The shining Shoko Toyokawa

Therefore, Natasha is confident about taking her friends out for a trip.

But not long after she and her friends entered the forest, Anna and Alia, who had been following her, disappeared.

Little Natasha searched for a long time, and finally decided to go out of the forest alone to seek help from her "mothers".

And Anna and Alia seemed to be left in the forest.

Standing at the edge of the birch forest, Natasha did not look back.

Because even if I look back, I can't see anything.

When a person dies, he is dead. There is no such thing as a wronged ghost.

If there really are wronged souls in this world, then those bastards who wantonly hurt others will not be able to survive.

The so-called "ghosts of the wronged" are nothing more than people's fear and guilt.

And Natasha, since her childhood, had never known what fear was.

On the battlefield, she always rushed faster than anyone else, but she still survived.

Is it because she is strong, stronger than everyone else, that she survived?

No, that's just one of the reasons.

Another reason was that her terrified 'family' suddenly seemed to no longer be afraid and saved her more than once.

So she ran away.

And now, the same is true,

The 'God of Death' who does not know what fear is, does not want to bring death anymore.

Natasha had saved some money over the years, and although most of it was sent to her 'family', it was enough for her to live an ordinary life in a remote area of ​​Gauchabaijan.

After going around in circles, she finally returned to her former 'home'.

A ruined wall hidden under moss and pine needles.

The chapel with the most intact main structure has also grown colorful flowers due to the sunlight shining through the holes and the ceiling that has mostly disappeared.

"La la la~"

A familiar yet strange melody came from the ruined church.

That was the song our mothers taught us to hum when we were little.

The people who could sing it should be gone now.

But it is there.

If an ordinary person heard the strange singing of the little girl in such a dark and strange environment, he would probably have been scared and ran away.

But Natasha was not among them. She walked over the broken eaves and walked into the chapel at a leisurely pace.

A child of about eight or nine years old was humming a song while happily picking small flowers of various colors and pinning them on the wreath.

Perhaps because she was too absorbed in herself, the little girl did not notice Natasha's arrival.

When she put the wreath on her head with satisfaction and stood up, she found an adult standing not far from her.

"!!!"

"Mom, it's a ghost!"

The little girl screamed, turned around and ran away, her speed was so fast that it was embarrassing.

Natasha stared at the direction where she went away. After a long while, she finally reacted and whispered a name: "Hua?"

Although her memory was already quite vague, Natasha still felt that the girl just now really looked like her childhood playmate.

"Is there anyone still alive in the village?"

'You'll know when you go and see,'

Natasha did not dwell on this issue, but chose to take the first step. In this remote countryside of Gaojiabaijiang, time seemed to have frozen. Compared with more than 10 years ago, nothing had changed.

The walnut forest at the entrance of the village is still there, but it is much thicker than before. However, since Natasha has grown up, it looks like nothing has changed.

"Xiaosha?!"

As soon as Natasha entered the village, she was stopped by a woman who looked to be nearly 40 years old.

Natasha asked tentatively, "You are... a flower?!"

"Yes, I am the flower!"

The woman was hunched over, and even though her brown eyes revealed surprise, she also had a hint of old age in them.

Natasha found it difficult to connect these eyes with the lively eyes in her memory.

And Anna told her...

"Hua, is your child okay?"

"Child..." The woman looked sad, but she quickly suppressed her sadness and said to Natasha, "Let's go to my house first. It's almost time for dinner."

Hua's home is a little run-down compared to other villagers.

There is a group photo hanging in the place that can barely be called a living room.

The girl in the photo was exactly the same as Natasha imagined, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.

The girl's husband also looks very young, with an ordinary face and no memorable features.

"Is that your husband?"

Natasha's voice didn't sound curious, it was just a routine inquiry.

"Yes, his name is Kachi, a fool who abandoned his wife and children and insisted on being a hero.

A healthy, living person could hit the door frame when he left, and when he came back, he was just a small box."

Hua placed the kneaded dough into the oven while making a gesture with her hand about the length of her forearm.

A little head popped out from behind the tattered curtain, looking curiously at Natasha in the 'living room'.

That child is the little girl singing in the ruins.

Natasha waved at her and subconsciously touched her pocket.

When she lived with her family, she had the habit of bringing snacks and candies with her.

But she had left her 'family' so her pockets were empty.

"Natasha, help me bring in some firewood," Hua called out subconsciously. After a while, she realized what was happening and quickly explained, "I was calling my daughter. Her nickname is also Natasha."

Natasha smiled and said, "Don't worry, Natasha is a very common name."

Little Natasha, receiving the order from her mother, rushed out and carried firewood several times.

"This child never speaks or plays with other children. I don't know what I'm going to do with her in the future. What should I do?"

Little Natasha retreated behind the curtain and continued to stare at Natasha with her curious eyes like a little animal.

As if I didn't hear my mother's nagging,

Hua was busy adding firewood to the stove, preparing various seasonings, and occasionally talking to her daughter.

After dinner, she said she was going to feed the animals.

"Hua, please sit down and rest for a while. I have something to ask you."

This time, Natasha finally stopped her and stopped her from escaping.

"!!!"

"Feel sorry…"

Hua's voice was as soft as a mosquito's, and the next moment she knelt down in front of Natasha, "It's all my fault! It caused your family to be burned to death, Xiaosha!

That night, I clearly heard those adults planning to set fire, but because I was afraid, I didn't inform you.

You forgot all about this and just got married and had kids. Xiaosha, you must be here to punish me, right?!

This is only natural. People like me have no right to live in this world!"

"I see, Hua," Natasha stood up and held out her hand to Hua, just as she had done when Hua fell more than ten years ago. "Are those who set the fire still in the village?"

"They all died at the beginning of the year, just like my other two children. They contracted an infectious disease and died. Perhaps this is God's punishment, including you, Xiaosha, appearing before me."

"Ah, that can't be helped."

Natasha's voice was like a robot, "After all, the culprit is dead.

What's the point of saying punishment or not? I have no intention of hurting the flowers."

She lifted Hua up and let her sit on the chair.

“If I kill Hua here, do I have to kill little Natasha as well?

Because when she grows up, she will definitely avenge her mother.

I am much meaner than flowers,

Thinking of high-sounding reasons such as justice and breaking the chains of hatred,

The result is still just killing, killing, killing,

As for me, I was so high and mighty that I killed my family.

Because if you don't kill them, they will kill more people.

Those whose children, parents, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters were killed by them will one day be fully armed and fight back without mercy, killing more Caucabaijanis.

I want to end this cycle of sadness...

Ah, sorry, I said a lot of unnecessary words, Hua, just forget about it.

Thank you for your hospitality.”

Natasha stood up and prepared to leave Hua's house.

"Oh, right," she said, stopping at the door and looking back, "I'm glad you still remember that song. I don't even remember how to sing it anymore."

"Song?"

The flower looked bewildered.

"It's the song I taught you to sing when you were little. Besides the kids in the orphanage, you're probably the only one who can sing it."

"So you taught me to sing? I don't remember."

"Eh?!!!"

"La la la~"

Just when Natasha thought she was in the ruins and had misheard, little Natasha hummed the song that only children in the orphanage could sing.

Natasha turned her blank gaze towards her and asked softly, "Who taught you this?"

Little Natasha did not answer, but turned and disappeared behind the curtain. After a burst of rummaging,

She ran out with a black box, put it into Natasha's hands, and then hid behind the curtain like a cat.

Natasha opened the box and found an old iPhone 5 lying quietly inside.

That was her first birthday gift to Anna.

Natasha couldn't afford the new iPhone at that time, so she could only buy a discounted iPhone 5. Even so, Anna was still very excited and wanted to take a photo with her.

Natasha pressed the power button, and a photo of her expressionless face and Anna with a bright smile appeared on the screen.

This seems to be the only photo of them together.

"After I die, you can open this folder. The password is..."

Anna's voice seemed to still echo in my ears.

Before she could recall it carefully, Natasha's hand had already subconsciously entered the password.

A video lay alone in that folder.

"Hey, traitor, you're still alive,"

Click play, and the familiar sound immediately flew out from the distorted speakers.

Anna sat alone on the ruins of the orphanage, holding a lit cigarette in her mouth.