CHAPTER 393: 0335 TURNING BACK IS NOT AN EASY PATH (PART 2)_1

"Anna..."

Just like in Leon’s memory, after calling out the name of the girl in front of her, Emma felt all her fatigue ebb away suddenly, like a receding tide. Even her shoulders, which seemed to bear the weight of a thousand pounds, felt suddenly lighter.

However, instead of joy and happiness, what replaced it was a lingering sense of remorse and shame.

"I lost my job..."

After drooping her head and saying this, Emma, or rather Leon of the past, explained with a face full of regret,

"I really wasn’t slacking off, but I could only carry about half of what others could. The foreman only gave me half a month’s wage and told me not to come back to the dock tomorrow. I..."

"You did well enough."

As the dim oil lamp and the girl’s gentle footsteps came closer, a comforting voice, free of any hint of blame, whispered in Emma’s ear after a warm embrace.

"Brother, it’s not your fault. I know you must have done your best. I’ve saved dinner for you, so come on inside, eat, and get some rest..."

"I..."

"Senior Emma?"

A puzzled murmur at her ear and the warmth from a hand pulled Emma out of a memory that wasn’t hers.

After shaking her head blankly, Emma, noticing Leon’s slightly puzzled look, came to her senses and apologized,

"I’m sorry, I just... um... I think I might have seen a memory of yours."

Looking at the faintly glowing white bricks beneath her feet, Emma whispered,

"If I’m not mistaken, if two people step on the same brick, the person who steps on it second seems to see the memories of the first person. Leon, if you mind, I actually..."

"It’s okay, go ahead."

Remembering the first time he lost his job at the dock and cried secretly somewhere before Anna consoled him warmly, Leon smiled a bit sheepishly.

"In my memories, there shouldn’t be anything too unsightly, and if back then in the hospital, you hadn’t saved Anna, these memories would have... well, anyway, if seeing my memories can help you cross the Black and White Bridge, I won’t mind."

"Thank you..."

Holding Leon’s warm, strong hand, the sincere and passionate emotion warmed Emma’s heart from her hand, and her hands finally stopped feeling slightly cold, bringing a touch of color back to her pale face.

Once she was ready, Leon, who had one foot still outside the bridge, clenched his fist, then lifted the other foot to stand entirely on the Black and White Bridge.

The white brick, similarly, represented happiness.

With Leon’s promise, Emma also mustered the courage to step onto the bridge with both feet.

"Big Brother!"

This time appearing in front of Emma was Leon’s younger brother, who, though adorably chubby-cheeked and always wearing a serious face, looked like a little adult.

At this moment, Emma, or rather Leon in the memory, stood beside a wall, staring dazedly at a nail in it, while standing beside Leon against the wall was William, lifting his head and asking seriously,

"Big Brother, are you sick?"

Was Leon sick this time?

Hearing Leon’s brother’s question, Emma couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback.

It shouldn’t be, right? Leon stepped on a white brick; this should be a happy memory, shouldn’t it?

And the Leon in the memory seemed to share Emma’s confusion, shaking slightly and then saying with a perplexed face,

"No, I’ve been a bit tired lately, but there shouldn’t be anything wrong with my body."

"Don’t lie to me!"

William, the little adult, looked seriously at Leon’s, then lowered his head to look at his own, also shuddering slightly before frowning and saying with a serious look,

"If you’re not sick, how could it be so swollen over there..."

"Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!"

Coughing up a storm with the loudest voice he’d ever used in his life to forcibly pull Emma from his memory, Leon, who hadn’t expected the memory of the brothers "relieving themselves" by the wall to be captured by the Black and White Bridge, looked awkwardly at the somewhat dazed Emma,

"Uh, so, I was thinking, though I don’t mind sharing my memories with you, Senior, but... uh... given the circumstances, it’s a bit special... so, uh... could I maybe filter the content first, and then you step on?"

Through their tightly clasped hands, feeling the embarrassment boiling over in Leon’s heart that made one want to burrow into the ground, Emma, coming to her senses, understood what she’d just seen.

Recalling that strange yet vividly real sensation, Emma’s fair face flushed suddenly, even her delicate earlobes turned a shade of pink, and she hurriedly turned her head away.

"Alright... okay..."

"Damn it!"

I was wondering why I got so lucky this time, stepping on two white bricks in a row, only to find out this was waiting for me!

Cursing his luck, Leon took a deep breath and stepped out for the third time.

White brick, still a white brick.

This time it was Melanie who appeared; though she was mischievous and loved causing trouble, most of the time, she was a heartwarming little darling.

And the beautiful memory related to her was when he sold newspapers in the freezing rain, caught a fever the next day, and Anna ran out to buy him medicine, while Melanie, with William’s help, brought back several crow eggs to help nourish her feverish brother.

Well... up to this point, it was actually quite nice, except that in the following week, his house was crazily attacked by a furious group of crows, bird droppings covering everywhere from the door to the windowsill.

By the time he recovered and went to clean with a scraper, the grayish-white dried bird droppings were over two fingers thick and needed to be tapped with a hammer before being scraped off; it took him three to four days to barely clean it up.

To this, one could only say... a warm little jacket is warm enough when needed, but when it leaks, it really leaks...

After viewing this warm yet hilarious memory, Leon couldn’t help but shake his head helplessly, then squeezed Senior Emma’s hand to signal there was nothing to avoid this time and that she could step on.

However, Leon squeezed a few times continuously, but Senior Emma, who was behind, didn’t move forward, remaining silent. A near-overflowing sorrow flowed through their tightly clasped hands into Leon’s heart.

"Emma, my daughter..."

With this heart-wrenching sorrow that seemed to split his heart in two, Leon felt a slight pain in his ears. A call, sorrowful with a tinge of anger but also full of worry and reluctance, trembled into his eardrums.

"Six years... how have you been?"