The Midnight Letter

It was dark outside. A woman was writing something on the diary seated near a wooden desk. She paused in between writing, lifting off her pen before continuing to write again.

The characters written in red ink contrasting against the white paper appeared slightly ominous. Each stroke was meticulous and delicate. It was capable of easily visually impressing any watcher.

A tiny pink willow tree was painted at the top right corner of the page. Its roots extended till almost half of the entire paper. It was drawn to such details that even the patterns on the leaves and the minor cracks of the roots could be noticed.

In the lower half of the page a small paragraph was written in neat handwriting. The woman stopped writing as her pen stroke filled up the last line of the page.

She put the pen away in a drawer and then started staring at the page of the diary. It was as if an artist was appreciating her masterpiece which took her painstaking efforts.

She grazed her finger along the lines of text. After a while she finally seemed content with admiring it. She brought out a candle from her drawer. Bringing her both palms closer to each other she murmured something in a low whisper.

A small blue flame emerged on top of her palms. She lit the candle with the flame as it extinguished on its own then after.

She held the candle close to the paper of the diary which she just finished writing on. She watched as the flame engulfed the paper within seconds. As soon as the page turned into nothing but ashes, the candle also disappeared.

The woman once again whispered a spell unfazed by the turn of events. Soon, there was a scroll in her hands. She profoundly gazed at it before making it disappear following the sequence of her previous action.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Aunt, you can ask whatever is in your mind."

Gently rubbing her temples, Meifeng asked Hualing who was standing behind the curtains.

"Meifeng, she is so young. How could you just hand the choice to her just like that?"

"If she doesn't learn now, when will she? What if she somehow faces the truth all alone in the future? What if neither you or me is there to provide her with any kind of support?"

Hualing opened her mouth and closed it again. She couldn't retort to that. Just looking at that child's anticipation made her feel heartbroken. She was supposed to spread her wings and pursue happiness at this age. But instead, it has come to such a situation that she has to consider her steps so carefully. The past isn't even willing to spare an innocent.

Meifeng got up from the bed and gestured to An Hualing to sit down.

"Aunt, after my parents, you have always been my closest kin. You still are. Which is why I can mostly rest assured about that girl's safety. She won't forever stay young. The reality will make her fall really badly if we don't prepare her from now on. And I have faith in her. She won't let us down. If one externally helps the caterpillar break through its cocoon, it never gets the opportunity to transform into a butterfly."

Hualing helplessly nodded her head in agreement. Meifeng has suffered unfairly. The fact that she can still think so rationally…..No she is indeed worrying too much. It's better for an old woman like her to stop meddling in the affairs of young people.

Seeing An Hualing off to her room, Meifeng resumed stitching a piece of silk handkerchief. Her embroidery wasn't the most skilled, but still it was a feast for the eyes. The needle pierced through the fabric continuously as small but tight stitches slowly started forming a beautiful sword.

This particular shaped sword is the unique symbol of the An family. If something unfortunate happens to her, Ying'er would at least have her maternal side of the family to assist her.

After the embroidery was finished, she neatly folded the handkerchief and placed it underneath the mattress.

With a turmoil of worrisome thoughts in her heart, she closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep.

It wasn't even midnight before she was awakened by a strange noise by the window. It's rarely windy in here, then…..could it be?

She had her own suspicions, which turned out to be true, when she opened the window and was welcomed by the sight of a floating scroll.

'Couldn't she try being a little more secretive?' She thought to herself before opening the scroll.

The signs and texts were all familiar to her. The last line of text was an advice to not let Ying'er try to reopen the past.

'The more one will try to untangle the past, the more one will get tangled in the past'.