Shadows of Obsession

Past Future

Ella's rehab, as written on the schedule, continued steadily. His words became sparse, a yell, a yell, gills could only spit out some clear air, hardly called out, and he had to speak softly, ever since that time after the accident, when he suddenly became mute. There were some throat lozenges on the bedside table, nothing to eat as candy, and it was uncertain when he would fully recover.

Lauren visited more frequently than before, yet she only stood at the door, never stepping inside. Dr. Cuis had worried about the financial strain, but the monthly hospitalization fees continued to be paid on time. Ella never inquired about this, dedicating herself daily to climbing the stairs, from the sixth floor to the first, strolling around the garden, and then climbing back. Perhaps realism had not yet dawned on her, for while the other patients sat on the white benches of the lawn, discussing the stock market and employment rates, Ella remained an indifferent listener.

"I'm going to get well soon," Ella told the medical staff with unwavering optimism. She never mentioned Lauren, but every day she awaited the moment when Yu Lin's shadow would appear at the visiting window. The head nurse once asked, "Have you ever thought about what you'll do after you recover?"

"Have you thought about where to live afterward?" She flipped through the information. "Your grandma died the year before last, and you know the city planning, with a bulldozer to push the house…," the head nurse shrugged, "Of course, there is a relocation fee, left to whichever of your relatives get married."

Ella spent her time playing on the lawn, catching grasshoppers, threading their bellies with grass blades to make a grass rope with five or six grasshoppers, her hands stained with greenish blood. She showed her handiwork to the head nurse, and then to Dr. Cuis. Dr. Cuis waved his hand dismissively, but Ella smiled, "We used to play like this."

Ella grinned broadly, reminiscing, "I think about when I was a kid, and I think it's so funny. High school with a pool cue or something, thinking you could be so goddamned cool, who cares about crawling around in the mud, when you're a kid, it's just so childish, so silly, so unfashionable." She scratched the dirt with her foot, smoothing out the little puddles.

"Do you all see me now and think I can be as foolish as I saw the child rolling in the mud?"

"How could we?" the head nurse responded.

Ella found a place and sat there for a while. "We also studied computers at that time. We were in the second year of high school and learned the Windows 8 operating system. Do you still use it now?" The head nurse looked at her quietly for a while. "What do you mean by you and us? Eight years ago, people had one nose and two eyes. Now they still have one nose and two eyes. Can you understand what they say and can you read the words they write? Whenever we have a meeting in our hospital, we always say that we must study hard to live up to the organization's cultivation. There is no progress compared to eight years ago. No matter how long it takes, some things will never change."

As she was talking, Dr.Cuis was patting his hands, dirt on his robe.He straightened up and saw a tall figure in the distance. They were quite far apart and couldn't see the man's expression clearly.Dr.Cuis called out from a distance, "Lauren, come over and say hello?" After a while, Lauren looked at the three of them and saw that they were indeed approaching.Ella squatted and pulled the grass, not looking around, and had already balded a piece of the ground.

Lauren stood aside and whispered to Ella, "Go outside for a walk." Ella stared at him. Dr. Cuis thought they would quarrel, but the two walked away one after the other. That kind of quiet tacit understanding made people feel uncomfortable.

Lauren opened the car door and Ella sat in. Under the headlights, the walnut trim glowed softly, and she couldn't help but touch it with her hand. Lauren sat in the driver's seat, turned his head to look at her, and whispered, "Seat belt." Ella stared at him with wide eyes. Lauren repeated, "Seat belt." Seeing that she didn't respond, he leaned over and fastened the seat belt for Ella.

The hair on his forehead blocked his eyes, and he couldn't see what was hidden in it. Outside the car window, there were brightly lit streets, and there were discount promotion banners that had been hung for two or three years without being taken down, with similar content. The long and short whistles came and went, the taillights flowed on the viaduct, and the dim light of the xenon lamps was like a bizarre net. People were trapped in this reinforced concrete castle.

Ella was shivering in her seat. Lauren thought she was cold, so he freed one hand and turned up the air conditioner. His face was still not good, as if he was a little scared and sat stiffly. Lauren touched her shoulder and called out, "Ella." Ella glanced at him and nodded, not knowing if she heard it clearly. Lauren was anxious, frowned, and pushed her, "Ella?" He turned the steering wheel with one hand, looked at the rearview mirror, and hurriedly stopped the car on the side of the road. Ella was sweating all over, and after a long time she said, "No, I'm scared when there are too many cars." The sequel of the car accident.

Lauren was silent, looking out the window. It was peak time, the traffic was jammed, and they slowly endured the increasingly crowded road. There was a beggar, leaning on a cane, begging from car to car. Lauren suddenly said, "There was a time when I was afraid of cars." He paused, "It will get better in the future. Get off the car and walk."

Ella shook her head and laughed a few times. "It's okay, you drive."

Lauren patted the steering wheel a few times and then stepped on the accelerator. "Richie is still alive." Ella suddenly became alert. Someone next door raised a pair of parrots, and they laid eggs in the house every day. Ella asked for the little parrots and learned to raise birds.

Richie is a cat. On the first day of picking him up, they pressed him to the ground to check him. He is a male cat with a circle of golden hair on the top of his head, a white lower face, and another circle of golden hair on his neck, like a zebra, but very beautiful. When eating, Ella throws the bones and rice grains left on the ground, and Richie squats under the table to lick them.

Ella became happy. "Richie is still alive?It must be very old. Let's go see him quickly." She patted Lauren's back, and there was a clapping sound. "Hey, drive faster!" Lauren wanted to reach out and brush her hand away, but in the end, he just frowned. "Aren't you afraid of too many cars?"

Ella grinned, "I'm afraid of going to school. But I go to school every day."

After a not-too-long drive, they parked in the garage of a detached villa, swiped the door card, and entered the small elevator. As the elevator ascended, Ella's anticipation grew, a mix of nervousness and excitement bubbling inside her.

The elevator doors opened to a familiar hallway. As they walked through the house, memories flooded back. Ella's eyes darted around, taking in the familiar surroundings. The soft hum of the air conditioner, the faint scent of lavender from the diffusers, the comfortable chaos of their shared life before everything changed.