Su Lin felt that she had been immersed in a long dream. No, at first it was definitely a nightmare. She was chasing after her mom and calling out to her, but her mom didn't stop and her silhouette became progressively fainter as she vanished from her view. Su Lin found it difficult to breathe as she gasped for air. She was left all alone in a dark space- scared and hungry. She shouted again and again until her voice was hoarse, "Mom, dad, wait for me..." It was so painful that she felt if she stopped shouting, stopped running and stopped breathing, it would perhaps become easier.
To others, Su Lin might appear to be a quiet, calm child. She was fine even when her parents left her everyday for work, and she never made trouble or asked to go out to play with other kids. But really, she was only bottling up her emotions. Trying to be a "good kid" so that her parents would be happy with her, and trying to act mature so that her parents would get along better. Su Lin was quite intelligent and sensitive for her age, but that wasn't always in her favor. Like right now. All her stifled emotions and fears gave birth to the nightmares that further eroded her will to recover. Maybe, her mom didn't like her anymore- that's why she wasn't coming back. She felt very inadequate.
If there was a child counselor here, he would definitely say that little Su was displaying signs of the "Swiss cheese syndrome". This is often seen in very sensitive children, but more often is simply not diagnosed. Such children try hard to please everyone but themselves because they are too attuned to what those around are saying, feeling, thinking and the overall atmosphere of their environment. Little Su definitely had low self-esteem, but her parents had never given her the constant positive encouragement that she needed. Perhaps, Gao Han was the first to wholeheartedly praise her when she won at the chess academy event.
At that moment when little Su was struggling in her dark dreams, there was a flash of pearly white luster. A strange ♕- shape appeared before her, exuding bright light. The light seemed to disperse the darkness within her and eased her breathing. The mood seemed to change, and Su Lin heard voices and instrumental music. Who was it? Mom? Little Su had no strength to get up so she strained her ears to listen to that obscure voice.