But after hearing from Mom that there were no nightmares on Monday night, I thought the nightmares had gone away on their own, and I was happy about that. It wasn't until Thursday night, when I saw my mother applying cinnabar to my father's forehead, that I learned this was advised by a wise person, and this method was only treating the symptoms. The cure would have to wait for the person himself to come. Back then, I hadn't thought too much about it.
But this morning, when my father called me to pick up someone, he mentioned specific features and said it was a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl. But he warned me not to take her lightly because of her young age and to show respect. My first reaction was that my father was trying to fool me again, as a form of retaliation. After all, with distinctive features, it's easy to identify someone regardless of their age. Since she was coming for the sake of our family and my father, respect was due regardless of her age.
