Even though the rain had thinned slightly, a deathly silence still hung over the deserted streets of Shan'ezhou. I walked with a strange sense of lightness, clutching that black umbrella to my chest. I felt it was more precious than the costliest golden ornament in the world.
I sat on a stone ledge at a lonely intersection. There wasn't a trace of any human nearby. Gently twirling the umbrella, I looked up at the dark sky. My mind was filled only with the face of that kind young man. He hadn't looked at me with disgust. Under this umbrella, I felt safe. I folded my dark wings tightly, trying to look like an ordinary human girl.
'He treated me like a human...' I smiled to myself. That happiness bloomed in my heart like a rosy dream. But... that joy did not last more than a few minutes.
I was startled by the sound of heavy footsteps in the distance. Though I wanted to run, my legs felt paralyzed by fear. Before I could even think, a group of rough men surrounded me. Their eyes did not hold the kindness I saw in Zhonghe's; instead, they held something more terrifying than a monster.
"Look at that... that strange creature!"
"Why won't you let me live in peace? What wrong have I done to you?"
The first blow landed on my cheek with the sound of a thunderclap. I collapsed into a puddle of mud. Even as a barrage of blows fell upon my body, I used all my strength to try and hide that umbrella beneath my chest. One man pulled me up by my hair and forcibly wrenched the umbrella away from me.
"What is this nonsense? An umbrella! What do you need an umbrella for? What use is an umbrella to a cursed monster from outside this world like you?" he asked, laughing with contempt.
I crawled through the mud and grabbed his feet. The tears flowing from my eyes mingled with the rainwater and streamed down my cheeks. "Please... strike me as much as you want... kill me if you must and bury me in this mud! But... but give that umbrella back to me. It's the only precious thing I have left in this whole world..." I pleaded.
But he felt none of my pain. While I watched, he snapped the handle of the umbrella in two with a smirk, the sound echoing in the air. He tore the black fabric, threw it into the mud, and trampled it under his foot. I felt as if my breath had stopped. I watched my entire life being crushed in that pile of mud.
After beating me until their anger was spent, they left me alone, laughing—perhaps leaving me to die by myself. I was left alone in the mud with a body that was barely breathing. For a moment, it felt as if the rain had stopped. I felt someone kneeling beside me, stroking my forehead. I struggled to open my eyes.
It was him! He had come back! He smiled at me tenderly. "You came, didn't you... I knew you would come..." I whispered softly. I raised my hand to catch his.
But... my fingers felt only the cold raindrops. I wiped my eyes hard and looked again. No one was there. It was only a cruel illusion played by my own mind.
Supporting my lifeless body, I went and leaned against a nearby lamppost. The blood flowing from my body mixed with the muddy water and began to shimmer with a deep red hue. 'Why are people so cruel? Is it me, who is a monster only in appearance, or is it these people, whose very hearts are black, who are the true monsters?'
I closed my eyes, hoping to draw my last breath in this very street. However, I began to realize that fate would not make things that easy for me. With trembling hands, I picked up a torn piece of black fabric from the broken umbrella lying in the mud. Pressing that small scrap of cloth to my chest, I began to sob uncontrollably without even realizing it. I felt as if my whole world was contained within that piece of fabric.
"You are still with me..."
With the help of the lamppost, I struggled to stand up. Even as my wings dragged on the ground and my feet sank into the mud, I took a step forward, clutching that piece of cloth to my chest with both hands. I didn't know where I was going. But amidst the dark streets of Shan'ezhou, carrying the last memory of my dead memories, I walked slowly away.