Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 498 Losing memory again?

The moonlight squeezed through the dense branches and leaves, silently falling on the open space in the forest, as cold as the white frost in autumn and winter. The forest was full of bright starlight spots, coming from the mosses clinging to the stone trunks, or the glowing plants growing in the bushes, the rotten grass glowing, the dead wood withering, and the leaves on the branches rustling with the leaves on the ground when the wind blows occasionally, adding a bit of night and dreamy atmosphere to this silent forest.

The young man's hand was right in front of her, but Leticia pursed her lips and said nothing. She stared at Ling's eyes, trying to see something in them, hesitation or doubt. But she found nothing. His golden pupils were like a clear pool of water, unable to accommodate any superfluous things. But it was precisely because it was too clear that sometimes people felt that there were many things hidden in it.

As everyone knows, there is no such thing as a completely pure person. When someone tries to show his simplicity or innocence, he often hides many unknown emotions in his heart, which is enough to completely subvert his usual image and surprise everyone who knows him. For this, Leticia does not need any memory to support her. She has an instinctive intuition to help her make a judgment, just like a stray cat on the street can also judge whether a person's kindness to itself is sincere based on instinct.

But if his disguise is so good that he can even deceive himself, then...what's the harm in trusting him just for once? Whether he is sincere or deceived, if I don't get in touch, I will never get the answer, right?
With the sound of breathing that flowed slowly and was even softer than the echo of the tide on the shore, the girl slowly stretched out her right hand and handed it to Linger. Her palm was so small and so pale, and between the distinct knuckles, many tiny scars left after healing could be vaguely seen, proving how hard she had been to escape and fight in the past. The memory of the soul may be obliterated, but the memory of the body can tell a lot.

Linger calmly took her hand, and their palms touched, transmitting warmth for a moment. Then, the young man placed his other hand on the back of her hand, and wrapped his hands around her palm, feeling like he was wrapping around a cold moonlight that could disappear at any time. He slowly closed his eyes, his upper and lower lips moved slightly, and from between his lips and teeth came out a prayer as light as a mother humming a lullaby. At this time, the whole world seemed to be quiet, allowing Leticia to hear his voice clearly:
"My God in heaven, I owe you my honesty."

"Hypocrisy in the name of goodness led me to forgive a person who was suffering."

"From now on, I will pay for her sins, along with those she has hurt."

“All joy and longing return to her dream.”

“All the pain and anxiety are engraved in my heart.”

……

Sometimes Leticia felt that his voice was far away, as if it was wandering in the endless ocean; sometimes she felt that his voice was very close, as if it was echoing in the sacred and majestic church. She slowly closed her eyes and leaned her head against the trunk of the ivy tree. Lingge did not move, but silently watched the girl who was heading towards death. Suddenly he stopped praying and said to her: "Ascending into the lightless sea in the sky is returning to the embrace of the goddess, and the soul will find eternal rest there."

"No." The girl's voice was so weak that only Lingge could hear it.

"what?"

"I'm not going anywhere yet." "So where are you going?"

Leticia did not answer. She lowered her head even lower. In the daze, she saw the empty darkness, like a silent deep sea, dragging her body down continuously. The process of sinking was the process of losing. The girl kept abandoning something to make her soul lighter and lighter, so that she could float upwards, escape from the ocean, and return to the person who had been waiting for her. She seemed to see that person smiling at her and calling her name gently, so she felt relieved all of a sudden. She was no longer nervous, no longer panicked, and even no longer felt pain. She fell into a deep sleep.

In the chaos, the girl's heartbeat gradually calmed down. She vaguely heard someone whisper in her ear:
"May she and the innocent live in your carefree kingdom."

"We, the mortals, are with the goddess."

……

The young man loosened his grip, letting the small, cold hand slip from his palm and fall powerlessly into the dead branches and leaves on the ground. He stood up again, took a few steps back, distanced himself from the dead girl under the tree, and fixed his eyes calmly on the pale and peaceful sleeping face.

A few minutes later, Leticia's fingers suddenly trembled, her chest began to rise and fall, and her tightly closed eyelids fluttered slightly, as if they were about to open. This familiar scene reminded him of the miracle of resurrection he saw in the mangroves two days ago. This world may be generous to the girl in front of him, giving her eternal life, but it may also be cruel, because it deprived her of everything except life. But if those things are lost, what does life mean to people? Is it just a carrier of the soul and a shell of memory?
This very complicated philosophical question put the young man into a trance for a while. When he came to his senses, he was awakened by the noisy noise of branches and the sudden flickering of shadows. He looked up and saw Leticia spreading her dark bat wings, flying in the moonlight flowing under the forest, looking down at him from above, her eyes full of vigilance, caution and suspicion.

Therefore, the so-called life is nothing more than a repetition of what has happened. It may be boring for the audience, but for the actors in the play, it is a treasure that they need to exchange all their memories for.

"Then," the young man said to the vampire girl in the sky, and saw the moonlight caressing her snow-white hair and her reddened cheeks, "Go to where you should go."

This strange human said some incomprehensible words, seemingly trying to remind himself, but he would have done the same thing without his reminder.

Leticia glared at Lingge, and then turned and flew away without hesitation. Her figure quickly disappeared into the deepest part of the night, which was also the direction from which the two came. The moonlight lost her trace and began to flow aimlessly. The cry of a night owl was heard in the forest again, and there were sounds of other small animals chasing and fluttering. A girl died here, but this forest came back to life because of it. This may mean that the world itself relies on devouring the flesh and blood of others to maintain its vitality.

Linger stood there for a while, until the moonlight gradually flowed to the other side of the forest, like the tide flowing to its home, then he turned around and left. After he left, silence occupied the night again, and the ancient ivy tree stood in the open space, silently listening to the echo of prayer coming from the wind.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)