories and dreams he had, Ilos had never seen him cry before.

Don’t cry Ling. Why are you crying? What has happened to you? Be happy Ling, I am about to leave this world, please, do me one last favor, smile like you always do, please smile just one last time for me. 

Unable to handle the dizziness, Ilos closed his eyes, and drifted into the darkness.

“Ilos, do you know which is the brightest star in the sky?” Ling Xu's voice echoed in his dreams.

There, Ling Xu held out one of his hands towards the window, and pointed at a small white dot out of the countless stars in the sky, “Look, that is Sirius, the brightest star. “

“Ilos, Ilos,” Ling Xu looked over with a smile, “do you know why I call you Ilos?”

Ling Xu held out both of his hands, with one holding up a zero and the other with a one, “My name “Ling” rhymes with “Ling” as the character zero in Chinese while Ilos, the “I” in your name looks like the number one. No matter what happens, one is always next to a zero.” Ling Xu’s pair of cute canine teeth showed as he brightened his smile. 

"Ilos, Ilos, let's go, let's go to see the stars together." The boy took his hand, and brought him to the backyard. The same backyard of years ago, covered in snow, silent and dark. There they laid side by side, resting while enjoying the moments of peace with nothing but the silence of the night and the soft breathing rhythms of each other. 

"Do you know why I like watching the stars so much?" Ling Xu gently held his hand, "because the stars remind me of us. We are like the stars in the sky, each shining brightly, illuminating our dark surroundings."

“Ilos…” The voice was soft and gentle, like a butterfly, tickling across his face with each tune. He hadn’t felt so relaxed in so long, this familiar sense of safety and the woody scent like the last dawn of an autumn tree. For a moment, he wished the time would stop ticking so he could stay in his memories forever. 

“Ilos… I am here, there is no need to worry now.” The voice continued, this time with a slight shiver to its tune, “I am sorry,I will never leave you again..”

…

As the first streak of light shined through the windows, Ilos opened his eyes. A moment of dizziness was followed by a feeling of confusion; he didn’t know what happened or where he was. The room was unfamiliar, with pearl white walls, a pot of lilies in front of the window, and a heart monitoring machine beeping in the background with tubes attached to his left hand. Everything was unfamiliar except a familiar scent. The wood scent seemed to have followed him out of his dream to reality. Abruptly, he looked to his side as if he suddenly remembered something. He froze in place, as if he had made contact with Medusa’s eyes. To his right, a teenage boy with his arms crossed and his head slightly tilted towards his chest quietly sat in a chair just about three feet away. The boy’s hair had grown longer, but Ilos would’ve never have failed to recognize him. 

Suddenly, from a slight movement, the boy woke up and looked up. Their eyes met. No one dared look away as if the time was frozen. Ilos felt a sudden hotness across his face.

“Don’t cry, Ilos,” Ling Xu whispered, as he gently wiped the tears on Ilos’ face away.

“Ling.” Ilos called his name for the first time in years.

“Ilos,” Ling Xu leaned forward and held Ilos’ hand gently as if his hands were precious, long lost and hidden away from him, “it’s all going to be ok, I am here now, let me take care of you.”

Ilos looked into Ling Xu’s eyes as if there were millions of words to say. Seconds, minutes passed by, yet neither of them had looked away. Like holding a piece of silk, Ling Xu slowly interlocked Ilos’ hand between his. 

The sky is still bright, and the walk of life is still long. Outside the window, a chestnut colored hoopoe sat on the willow tree, warbling as it awaited the moment to break through the clouds sheltering the sunrise. It keeps  on striving, even if the blazing sun melts its wings it will persist in its wish to meet the light. Even after hundreds of false hopes, waking up in the despair of a shattered dream; after thousands of failed attempts, wings broken and feathers torn. It is worth it, to find the one that awaits on the other side, to fulfill the missing puzzle on the incomplete sky.