It begins.
1261 Words
“This can’t be true…”
Li Ming’s voice wavered as she stared at the page.
Her fingers tightened around the book.
The image didn’t change.
Ancient walls stretched across the paper, detailed even through faded ink. Guards stood at the gates in rigid formation, their armor reflecting a world far removed from anything she knew. Beyond them, the palace rose in quiet dominance.
Servants moved through open courtyards. Soldiers stood watch without shifting.
Still.
Yet alive.
Her breathing slowed.
Then tightened again.
It was the same.
Exactly the same.
“…no…”
She turned the page quickly.
Another painting.
A different angle.
The same palace.
The same world.
Her grip tightened.
“That place…”
Her voice dropped.
“I was there.”
The thought felt wrong.
Impossible.
But it wouldn’t leave.
She forced herself to keep reading.
The Tang Dynasty.
Names. Titles. Records.
Everything was structured.
Logical.
Real.
Her eyes moved faster across the page.
Then stopped.
Her heartbeat skipped.
A name stood out beneath a section describing military command.
The emperor’s most trusted general.
Feared in battle. Respected in court.
And beneath that—
His daughter.
Li Ming.
Her breath caught.
She stared at the words.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
“…no…”
She shook her head slowly.
“That’s just coincidence.”
There were many people with the same name.
It didn’t mean anything.
It shouldn’t mean anything.
But her chest tightened.
Her fingers pressed harder into the page.
She turned to the next section.
And froze.
A faded painting filled the page.
Time had erased most of the details.
But not everything.
A figure stood in dark robes.
Tall.
Still.
The face was gone.
Almost completely.
But the outline remained.
The presence remained.
Her breath hitched.
Her fingers trembled.
“…him…”
She couldn’t see his face.
But she knew.
The feeling came first.
Before logic.
Before reason.
It was him.
The one she had seen.
The one she had touched.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Her thoughts tangled.
What is happening to me?
Was that real?
Did I actually go there?
Or am I imagining everything?
A faint ache built in her head.
She closed the book.
“No…”
Her voice softened.
“This can’t be happening.”
The room fell silent.
But her mind didn’t.
The images stayed.
The warmth.
The presence.
It refused to fade.
She pressed her hand lightly against her chest.
Her heartbeat was uneven.
“…this isn’t real.”
But she didn’t believe it completely.
Time passed without her noticing.
At some point, she set the book aside.
Her fingers lingered on the cover before pulling away.
Tomorrow was the final day of the Gaokao.
She closed her eyes briefly.
“I need to focus.”
Her voice steadied.
Even if her thoughts didn’t.
She reached for her notes and opened them.
The words were familiar.
Safe.
She forced herself to read.
Line after line.
Slowly pulling herself back into something she understood.
Something real.
She stayed like that for a long time.
Until exhaustion settled in.
Her eyes closed.
There were no dreams.
No visions.
Nothing strange.
Just silence.
Morning came quietly.
Li Ming opened her eyes and remained still.
Waiting.
Listening.
Nothing came.
No shifting.
No pull.
Just an ordinary morning.
“…nothing?”
She sat up slowly.
Her gaze lowered.
“…maybe it really was just stress.”
The thought felt weak.
But she held onto it.
The final exam passed without interruption.
No blurring.
No sudden pull.
Everything was normal.
Too normal.
When it ended, students began to leave in groups, voices filled with relief.
Li Ming packed her things slowly.
She placed her pen into her bag, then paused.
Her fingers rested on the zipper.
Why did it stop?
Why today?
The thought lingered.
Then she closed her bag and stood.
She stepped into the hallway.
The noise around her felt distant.
Her mind stayed elsewhere.
She turned toward the staff corridor.
“Miss… is the history teacher still around?”
Her class teacher glanced up.
“She should be.”
Li Ming nodded and walked on.
She reached the door and knocked.
“Come in.”
The history teacher looked up.
“Yes?”
“I wanted to ask about the Tang Dynasty.”
A slight pause.
“What about it?”
Li Ming hesitated.
“There was a general. A very important one.”
The teacher nodded.
“Yes.”
“He had a daughter.”
A short silence.
“…Li Ming.”
This time, the teacher studied her more closely.
“Why are you asking?”
Li Ming looked away.
“…just curious.”
The answer came quietly.
The teacher didn’t press further.
Instead, she said,
“History is not always what it seems.”
Li Ming frowned slightly.
But before she could respond, the teacher returned to her work.
The conversation ended.
Li Ming stepped outside.
The air felt heavier.
Her thoughts hadn’t settled.
If anything, they had deepened.
She adjusted her bag and began walking.
Her steps slowed without her noticing.
Then—
A light touch brushed her sleeve.
She stopped.
Turned.
An old woman stood beside her.
Her presence felt different.
Not threatening.
But not ordinary.
“You…”
Li Ming hesitated.
“Do you need something?”
The woman’s gaze was sharp.
Clear.
“It is almost time.”
Li Ming’s breath caught.
“…what?”
“Prepare yourself.”
Her voice was calm.
Certain.
“Before your time comes.”
A chill ran through Li Ming.
“What are you talking about?”
But the woman had already turned.
Walking away without urgency.
“Wait—”
Li Ming stepped forward.
But when she looked again—
The woman was gone.
Completely.
Her breath tightened.
She looked around.
Left.
Right.
Nothing.
No trace.
“…what was that?”
Her voice dropped.
Her heart began to race.
Her thoughts rushed back.
The visions.
The book.
“…my time?”
She glanced down.
Something lay near her feet.
She bent and picked it up.
A thin book.
Old.
Worn.
Unfamiliar.
Her grip tightened.
She turned toward the hospital.
The decision came naturally.
The corridor was quiet.
Her footsteps softened.
She reached the room and paused before entering.
Her mother lay as she always did.
Still.
Unmoving.
Li Ming stepped closer and sat down.
She reached for her mother’s hand.
Held it gently.
“I don’t understand anything…”
Her voice trembled.
“…but something is happening to me.”
Her gaze lowered.
“I saw things. Places… people…”
Her fingers tightened slightly.
“I don’t know if it’s real.”
Silence answered her.
Only the steady rhythm of the machines.
“If you were awake…”
Her voice softened.
“…you would tell me what to do.”
Nothing changed.
By the time she left, night had fallen.
She walked home quietly.
The book still in her hand.
Inside her room, she locked the door.
Set her bag down.
Then sat at her desk.
The book rested in front of her.
Her heartbeat picked up again.
She opened it.
The writing was unfamiliar.
But she understood it.
Naturally.
Her breathing slowed.
Then became uneven.
Visions.
Time.
Movement between worlds.
Her fingers tightened against the page.
She turned another page.
Then another.
The meaning became clearer.
Not detailed.
But enough.
Enough to understand.
Enough to fear.
“This is real…”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
She reached the final line.
Her eyes stopped there.
She read it aloud.
“When visions begin, not long after, the crossing follows.”
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