After living so long it’s only natural for memories to fade. They escape her like flowing sand through desperate fingers, past memories shrouded in a thick mist she can’t lift.

So why is it they resurface now?

A single tear slipped down Jingliu’s cheek. She raised a hand up to her eye in surprise — the first time she’s cried in centuries. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face as she stared down at her trembling hands.

She failed to hear the door opening.