It was early morning. The birds’ sounds could be heard as they left their nests to collect their food. The light was less as the sun has not risen yet. The time was around Five in the morning when Mo Roulan finally could see the streets below the mountain. Coming down as fast as she can she walked ahead.

Amidst the silence, only her footsteps sound echoed. After around one hour of walk, she finally reached her destination. Her steps slowed down. She didn’t know whether it was because of her tiredness or she was afraid to go inside.

Her heart was filled with so much guilt that she could not bear to see their faces. Still, she knew that she needed to go inside. They needed her as much as she needed them.

Taking a deep breath she first uncovered her face threw down the muddy handkerchief in a corner. Her clothes were torn and dirty but she didn’t have any way to change them outside so she could only go inside in the same clothes. Hiding the wound on her temple with her hair, she walked ahead.

At the door of a small house, a child of about six years old sat while blinking his large eyes looked outside anxiously. He looked like he had just woken up from his sleep. His eyes were filled with unshed tears and his lips were formed in a pout. It seemed that he was about to cry at any moment. But those eyes soon lit up when he saw Mo Roulan in front of himself.

“Jiejie”

Stumbling with her small legs, he ran towards her and hugged her tightly.

Wiping unshed tears from her clothes, he tried to hide them and looked at her with a cheerful smile. His action could not remain hidden from Mo Roulan.

The heart that she had made strong with all her strength melted at his innocent considerate actions. Kneeling down, she hugged him tightly so that her tears would not scare the child. She cried like a child holding him.

‘Chenchen, did you also cried when your jiejie abandoned you in her last life? Did you also hide your tears at that time like this?’

“Jiejie, you stink.”

She could imagine his scrunched nose and pouted lips. Still, hitting lightly the back of his head she continued to hug him but this time there was a small smile on her lips.

Mo Chen has been worried about his sister for the whole night. Now his sister was back, his mood was normal and cheerful. So he indulged her as if he was an elder brother and also patted her back as his mother did to him every time.

“Jiejie Mom said that it is not good to stink.”

Mo Roulan felt more pain seeing all of these actions of him. She stood up from the ground and turned around to go inside without giving little Mo Chen any chance to see her tears-covered face.

The house felt familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Even though they were poor they still had their own house and it was neither too small nor too big. The three of them had their own rooms. Little Mo Chen’s room was empty almost all the time because he liked to stick with his mother or jiejie.

Controlling her emotions she went inside her room and took her clothes from the closet to take a bath. The cuts and wounds stung but she didn’t care. When she closed her eyes in the shower, every miserable incident of the past life revolved in front of her.

It could not be seen whether it was water or her tears flowing down her eyes.

She wished that she could forget everything. At the same time, she was thankful that she remembered those things. She had her experiences in her memory. With those memories, she would be able to save her family to go down that same path again.

But it also felt very painful at the same time remembering them.

‘Mo Chen, jiejie will not let anything happen to you this time.

Mother your Roulan will save you at any cost.’

Finishing her bath as soon as she could, she dried her body and wore her clothes. In the mirror, there stood a young girl. She was very beautiful. Her eyes should be cheerful and lively but they had determination and maturity more than her age. The dried blood on her temple was washed away by the water now there was a small wound there that looked terribly red. But she hid it with the help of her hair.

Coming out of her room, she went to another room. Her steps halted in front of the door. With trembling hands, she opened the door.

Inside the room, Little Mo Chen was sitting on the edge of the bed. On the bed was lying a woman who was unconscious or asleep. Her eyebrows were knitted as if she was in a lot of pain. It could be said that Mo Roulan got her looks from her mother.

Mo Chen was holding her mother’s hands and from time to time he kissed her cheek. Seeing her jiejie coming inside, he got up from the bed and ran in front of her.

” Jiejie I kissed Mommy’s cheek as she did to me when I fell. But Mommy did not wake up. You said that she will wake up when the pain will lessen. Does it mean that mommy is still in pain?”

Mo Roulan patted his head and went to her mother’s side. She lifted her pillow a little and took out a key from there. With this, she opened the closet in the room. After searching for a few minutes she finally got what she wanted. She closed the closet again and hid the key in the same place.

Looking at her mother lying on the bed, she apologized to her in her heart. After giving some instructions to little Mo Chen she finally went outside the house.

This was her first step to break away from the past lifetime.

In this lifetime, all that mattered to her was her mother and her little brother.