Basement,

Aunt's workshop.

Mary held a cigarette in her hand, slowly burning it.

Uncle Mason stood at the door, pinching the back of his son Lunt's neck.

Lunt was crying, constantly saying:

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Mason, who always had a good temper, had a gloomy face at this time.

Finally, it seemed that he couldn't stand the noise anymore. Aunt Mary spoke up:

"Go wash up, don't disturb the little girl's rest."

Lunt skipped class to participate in a parade organized by Wien Environmental Girl Dales. They attacked the power plant, causing a large-scale power outage in the east, which caused the little girl's surgery to go wrong;

Now, she's lying here.

In fact, Lunt did not really make a mistake. Even if he was taken to the police station, the police would probably just laugh it off.

Life is full of accidents.

Perhaps this little girl's surgery was not going to succeed in the first place? After all, her surgery came with relatively large risks.

If the backup generator at Hans Hospital could run smoothly and provide electricity in time, would the impact of the power outage on the surgery be avoided?

Moreover, Lunt was just holding a sign outside the power plant, shouting slogans together, or in other words, he was just "chasing stars." He didn't rush into the power plant to cause damage;

But some reasons can be used to deceive the judge, but cannot be used to deceive oneself.

Karun told what happened today;

He couldn't hide it, not only because of the injury on his face, but also because if he hid it, he couldn't ask his family to discount the girl's funeral expenses.

He is just a member of the family who enjoys dividends but has no decision-making power.

After speaking out, Uncle Mason directly took off Lunt's pants and beat him with a belt on his buttocks.

Knowing that his actions today caused a little girl several years younger than him to die, Lunt cried but didn't scream or beg for mercy when he was beaten.

After the beating,

Uncle Mason brought Lunt to "apologize" to the little girl.

In the eyes of outsiders, this is a very stupid behavior, deliberately like a show;

But where is the show happening if not in one's own home only for one's own family to see?

In the final analysis, the family style of the Inmorales family has always been good.

Lunt limped up, and Mina picked him up at the ramp while using a hot towel to wipe his face.

"Sister... I'm sorry..."

"Ah."

Mina didn't know how to comfort her brother, especially knowing that the body of that little girl was lying downstairs. There were no comforting words she could say.

"How much is the cost?" Uncle Mason asked his wife.

"They requested package B." Aunt Mary said.

Ron had pointed out before that this was a fat order.

In the past, when there was business with package B, Aunt Mary could walk with the wind, but tonight, she couldn't be happy.

Aunt Mary extinguished the cigarette butt and continued:

"I discussed it with Winnie. We will follow the standards of package B, but when we give the specific quote tomorrow, we will give a bigger discount.""Okay." Uncle Mason nodded. "Is that it?"

Aunt Mary ran her hand through her hair and sighed. "If we can break even on this order, that would be good enough. We can afford to lose some money."

"Alright." Uncle Mason finally relaxed.

For items like coffins that have special requirements, temporary orders are necessary. The Inmores family keeps some commonly used items in stock, but they cannot stock everything. After all, they are more like consumers of upstream companies, rather than distributors.

Aunt Mary shook her head. "It's too late. Let's do it tomorrow."

After speaking, Aunt Mary waved her hand, signaling her husband to leave. She was annoyed.

"Okay." Uncle Mason left.

Aunt Mary began to clean the body of the young girl herself, with gentle movements.

After cleaning her up, Aunt Mary helped her put on a set of underwear, then pulled over a stool and sat by the bed, massaging the girl's head with her hands.

In fact, most of the funeral rituals and procedures are prepared for the living, including Aunt Mary's massage. The young girl is already gone and cannot feel it.

But it is Aunt Mary who is being massaged, and it is her own inner peace that is being relaxed.

After the head massage, she moved on to other parts of the body.

After the process was complete, Aunt Mary began to embalm the young girl. This way, on the day of the funeral, she could say goodbye to her loved ones in the most natural and beautiful way.

The role of a mortician is to preserve the dignity and grace of the deceased upon their departure.

Another role is to allow the deceased's relatives and friends to remember the image of the deceased seriously.

When people think of someone else, what often comes to mind is a still image.

Why do people attach so much importance to "seeing the last side" and feel regretful if they miss it?

It's because in daily life, people rarely take the time to look at and remember the faces of the people around them. The closer the relationship, the easier it is to be overlooked. They always naively think that there is still a long time to go, until the sudden farewell comes, and they realize that the image of the person they have in their mind is already outdated, blurry, and unclear.

The fear is not losing someone, but not being able to forgive oneself for forgetting when it is necessary to remember.

Aunt Mary's job is to avoid this kind of regret as much as possible.

She had no intention of resting, nor did she allow herself to rest. She planned to finish everything for the young girl tonight. In addition, she had not worked so seriously and devotedly for a long time.

...

At three o'clock in the morning, Karun, who had already slept and woke up, brought a coffee pot to the basement and handed it to Aunt Mary.

Aunt Mary took a big sip. Her considerate nephew had put a lot of sugar in it, which made her very satisfied.

Karun pulled over another stool and sat down beside her.At this moment, the little girl lying on the cold steel bed had already put on a cute pink dance dress. She was wearing new white dancing shoes.

"This was left by her parents. They were planning to give it to her as a gift after the surgery was successful."

"Oh, I see."

Aunt Mary began to style the little girl's hair, using a hair straightener to iron it. She was very careful, as if afraid of burning her scalp.

You should know that Aunt Mary is skilled in using a gas lamp to remove body hair from other customers.

But this time, she was very cautious.

"Is it pretty?" Aunt Mary asked.

Karun nodded and said, "She's a very cute little girl."

"Her parents said she loves ballet and practices dancing very hard."

"Really, it's not easy."

"Yes, it's not easy."

Aunt Mary looked up at Karun and asked, "What happened to your face?"

"It's nothing." Karun shook his head.

"I neglected it. I should have helped you deal with it first."

"It's okay. It's just a scar from life. It's inevitable."

Aunt Mary continued to style the little girl's hair while chewing on these words:

This novel is available on "pawread.com".

"A scar from life. Karun, sometimes I really wonder, are you really only fifteen years old? Or maybe, a serious illness can really cause a big change in a person?"

"I'm almost sixteen."

"It's not your birthday yet, but it's coming soon. We should celebrate it properly."

"It's not necessary to celebrate the whole birthday."

"In life, when conditions allow, try not to compromise. Otherwise, how can you justify the scars from life?"

"Okay, Auntie."

Today's order was an accident.

Even if it wasn't Karun who went to Hans Hospital, but Uncle Mason, it would be inevitable.

This is life, like the hidden boulders under calm streams.

"Aren't you going to rest?" Aunt Mary asked.

"I've already slept."

"It seems that you have something on your mind. I felt it when you came back. Trent made a mistake, and your uncle has already taught him a lesson."

"I know."

Uncle was on the second floor when he scolded Trent, but Karun on the third floor could hear it clearly.

However, Karun still said, "Actually, Trent didn't do anything wrong."

If it were a mother who protected her child unreasonably, hearing Karun say such words would probably make her explode.

So, you reported him and beat him up, but you come back and say he didn't do anything wrong?

But Aunt Mary nodded and said, "Yes, he deserved to be beaten."

If he wasn't beaten up, he wouldn't feel uncomfortable. His elders and guardians would feel even more uncomfortable.

Blind obedience is not always a big mistake, because the law does not hold the masses responsible. But if a person does not repent and reflect, then next time, he will probably continue to blindly obey, which is not a mistake, but it is like being mentally challenged.

"I will give a discount on the funeral expenses. We will lose money on this order."

"Thank you, Auntie."

"I am Trent's mother. This is what I should do. If possible, I really want to kneel down with Trent and your uncle to the little girl's parents.""But it doesn't mean anything. Besides easing our own guilt, it's useless to the parents. We even have to hold back our nausea to comfort them.

Sigh,

It's like watching snow fall from inside the house through the window. Oh, so many snowflakes drifting down. Only when a snowflake flies into your neck outside and gives you a chill can you truly feel the cold."

"Auntie."

"Yes, what's up?"

"I feel like I should get used to corpses, coffins, wreaths, black veils, and all kinds of these things. But for some reason, this time, I feel greatly affected emotionally. It's not just because of Lunte, but also because of my own feelings in the hospital hallway today."

Karun still remembered the little girl being pushed into the operating room and shyly smiling at him as she passed by. He suddenly felt that he was being too sentimental today.

"How come we have to be heartless and cold-blooded just because of our job?"

"That's not what I meant."

"I know, but just like painters who need to keep painting and creating every day, what they pursue is a work that satisfies themselves and moves themselves. Who would think that painters would become numb and lose their spirituality and emotions just because they paint too much?"

After finishing her hair, Aunt Mary put down her clip, lit a cigarette for herself, and offered the cigarette box to Karun, who declined.

Exhaling a smoke ring, "We're just used to seeing dead people, not used to life and death."

Standing up, Aunt Mary pointed with her non-cigarette hand at the exquisitely dressed little girl in front of them, "What a beautiful little girl, what a beautiful dress. She's lying here. It would be great if she could sit up and dance again."

Karun fell silent.

Aunt Mary walked to Karun's side and touched his shoulder, "Cheer up and learn to regulate your emotions. You should know better than me about this, just like when you help others with psychological counseling."

"I know, Auntie."

"Do you need some midnight snack?"

"Yes, Auntie."

"Okay, I'll prepare it. Remember to turn off the lights when you come up later."

After speaking, Aunt Mary left the studio.

Karun still sat on the stool, looking at the exquisite little girl in front of him, dressed up by Aunt Mary.

After a while, Karun stood up, walked to the gramophone, and pressed play.

The cheerful melody of "Roja the Elf" filled the entire studio.

Aunt Mary's words before leaving echoed in Karun's ears, "What a beautiful little girl, what a beautiful dress. She's lying here. It would be great if she could sit up and dance again."

If you want to dance,

I can help you.

Karun walked up to the little girl and reached out his left hand.This was his first attempt to use his ability on his own. He hadn't mastered it yet, so every time he used it, it was either accidental or sudden. He had never used it calmly and peacefully.

But at the moment he reached out his hand,

Karun had a strange feeling.

He seemed to be able to sense the emotions of the little girl lying in front of him;

He seemed to be able to hear her voice, even though she couldn't speak;

It was as if he could feel her warmth, even though she was already cold;

It wasn't an illusion, but a false reality.

I'm lucky,

I'm already dead, but because of Dis, I've come back to life.

And you,

You're not as lucky as I am.

Please tell me,

Am I right in sensing that you're calling out to me, or is it just my wishful thinking?

Do you remember,

In the corridor,

You smiled at me twice.

Karun placed his fingers on the little girl's neck.

If you want to dance one last dance, I'll fulfill your wish.

Karun closed his eyes,

Then slowly opened them again,

He saw a little girl standing in front of him.

The little girl still had a shy smile on her face as she looked at him.

What Karun didn't notice was that under his feet, there were black vine-like patterns slowly spreading out and gradually merging with the floor tiles of the studio.

On the third floor,

On the windowsill,

Puerh, who had already fallen asleep, suddenly raised her head with a look of surprise.

"Dis?"

Immediately, the shock on the black cat's face became even more intense.

"It's not Dis!!!"

In the study,

Dis, who was writing something in front of a candle, suddenly stopped.

He looked at the flickering candle and muttered:

"Order?"

Then he reached out and controlled the flame of the candle.

"No, it's order."

...

This time,

Karun didn't step back, nor did he switch his perspective to zoom in or out;

Instead, he naturally reached out his hand.

The little girl smiled slightly, biting her lower lip with her teeth, feeling a little embarrassed, but couldn't help herself and placed her hand in Karun's palm.

Her hand had no weight, no warmth, but it was so real.

Karun signaled to her that she could return to her own body... her corpse.

The little girl floated up, lying flat in front of Karun, and then slowly fell, finally merging with her body.

The cute little elf lying on the steel plate opened her eyes.

There was no white, no blood, no violence, only clarity and peace.

She sat up slowly.

She remembered Karun,

Because he was the stranger she saw on the way to the operating room that left a deep impression on her.

She said:

"You're really handsome, big brother."

"Hehe."

Hearing this, Karun smiled and instinctively wanted to pat her head like he usually did with his sister Mina.But then she hesitated when she thought of the hair that Aunt Mary had just done for her.

However, the little girl took the initiative to put her head under Karun's palm and rubbed it.

"Daddy also likes to touch my head like this."

"Oh, really?"

Unfortunately, your parents cannot be here to see you sit up again.

This was not Karun deliberately trying to conceal anything, at least not for the sake of secrecy.

It was to prevent her parents from seeing their daughter sitting up, only to watch her lie back down again, which would be like subjecting them to the pain of losing their daughter for the second time.

"'Roja Elf,' I like to use it as accompaniment when I practice dancing."

"Okay."

Karun sat back on the stool.

The cute little girl, wearing new white dance shoes, a pink dance skirt, and delicate makeup, began to dance to the melody.

Her dance moves were not perfect, and even to Karun, an outsider, there were some childish flaws, but she danced very seriously, very seriously.

This wasn't really her, she was already dead.

But this was also really her, they were exactly the same.

Karun watched attentively.

She danced with great involvement.

At this moment, time seemed to enter a kind of eternity, but the cruel thing was that eternity was often used as a brief prelude.

Finally,

The music ended,

The dance ended,

She began to take a bow.

Karun felt like he had had a real dream. When he looked up, he realized that the little girl who had just taken a bow had already obediently and cleverly lay back on the steel bed.

Her slightly messy hair, slightly dirty white shoes, and dance skirt with small wrinkles were telling the story of what had just happened.

Karun began to applaud;

Then,

He stood up,

Walked to the studio door,

Reached out,

Touched the switch,

Hesitated for a moment,

But in the end,

"Snap."

The light went out.