Xuxu felt a surge of warmth spread through her body. She tightened her arms around him and laid her head on his back. Each beat of his heart was etched clearly into her mind.
"There are so many snakes. I'm scared, mom."
"Daddy and Mommy are here, there's no need to be afraid, Xuxu."
Memories from the past flooded into her head.
There were mountains and rivers back at her old town, and every family had a little boat of their own. The boat was an indispensable part of their lives, as they used it for transport and fishing purposes.
Xuxu was still young back then, and so she didn't have a clear impression of her parents. But that one day her parents brought her to her relatives for a wedding dinner had been deeply etched in her mind.
The need to row across the river was a bad omen. Just when the boat reached the shore, snakes slithered out of the bushes from all directions.
She was so afraid she darted into her mother's arms.
