Some people slowed down to watch out of curiosity, but none stopped to offer help to the crying girl and the boy lying beside her. Unfortunately, due to the high number of homelessness these days, it was not unusual to find someone dying on the street in broad daylight. Those with homes did not want to meddle with those on the streets as if fearing that they would catch the same kind of plague – be it sickness or bad luck. Then, there were the homeless folks who could not even help themselves, so why would they go out of their way to help someone else? The most that one could do, if they had any empathy in them, was to alert the local government to send someone to clean up the street and perhaps, offer a burial place for the dead.

A shadow casted over Yun’er. Through her blurry vision and hiccups, she recognized it was the boy who tried to bully them on their first night of arrival in this aloof city.

“Hey girl,” the boy started awkwardly, a slime of mucus dangling from his nostril, making him looked even more clueless. “Your brother is dead now. Follow me, Wei Daxun, from now on instead. I will guarantee you that we will eat the most fragrant and drink the most spiced in this city!”

Furious at his words, she stood up and pushed him hard. “He’s not dead!” she shouted, before breaking in tears again.

“He’s obviously dead,” he retorted, completely baffled that she could not even see something so simple. “Let’s just take what he has on him now before the authority comes and takes his body.”

She pushed the boy again and warned him, “you stay away from him!”

Unbeknownst to the two who were completely absorbed in their argument, the transmission of sound was finally getting through Talu’s ears, bringing comfort to his consciousness that he was no longer helplessly trapped in the seemingly eternal darkness. A warmth from his heart travelled through his veins. Something fundamental was multiplying and renewing in him, vibrating every cell and nerve. At last, he involuntarily in a breath as if gasping for survival. His eyes shot open, at first shocked, then relaxed when he realized that he could still get to see the blue sky above him once again, even though the experience was incomprehensible.

“Don’t be a stupid girl,” the bully wannabe was now annoyed. He thought he was being merciful to a nobody, showing his magnanimous attitude as the future underground leader of this city (or so, he wished to become someday). He thought his kindness appeared wasted on this nobody as she was ignorant and ungrateful. Ignoring her weak pushes, he rolled up his sleeves, “If we don’t take what’s left now, you’re gonna regret it late—Waah!”

Talu’s eyes rolled toward the boy who fell backward onto the ground in shock.

Yun’er’s face brightened up. She quickly ran up to his side as he was getting up, oblivious to the fact that she had accidentally stepped on Daxun’s hand in the process. When the latter screamed, she glanced back with a perplexed expression before turning her attention to Talu again. “Talu!” she hugged him.

“Gege,” he reminded her.

 She nodded happily and continued to bury her face in his chest. She felt relieved and comforted by his warmth being so close to hers, confirming to her that he was alive.

As if he suddenly remembered Daxun’s presence, he lowered his voice so that only Yun’er could hear, “why’s that idiot here?”

She glared at the bully wannabe still sitting on the ground, appeared all dumbfounded. “Talu gege, he dared to curse you to death,” she replied in spite.

“Oh?” He deliberately expressed a degree of disdain.

Daxun trembled a tad, regretting for butting in just because he thought this ominous creature was dead.

Seeing how he was, Talu suddenly thought of an idea. Suppressing the corners of his lips from turning upward, he asked, “Hey, you got any money on you?”

Caught surprised by the question, Daxun reflectively nodded. Then, he paused and shook his head.

Talu’s knitted brows caused Daxun to nod again and even quickly took out small pieces of silver nuggets from his shoes this time. The former took the money and handed it to Yun’er, instructing the young girl to stock up on some Guang Su Pin, or white cakey biscuits, a traveler’s top choice of ration on long journeys.

“Hey Wei Daxun, is it?” He beamed sincerely at the older boy for the first time, “I owe you one. Some day if we ever cross paths again, I will return the favour.”

The older boy could only resist the urge to cry – he did not need another beggar to return any favour to him someday; he wanted his money back now, but he was too afraid to demand it back. After all, he did not want to be tangled up with this devil child any longer than necessary.  

The two young travelers set out on their journey as soon as Yun’er returned with the biscuits. She glanced at him from time to time, seemingly wanting to say something but decided against it whenever the words were just at the tip of her tongue.

Talu noticed it, but he chose to ignore it for now. He thought that he was going to die right then and there. However, that did not happen and instead, he felt this warmth constantly travelling through him and he was more energetic than before. Although, as soon as he woke up, he knew that they have to leave as soon as possible. For all he knew, he could have been lucky that crazy old man did not feed him poison. The old man’s words implying that he might eventually come back for Yun’er bothered him.

However, patience was not little Yun’er best trait at all. Feeling as though she had left it long enough, she asked him at last, “are you going to leave?” After days travelling on the road, she was starting to have a vague understanding on the concept of death. Though, she would not say the word because she was scared that would make it irreversible and forever.  

“No,” he responded. He pinched her face. “At least not until I get you home.”

 She didn’t like his response. “No! I want you to stay with me forever.”

“Silly child,” he ruffled her hair. His eyes casted down to the side at the thought of his parents. ‘Nothing lasts forever.’

Over the next several days, they finally made it through the drier weather and now finally rewarded with a cooling breeze and a nice level of moisture in the air. The stream of water running down the river sounded crisp. It was also particularly sparkling under the clear sky. When Yun’er saw the river, she ran ecstatically toward it. It had been ages since she last seen clear and fresh water like this.

“Be careful,” Talu warned, but soon followed after her with the same level of enthusiasm. He took off his shoes and ran into the water. It was clear that he could see the rocks and algae beneath his feet. It was so clear that the shallowness was deceiving. He called her, “Yun’er, stay close to land. Don’t go too far.”

“Talu! Look! There are fish here!” she pointed excitedly at the water. She could not remember the last time she had eaten fish. Without another moment wasted, she tried to catch a fish only to find it swam quickly away.

His ears perked up at the word fish and did not even notice that she did not call him gege again. He moved quickly to her against the weight of the water. “Stay still or you might scare them away.”

After spending nearly two hours in the water without a catch, they finally gave up as the night was slowly settling in. Talu gathered a batch of dry branches and leaves to start a small fire.

Yun’er could not help feeling deflated. “It’s so hard to catch a fish.”

He patted her head, an attempt to cheer her up.

“My lady, is that you?” A young woman from across the river seemed so surprised that she dropped the water bucket she was holding onto the wet gravel.  

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Author's Note: This should be the last chapter for the children's homeless journey. They should grow up within the next few chapters. As per the Foreword, I only write in a 1 or 2-hour session because that's all the time I can afford in a day (if I have any time left), so this story will likely end up with many chapters in order to round up the development decently. If I ever write more than 2,000 words, you can be sure that I probably took more than 2 hours to write (lol). Anyways, I thank you in advance for your patience. 

Meanwhile, I have to apologize that I'm not a particularly vocab-rich writer (partly due to my job that require me to write as concise, clear, and in the most simple but fitting terms as possible). I will read more fictions and hopefully enrich my vocab again. However, I hope you are still able to enjoy the story despite my lack of writing skills.

Lastly, not sure if Wei Daxun would show up in the story again, but in case he would, here is the picture of the actor (for anyone who doesn't follow Chinese music & drama scenes):