Chapter 1
My consciousness gradually blurred, my vision hazy, and I collapsed to the floor. The second before I blacked out, I suddenly remembered the year Valerie and I first met. She was only eighteen. “Stop pretending! You think you can hide?!” A group of girls had cornered someone. The leader viciously slapped the girl, her face contorted with hatred. She grabbed the girl’s hair, cursing and venting, “You slut, trying to seduce men!” I didn’t hear a single sound of resistance. The girl silently endured the violence, so quiet it was as if she felt no pain. “Enough.” I pressed my cigarette against the wall to extinguish it, then turned and walked to the alley entrance, watching them coldly. The girls turned to look at me, their expressions dismissive. “I suggest you mind your own business.” Through a gap, the girl’s eyes fixed on me, her gaze vacant. I picked up a wooden stick leaning against the wall and slammed it against the corner. It snapped with a crack. I threw the remaining half in front of them. “I said, enough.” The girls exchanged glances. After a few seconds of silence, they reluctantly walked away from me. Only the girl remained, a clear handprint still on her cheek. I watched for a few seconds, then looked away, turning to leave. Footsteps followed behind me, not too close, almost matching mine. After the second street corner, I finally stopped. The footsteps ceased as well. I turned around. The girl was indeed about a yard behind me. “Why are you following me?” She looked at me in a panic, and tears suddenly streamed down her face, tracing a path over the handprint, making it seem even more stark. I was suddenly lost in thought, realizing, she hurts too. “Come on.” Perhaps she thought I was chasing her away. She clutched the corner of her shirt, flustered, but refused to move a single step. I paused for a few seconds, then finished my sentence. “I’ll take you home.” She trusted me without a second thought, and actually led me to her home. In the long, dark alley, she spoke for the first time. “My name is Valerie.” I curved my lips into a slight smile, though it was hidden in the darkness. “Alex.” Valerie lived in the slums, her house surrounded by piles of scavenged junk. She pushed open the yard gate, and a partially-blind old woman emerged from the small doorway. “Valerie, you’re back.” Valerie smiled and called out, “Grandma.” She introduced me to the old woman. “This is Alex. He’s my… good friend.” I paused, slightly stunned. Perhaps afraid I’d contradict her, Valerie quickly ducked into the kitchen. The old woman warmly pulled me into the house, then took out some treasured candies and offered them to me. “Good boy. Valerie has never brought a friend home before.” “You’re the first one.” I gave a bitter smile as I peeled the wrapper, putting the milky candy in my mouth. This elderly, partially-sighted woman would never know what her granddaughter suffered at school, let alone that she had no friends. She held my hand and talked for a long time. When emotions ran deep, she wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. “My Valerie has had a very hard life. She was abandoned by her parents by the river when she was just born, and I, a poor, old, almost-blind woman, found her and brought her home.” The old woman took out her sewing kit, dug out a few crumpled bills from the bottom, then tremblingly pressed the largest bill into my hand. “It’s a blessing she met a friend like you. Please, help me look after my Valerie from now on.” My nose stung, my lips parted, but no sound came out. Finally, I just mumbled, “Okay.” From that day on, I started watching over Valerie, becoming almost her constant shadow. “Alex, where’s your family?” The sunset settled on the lake, quickly sinking and taking the last light with it. Valerie asked me this for the first time. I paused for a few seconds, then told her, short and direct, “My mom died. My dad’s in prison. He killed my mom.” The air suddenly grew quiet. Valerie must have realized she’d spoken out of turn, so she immediately fell silent. After a long silence, she took my right hand. In the darkness, I heard her choked voice. “Alex, from now on… I’ll be your family.” She made that promise to me, and I believed her.