Chapter Text
You were relaxing on your local park bench. Your fingers drummed against the top of the backrest, watching as a raft of ducks glided across the water of a lake. Some kids were playing basketball by the court on your left, the ball thudding with each slam against it. A mourning dove chirped in the distance, and a soft breeze blew past you. But just when you were about to close your eyes…
“Excuse me, do you know whose child that is?” A woman with chestnut brown hair down to her shoulders pointed behind her on her left.
You glance in the direction they’re pointing to find a little girl picking some dandelions. She had gotten quite a few of them and tucked them into her left sleeve. Something about her seemed familiar. Maybe it was the length of her hair. Maybe it was the orchid hue of said hair. Maybe it was the small sheets of paper all over her clothing.
Wait a minute…
“Uh, yeah, that’s… Qiqi, I believe.”
“Chee chee? I don’t think I’ve heard a name like that before…” She chuckled. “I’m guessing she’s not from here?”
You shook your head no. “For sure not. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll take her home. Thank you for taking the time and asking me.”
“Of course!” she said with a smile. “You wouldn’t believe how many attempts it took for someone to give me the answer I was looking for. If you didn’t know her, I think I would’ve called CPS!"
Child Protective Services? For Qiqi? The very thought alone made you give the lady an awkward laugh. Not only was her time of death unknown to anyone - least of all to Qiqi - you could picture it now: investigators trying to get information out of her and only getting her typical in-game dialogue about how she forgets, how she doesn't know what anyone is talking about, and her giving a blank expression when they order her to do something. If it isn't in the book, it isn't gonna happen.
You get up from the bench and stroll over to the little, undead girl. The sound of your footsteps gets her attention and she turns around. “Oh, it’s you…” She greets you in a monotonous tone, but it sounds mildly welcoming, almost like a relief. “I remember you.” She holds the flowers out to you. “Dr. Baizhu isn’t here… I can’t hold all these herbs by myself….”
You accept her request and hold them in one hand. “Is everything okay, Qiqi? You shouldn’t be in a place like this. It’s dangerous, especially since you probably don’t know where you are…” You pause and watch as the woman waves goodbye to you. You wave back. “At any rate, how did you get here?”
“I forgot. I don’t think I wrote it down in my notebook…” She shook her head, staring down at the grass beneath her feet. Of course. Just ask the little girl with almost every type of amnesia under the sun to explain how she got here. Surely you’ll have splendid results.
The sun beat down on them and Qiqi put her hand in yours. “Let’s go inside…”
You smile down at her and walk with her to your vehicle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The car ride thankfully wasn’t that long. You looked at her in the rear-view mirror every now and then to find her mostly staring out the car windows and kicking her feet. She kept to herself throughout the trip. When the car came to a stop, you unbuckled her and she hopped out shortly after. “I’ve never ridden one of those before. It was…fun.”
“Did you like riding the car?”
She nods her head and you invite her inside. It’s only when you’re holding her hand again that you realize her fingernails are black. “I like your nails. Did you paint them like that?”
“Like what?”
Your mouth opened, but nothing came out. “Never mind. Let me get the door behind ya.” You close it and she’s already taken her shoes off. You follow suit, then lead her into the home. It’s a bit small, but you figured Qiqi wouldn’t pay it much mind. You could sleep on the couch, it’s got its fair share of comfort.
Qiqi ventures deeper inside and makes a left turn to find your home in its minimalist glory. To her left was the kitchen. Straight ahead were the living room and office area. You worked from home most of the time, so you weren’t particularly worried about having to leave the little one at home. You made a mental note to double check your hours for this week and plan around Qiqi being with you.
Speaking of Qiqi, she made her way back from the bathroom and bedroom. “It’s quiet here… I like it.”
You couldn’t help but smile at her. “Are you hungry, by any chance? I can whip something up, if you’d like. What are you in the mood to eat?”
Qiqi stared blankly at you. “Qiqi doesn’t know what she wants to eat… Qiqi doesn’t usually eat. Unless…” You knew what she was about to ask. “You have coconut milk?” You click your tongue and shake your head no. “Oh… That’s okay. Qiqi’s just very disappointed…” She shrugs her shoulders and her head goes limp.
“Tell you what, I’m gonna get myself something to eat. I want you to take a seat on the couch and wait for me. Okay?”
“Okay…” she follows your instructions and hops onto one of the couch cushions, her feet barely dangling above the ground. You grab one of your frozen dinners and follow the instructions on the box. This one was beef teriyaki!
It didn’t take long for you to finish up what you had to do in order to settle down for a nice meal. And you were surprised to find that Qiqi didn’t make herself at home until you sat beside her, at which point all she did was turn her head to look at you. “You could turn on the tv if you want.”
“What’s a tv?”
You grab the remote from the coffee table, then hit the power button to demonstrate exactly what a tv is. It displays your local news station for a spell, before you change the channel to something more kid-friendly. It was a show about a blue cat, a walking goldfish, and their strange adventures together.
Qiqi stared at it with her usual blank expression. You hum and ruffle her hair as she watches, then set the remote down so you can get back to eating your food.
After a while of staring mindlessly at the television, Qiqi pulls out her notebook. You weren’t sure where she pulled it out from, but you weren’t going to question it. Most video games don’t justify their inventory, so who were you to judge what article of clothing Qiqi kept her notebook in?
On that note, she turned several pages and started writing on a blank sheet with a calligraphy pen. You glanced down at her writing rigorously and you couldn’t help but ask, “What are you writing there?”
“I…” she started. “I want to remember you better. I’m writing a description of… your features. Hair, eyes, build… If I’m feeling creative, I may even… draw you.”
Your smile knew no bounds. “That’s very sweet of you!” You continue watching her hand scribble away at the page. “Mind if I give you a hug?”
Qiqi shook her head no, rejecting the proposal. Matter-of-factly, she replied “Qiqi can only accept hugs when an order is no longer in need of completion…”, without even looking away from the page.
You hum at this and scarf down the last of your food, then set the dirty eating utensil into the sink. The way the teriyaki worked was that it had a bowl with the ingredients inside. You would steam it and then toss it into the teriyaki sauce inside the second bowl. All you had to do when you were done was throw it away.
It made for a lot of trash, but given the tight budget you’re on, you kind of couldn’t afford to be environmentally-conscious. Then again, not many people where you live must be, to think that using tote bags instead of reusing plastic bags was a solution.
When you got back, you saw Qiqi had stood up from the couch and turned off the television. You tilt your head and find her making a subtle hand gesture; she raised two fingers on each hand and held them close together, then crossed her arms. It formed a sigil of ice that left the room with a chill.
“Orders given. Orders received.” Qiqi lowered her arms and looked up at you. “Good night. See you in the morning.” And with that, she headed into your bedroom to presumably get some rest.
You decided to follow suit and go to sleep on the couch. You tugged a blanket over your legs and nuzzled your head against a throw pillow. Everything was peaceful.
Though you swear you heard her doing some counting in the middle of the night.