Chapter 5 - The Girl Who Let Go

Sun holds the girl in his arms as he appears in a quiet alleyway. He decided that it would be best to walk normally the rest of the way to avoid startling strangers.

"You can open your eyes now," he says as he pats her head.

The girl opens her eyes and stares blankly over Sun's shoulder. She continues to hold on tightly, despite knowing that it was safe to let go. Sun makes his way towards aunty Hong's garment shop with the girl glued to his chest. As they make their way through the entryway to the garment district, the girl's eyes couldn't help but dart around. They pass by the large garment shop that Sun had briefly visited a few weeks ago. Realizing that people were quietly clamoring about them, Sun creates a thin barrier with his aura to block out their words of disdain.

The little girl's eyes widen as she realizes that she could no longer hear anything except for the sound of Sun's footsteps. She clenches her fist tighter around his shirt, as if to tell him that she's scared.

"Hey, nothing to be scared about," he assures her. "It's just extra noise. You can still hear me talking, and I can still hear you if you talk."

Hearing his comforting words, the girl loosens her grip. She continues to let her eyes dart around over his shoulder as they make their way onto a side road.

"Oh my, young man! It's nice to see you again!" Aunty Hong greets them as they enter the shop. "And who is this cute little girl? You didn't tell me you had such a precious daughter!"

Sun looks at aunty Hong with a blank look, his face full of confusion, before realizing that he had forgotten to withdraw his sound barrier. He gently lifts the girl from his chest and sets her onto the floor. The girl glances at aunty Hong before lowering her face and hiding behind Sun, clinging onto his sleeve.

"Hi again beautiful aunty Hong," he greets her with a slight bow.

"Oh please, you sweet talker," aunty Hong chuckled. "Let me guess, clothes for the little one? You should've come sooner! How could you let your daughter wear such dirty clothes?!"

Sun dryly coughs as his head tries to figure out the best way to explain the situation. He pats the little girl's head, creating a small barrier around her. He did not want the little girl to hear their conversation. After stumbling back and forth with his words, he finally manages to clear up some confusion.

"So she's just been following you around ever since? Are the steamed buns really that good?"

"Well," Sun thinks about it for a moment before continuing. "I guess it's more accurate to say that we're following each other around? And yes, the buns are great. You should order some, I'll have them delivered on time, steaming hot."

"Wait wait wait, let's stay focussed here," aunty Hong interjects. "Please tell me that both of you aren't sleeping on the streets."

Sun didn't have to reply. His silence spoke for him.

"Oh dear Heaven. You poor, poor, child."

He wasn't sure if she was talking about him or the little girl. Although it felt a little awkward to use honorifics as if he was a young man, he knew that it was for the best. Despite being around a thousand years old, he had stopped aging at some point during his martial arts training. Not only that, the thousand years he spent in self-imposed exile basically had zero effect on his physical body as he had spent those years in stasis and meditation.

"Well," aunty Hong continued. "We don't have much here, but you're always welcomed to spend a night under my roof. We don't have any extra rooms, but we have some sleeping mats. I'm sure my husband wouldn't mind."

Sun cups his hands and bows deeply towards aunty Hong.

"Thank you for your kindness, aunty."

"Aiya, lighten up. Now, back to business. You need to let me clean this child up. She's an absolute mess!"

Sun turns to the little girl and withdraws the protective barrier.

"Hey, aunty Hong is going to take care of you, okay?" Sun speaks to her softly, watching carefully to gauge her reaction.

The little girl tightens her grip on his sleeve as she begins to shiver. It seems that she's not too open to the idea of letting go. Sun gently picks her up from the waist, wrapping his arms around her.

"Aunty, I'll be right back."

He walks out of the shop and around the corner with the girl clinging to his chest. Standing inside the quiet alley, Sun pats her head.

"Not too long ago, I looked just like you. I walked around in my old and dirty clothes. They were so old, you probably can't even count their age. And dirty too. Just like yours. But now, I have new clothes. Clean clothes. When I put on these new clothes, it made me feel new. It helped me forget about the days I spent in the dirty clothes."

Sun closes his eyes as he suddenly recalls unwanted memories from those days. His crimson red sleeve fluttered across the air as he swung his blade. A deafening ring of swords clashing followed by agonizing screams as he pierced through his enemies.

He hugs the girl tightly, trying to clear his mind. Feeling him shiver, she hugs him even tighter. Little by little, the crimson sea of memories faded into the background. In its place, the figure of a young girl. Though blurry, he could still see her distinct features- long dark hair draped around a round face with a pair of large bright eyes situated beneath her slightly overgrown bangs.

Booo! Alo alooo! Brutha! Where you hiding? Come out come out!

"Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. And don't let go."

The little girl closes her eyes, inhales a deep breath, and tightens her little arms around his neck. All of a sudden, the chatter in the distance fell silent. The breeze that brushed across her hair came to a standstill.

"Open your eyes."

The girl opens her eyes to an exhilarating view. High up above New Hope City, floating above the clouds, she looks down at the world beneath her. The silence from a moment ago fades away. The wind whistles melodically as it rushes past her face, pushing her hair to the side and revealing a pair of large eyes. Her dark eyes widen, reflecting the scenery below. Sun lifts the girl outwards and turns her around, pulling her back against his chest.

"Isn't it beautiful? Everything is so small when we're up here, isn't it? The things that happened in the past can't reach us up here. It can only reach us if we hold onto it- following us wherever we are. That's why sometimes, we have to let go."

He pauses and takes a deep breath, holding it for a second before slowly exhaling.

"What do you say we both let go?"

The girl tightens her hands around Sun's fingers. Her big bright eyes glaze up as she sniffles. The beautiful view before her grows blurry as teardrops stream down her cheeks. Her sniffles turn into a quiet sob. She tries to choke down her sobbing, but doing so only made her sob louder- until finally, she lets it all out. Her cry was deafening. Sun keeps his arms tightly around her, occasionally letting one arm go to wipe her tears aside. He held her close to him, quietly listening to her as she wails.

A few minutes later, her crying slowly turns back into sobbing. A few minutes after that, the sobbing turns into sniffling. Until finally, the girl loosens her grip, letting go of Sun's fingers. For the first time since she started crying, the little girl wipes away her own tears.

"Mister," she speaks for the first time. "I think it's gone."

Sun smiles at her, but doesn't reply.

"Did you let it go too?"

He looks down at the city beneath him.

"I think so," he replies.

"Are you going to let me go too?"

"No," he replies. "I won't let you go."

"Promise?" She extends her pinky.

He reaches his pinky out, wrapping it around her tiny finger.

"Promise."

The little girl turns her head around, looking straight into his eyes.

"Mister, how old were your clothes?"

"Very old," he replies. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you said that I can't count high enough to know its age. I can count very high, you know? I know all the numbers up to one hundred."

Sun couldn't help but laugh. Reacting to his sudden laughter, the little girl involuntarily giggles.