Opening Up

After Shi Ailin washed up and changed into a white, pale-pink flowered print housedress, she went to find Luo Wanting. She took her extra time in the bathroom, lathering herself with delicate and sweet and pleasant smelling soaps, and she immersed herself under the scalding water. 

Shi Ailin remembered her way to the kitchen, so she went over until she realized no one was there, not even the little boy she met earlier. 

She searched around the first level of the house, not finding anyone in sight, so she then decided to go outside through the back entrance they came from. 

Outside, on the field, she watched as Luo Wanting loaded a truck by carrying sacks of freshly peeled beans. His white shirt, along with his ash-blonde hair—silver under the sun—was drenched with sweat.