{The Past— December 1941..., Yunnan, China}
After Robert woke up in Chinese tea farmer Duan's cooling cellar, he thought he was going out of his mind. He kept hearing people talking in his head. Sometimes even in foreign languages. But one of the voices was able to speak to him in English, with an accent that he wasn't familiar with. It told him to leave using a narrow trail near the back of Duan's house. The voice said it would take him to the mountains, which would be safer.
Although Robert thought he was suffering from some kind of post-trauma stress disorder and having illusions, he decided it was probably best for him to take off.
Coincidentally, that was also the path Mrs. Duan took to leave her house. She left a few hours before Robert, so she was long gone. But, it was winter and it got dark very quickly, so she had to stop and find a place for the night. Luckily, she saw a tree that had a huge indent in its tree trunk. It was like a shallow cave. So she took cover in it, though it was only enough to shelter her upper body. She switched positions between holding legs to her chest and stretching them out when her legs got sore.
It was getting unbearably cold. She thought she would certainly die of exposure to the cold weather. She slowly drifted off to sleep, and her legs were slowly extended outside of the protection of the tree. Her legs went numb.
At dawn, her mind woke up. She didn't bother to open her eyes. She felt like she might as well die at this point.
"Thump!"
Suddenly, something fell down near her.
"Ouch! What in the world?" A man's voice whined in English.
Mrs. Duan opened her eyes in total shock. She didn't understand the language but she sure knew it was a man's voice. She tried to retrieve her legs but she couldn't. They were numb. She saw a young man with short blond hair, getting up near her legs. He bent over, dusting his shin on his right leg.
A Westerner! Why is there a Westerner here?
"No, something just tripped me.... No, I was looking, OK? ...How would I know? ...I told you, I need to make it back to the air base as soon as I can.... Stop nagging, I'm not a child." The man appeared to be talking to himself.
She watched this Westerner. She realized she recognized this Westerner's military uniform.
My Old Lord in Heaven! This has to be that damn Westerner her kind-hearted husband brought home. So this Westerner is still alive? How is this fair? He's alive but Duan isn't alive anymore?
"You! I know you!" She yelled. She didn't even know she still had the strength to voice anything out. The rage and grief in her must have squeezed that out of her.
This Westerner was indeed the man Duan rescued home. He was Robert Smith. He spent last night making his way in this mountains. He did sleep. But he woke up early this morning and just got right back on the trail. He was eager to find his way back to Kunming, where his air base was. As he walked, he tripped over Mrs. Duan's legs. He didn't see those legs, because it was still not that bright yet.
Robert Smith stood up straight, shocked. There's a woman sitting inside a tree trunk. He had no idea who she was and what she was saying. He was not expecting to see another living human here.
"Because of you, my husband is dead!" Mrs. Duan cried out in a Chinese dialect. She was still in a sitting position, but she was trying hard to stand up.
"She is saying to you that her husband died because of you." The voice that could speak English translated for Robert.
"What? How's that possible? I don't even know her." Robert said out loud to reply to that voice in his head.
From Mrs. Duan's point of view, Robert was speaking to her—He could only be talking to her, because there was no one else here. Mrs. Duan thought this man—much younger than herself—, was speaking to her rudely.
"I'm going to rip your mouth apart! Are you talking back? How dare you!"
"Ooh, I don't know if I need to translate that part. She's just really mad at you." The voice in his head said.
"What did I do to this lady and her husband?" Robert asked. This time, in a lower voice.
This just irritated Mrs. Duan even more. She started to cuss him.
Robert took a few steps towards her and squatted down. He could see she was freezing, lips were looking a little purple. She was probably in her late 30s. So, maybe 10 years older than himself. Her tanned face showed that she had been doing a lot of manual work out in the sun.
"Slap! Slap!"
Mrs. Duan suddenly smacked Robert's face twice.
Robert was just stunned. He didn't feel the slap but he touched his cheeks, eyes widen. What just happened?
Mrs. Duan was surprised that she found her energy returning to her. Her adrenaline must have kicked in. She then kicked Robert right in his face.
Unprepared for this sudden attack, Robert fell backwards on his buttocks. She then got up half-way, started to punch him in his chest, but it only hurt her own fists.
"Stop!" Robert grasped both her wrists.
She shook Robert's grip off of her. She stared at her own fists and started weeping. She knew this Westerner didn't directly cause her husband's death. She covered her face.
"I'm sorry. I just can't believe he's dead just like that." Mrs. Duan sobbed.
Robert didn't feel any pain. He wasn't sure if Mrs. Duan just didn't punch him hard enough. He actually felt better, like he just drank a big mug of hot coffee. He was much perked up and his body even warmed up. He almost wanted to say, actually, punch me some more as you please, Ma'am?
And then he heard twigs snapping and light footsteps in his 7 o'clock direction.
"Someone's here," Robert said, pointing to his back. He then made a walking gestures, using his two fingers, signaling a pair of legs walking. He nodded at the tree, wanting her to hide.
"Go!" He flapped his arm at the tree. He then dodged behind another tree.
Mrs. Duan shook her head. She didn't understand him. She thought Robert's gesture meant she should leave. Well, she did want to leave. She stood up, grabbed her belongings that's wrapped in a cloth. She started to walk away.
"Hey!" Robert whispered loudly, trying to stop her.
The thing is, Robert didn't know that he was the only one here who could hear the footsteps from far away. He thought it was apparent to that lady, too. But no.
Despite Robert's hissing warning, Mrs. Duan left. Her figure gradually disappeared from Robert's sight.
Meanwhile, the light footsteps Robert heard were approaching. Now, he could tell it was just one person, treading slowly and lightly.
Hmm, this person even has a cane or a stick. Maybe this person is an elderly. Very unlikely to be anyone from the Japanese Military. That's good.
Robert decided to ask the voice in his head.
"Hey Tao. I want to be able to speak to whomever is coming up next."
Last night, the voice that could speak English explained to him, he was not just a voice. He was a ghost. A spirit. When he was alive, he had a name. Given name "Tao," family name "Hai."
"I only speak Chinese and some English." Tao said.
"Yes, I know. Can you please just help me communicate with the next person in Chinese? I don't want any misunderstanding anymore."
"How would you like me to do that?"
"You are a ghost, can you not pull some stunts as a ghost?"