Jia Yu watches as Jia Su disappears into the door, and then it collapses into nothingness.
She exhales, rocking her legs forward and backward. Even when she hadn't known Jia Su for a long time, she was happy to talk to her.
Jia Yu's life revolves around only two things: work and being a writer.
Her social life can expand only as far as her best friend Hu Lanying, who ensures she is still alive by making sure she eats and sleep. Jia Yu smiles, remembering when Hu Lanying nag to her about never cooking for her again while rolling sushi for her.
Then, there is Jia Yu's younger brother, Cheng Yu. Unlike Jia Yu, who enjoys rolling herself into a potato to escape the world, Cheng Yu is extremely charismatic - one who continuously socialize with others. Jia Yu would often catch Cheng Yu talking to strangers as if they were long term friends.
However, also unlike Jia Yu, who uphold two successful standing in society - shrewd businesswoman and outstanding writer - Cheng Yu holds a standard 9 to 5 job.
Jia Yu and Cheng Yu drifted apart when Jia Yu graduated from high school and moved to the big city. Fortunately - and unfortunately - their parent's death brought them together.
Roughly five years ago, Jia Yu and Cheng Yu's mother passed away due to lung cancer.
Their father follows along a month later. He died of a heartbreak (heart attack).
Afterward, Jia Yu became Cheng Yu's financial backup - she even purchases him and his wife a house as their wedding gift.
Cheng Yu became Jia Yu's mother, continually nagging and cleaning upstate apartment every week. Then, Cheng Yu's girlfriend (now wife) Lai Xun arrived and became another mother.
In total, Jia Yu have three mothers - Hu Lanying, Cheng Yu, and Lai Xun.
With the thought of them roaming around her mind, Jia Yu can only exhale as she circulates the now dry ticket around the tip of her fingers.
Jia Yu looks to her left to see an elderly woman's arrival. She exhales, bending her shaky legs to settle down. Instantly, her number got called, which caused Jia Yu to frown. She was clearly here first, but while she was lost in her thoughts, nearly two dozen people had been called.
A burst of wind scatter into the room and Jia Yu squinted, causing her chair to rock slightly. She slaps her documents down, ensuring it won't spread everywhere. Her clothes flaps, and her toes curls inside her shoes. She pinched her mouth, not allowing any hair to potentially choke her.
Then, three people jump out - the little girl from earlier who had the largest frown in her face and two unknown people. "Take her to a private room," one of the women said.
The little girl folds her arms and stomps her foot. "I don't want to go!"
The other woman glares at her before pinching her ear.
"Ow!" she tilted her body to one side and held it. "That hurts!"
"You want to know what hurts? Fighting a fire breathing dragon for you!"
"That dragon is my best friend! We promise to be together forever!" the little girl tears up.
The woman only shakes her head, dragging the little girl towards a door that appears in front of Jia Yu. A man steps out and greets them. "Make sure she drinks the Lost Liquid to erase her memories. We can't have another child running around, saying dragons exist anymore."
"No!" the girl kicks her legs and fling her arms. "I don't want to forget my best friend! You can't make me drink it! You can't! Dragon exists!"
Both women hand the child to the man who frowns as she punches his chest.
"Remember we cannot force them, so you know-" the woman said with a head tilt and the man nod in compliance.
Trick the child into drinking the Lost Liquid.
He walks inside the door with the screaming child, feeling like a kidnapper.
The door closes and disappears.
Jia Yu exhales and slides down her chair. Even in a room located outside of Time and Space, mortals still feel a level of tiredness, such as waiting too long. Jia Yu does not know how long she had waited for her number to be called.
She saw a handsome young man enters, causing all the woman inside the room to swoon only to find out that his personality equivalates to garbage. He would flirt with one woman, and then when she left, he jumps to another one.
Waiting some more - Jia Yu feels as if her spirit had left her body - which did occur. She yawns, only to notice how loud it sounds. Quickly, she covers her mouth.
Two people enter the room and bicker with each other: a husband and a wife. The husband had a knife into his chest.
"You cheater!" the wife would yell.
"But do I deserve a knife straight through my chest!" the husband screams.
"Yes! Yes, you do!"
Finally, they were removed due to their noise level.
Jia Yu's brain barely functions - barely sparkles - as she soaks in the overall calmness. Her eyes drop, and she forces them to open only for it to fall again. Now, in a state of drowsiness, Jia Yu can hear the music playing in the background - a familiar tune. She doesn't remember where she had heard it, but she did before. The chords are like worn-out roads - one which allows a person to follow easily. At that moment, she fell asleep, her body relaxed, and she breathes steadily.
A man.
A handsome man stands in front of her.
"Jia," he whispers her name so softly that her whole body warms.
Jia Yu could see it, the longer she stare at him, the more the beauty behind him seems to pale in comparison. All colors drown into sadness. She wants to reach out to him and embrace him firmly but her body refuses to move. His pale lips tug into a sweet smile, and he steps forward, hugging her small body with his large one. "Jia," his melodic voice rings inside her heated ear. His shaky arms tighten at her waist and he inhale a shaky breath as the tears streams down her neck. "Live a happy life."
Without a single warning, he pushes her down into the ocean.
Jia Yu wakes up to the sound of breathing that doesn't feel like it's her own. It's heaving like someone is out of breath after running a marathon. She listens to it and soon realizes it's her own. Her palms were shaky, covers in water.
"Jia?"
Jia Yu leap back when the man in front of her calls her name. She pats her beating chest as her eyes scan the area. She's still inside the room between Heaven and Hell. She looks forward, "Yes. That's me," it feels difficult to breathe.
He smiles, "Nightmare?"
Jia Yu hands the man her number and nod, "Yeah. It came out of nowhere."
He scans the number, "Well, you are standing between Heaven and Hell. It's normal to have one or the other when you're waiting. Because of that, we try to tell people who come here not to fall asleep."
Jia Yu frowns, "I don't remember someone telling me that," she feels like she isn't being treated equally. She had to wait a ridiculous amount of time before her name is called, and she was only given one cup of water!
The man steps to the side, showing a sign that says - Do Not Fall Asleep.
Jia Yu frown, "I swear. That sign was not there."
"Are you implying that the sign appeared out of nowhere?"
Jia Yu stares at him, "Yes!"
"We would never try to fool you," he said, turning his back. "Your folder?" Jia Yu feels as if he is attempting to change the subject. Jia Yu grab the wrinkled folder and hand it to the man. He flips it open, his eyebrows pinched. "Picture?"
She shrugs, "Probably got lost in the wind earlier."
His head tilts to the side, and he closes it. "I apologize, but we cannot allow entrance."
Jia Yu's hands crunch, "Why not? I've been waiting this whole time!" Her patience is at its breaking point.
"Protocol. The photo is a method for us to identify each individual since we have an infinite amount of people entering and exiting," he exhales, "But, it's okay. We can go to the other room."
"Do I have to continue waiting?" The volume of her voice lowers into an almost defeated tone.
He laughs and shakes his head, "No. It will be a quick identification process, and you will be on your way."
She smiles, "Okay, let's go."
The man taps on the door, and various lights appear. Then, it changes colors. He opens the door, "Let's go," he tilted his head inward. Jia Yu steps into the door only to enter another large room. Unlike the previous ones with various paintings and a large green wall, this one is laced with the color light purple. Straight down the room lays various booths, some empty and others occupied by humans.
"Come on," the man said, and Jia Yu follows him. They walk into one of the cleansed lanes.
Jia Yu peeks around, noticing how a light scans across the person's face. Then, it beeps, and a line of information appears - various symbols that Jia Yu couldn't understand. "Cool."
"These machines make it so much easier to identify a missing person," he exhales. "You cannot imagine how this place was like a few millennia ago," he shudders at the memories. He cannot imagine returning to the endless amount of books simply to find a person's information.
They stop at an empty booth. "Step inside, and once we verify you. We're good to go," he places the folder in the center of the circular area.
Jia Yu nods and step inside - easy enough.
Then, a bright light appears.
Before Jia Yu can take another breath, a loud siren-like sound appears. Jia Yu covers her ears, minimizing the noise. Red lights shine above Jia Yu's booth. "Error! Error! Information does not match. Error! Error! Further assistance is needed. I repeat further assistance is needed."
Living thirty years, Jia Yu gain knowledge of many things. One of them is to identify a bad situation.
First, is a red light followed by a loud noise.
Second is a sentence that contains a negative context.
Third, is a person sweating while his eyes eagerly move back and forth.
The man grabs the folder and opens it, his fingers tracing down the words that appear around Jia Yu. With her hands still covering her ears, she looks around - realizing she could read the words. All of the information belong to Jia Yu - from her birthday to her nasty habits. Jia Yi cringes, reading about her secret habit of biting her toenails instead of clipping them.
Then, the man says the second most horrible thing Jia Yu can imagine, "Oh, no."
Oh, no is never a good combination of words.
Jia Yu grabs his arm, "Oh, no? What do you mean - Oh, no?" She questions. Jia Yu went to her toes and peeked at the folder, resting on the man's hands. Her brows crinkle, "Jia Su?!"