𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐄

Pattern Of Mortality

It was a week after the harvest moon festival, right after they returned from their short vacation in luoyang.

The weather was amicable, moderately warm on days, slightly cool on the night. They fall asleep as soon as nightfall. Mei lien is very sensitive of fluctuations in wheather modulation and turned into the bed with runny nose and scratchy throat. Whenever she is sick, it will turn her into this cliche koala.

On his dream however, he saw that girl with foggy white face again. Abssy black eyes boring into him across the room, he can feel her gaze cold against his skin, almost like a second skin, when she smiles, blood ooze down from her formless face.

He woke up with a start, mouth parting wide as he took a deliberate intake of breath. Swallowing the lumb on his throat he darted his gaze on the dull darkness spread inside the room. Mei lien's study breath against his chest soothed his alerted nerves, he patted her shoulder length hair earnestly then carefully laid her head back on the pillow. Just then his mobile vibrated on the bedside table. He fumbled to swipe the accept icon and press the speaker close to his ears.

- "Dr. Wang. It's officer Cheng".

-" Yes"

He sat up against the headboard and reached to switch on the bed side lamp. The rectangular time clock beside it showing time 4: 30 in the morning.

- " There is another one. we need you at changping."

His mind flooded the vague image of the girl with formless face in his dream. He knew it by the instant when the dream ends or before the seconds his mobiles rings, this how his day start. Another lifeless body is waiting for him, to be examined, to be torn apart only to joint in moment after.

For a chief medical examiner, there is no odd hour for work. He was expected to be at the death scene any moment or any hour as it demanded. The last time he was called to changping was the night before harvest moon festival.

- "Another teenager?"

The silence from the otherside gave him the clear picture officer Ah cheng's frowning face, the slight twitch on the corner of his monolid eyes and the frown on the corner of his mouth.

- " it's changping, muyucun town. Southeast, near the river. I have sent you to GPS location "

Exactly 3 kilometres away from they found the first dead body.

The realisation sent a shiver down his spine. His stomach churned unlikely as his thought drifted back to that night.

It was an 17 year old high schooler, name lee Jung. He was found unconscious in a abandoned car near the forest. The boy was reported missing for almost two days before he found dead. Lee jungs parents disclose that their was son was upset and heartbroken after his boyfriend breakup with him. They hand over the suicide note the boy left for him before he went missing along with their car. When wang yibo called into the scene however he froze seeing the cold lifeless body lying on the backseat of old maruti wagon. Every dead body has its own story to tell, even with his eye close yibo felt like the seventeen year old too have a story to tell him. A story of an hidden, untold truth.

- "Dr Wang"

The sour impatience in officer cheng's voice drew him back from those chilling moment.

- " I will be there soon"

He hung up immediately after. When his feet touched the cold floor however a hand take a hold on his elbow and prevented him from moving out of the bed.

-"where are you going papa?"

From the tangle of thick sheets Mei lien's slightly scratchy voice asks. When yibo turned back her half lidded eyes already peeking at him through the edge of the blanket covering her nose and above. Yibo leaned in and run his finger through her messy strands of hair.