Re-birth: The Beginning after the End

Chapter 7 REMEMBERANCE

"You're treating me like a princess, Sister! I don't want to be locked up or stand by your side all the time. I want to live freely and make my own decisions!" Li Min's words cut through her memories like shattered glass, each syllable dripping with years of suppressed resentment.

"Your choices are wrong." Li Hua's response came like winter frost, each word precisely chosen and delivered with the same clinical detachment she used when selecting targets.

"So what! Let me learn my fucking lesson!" Li Min exploded, her composure shattering like fine porcelain. Tears glazed her eyes, turning them into pools of liquid anguish as she screamed, her perfectly maintained facade crumbling beneath the weight of her desperation.

"So, you want me to stay out of your life?" Li Hua asked, her tone dry and cold.

"No!" The word tore from Li Min's throat like a wounded animal's cry. "I want...I want your support!" Her voice cracked, raw and bleeding with emotion.

"Unbelievable." Li Hua's voice was calm, but the force behind it was unmistakable. "I can't pretend to support something I don't believe in. You need to decide—do you want me in your life, or don't you? Because I won't stand in the middle, waiting for scraps of your loyalty." Each word was deliberate, carrying the weight of a closing door.

Li Min's knees hit the floor with a dull thud, her tears finally breaking free to stream down her face. Through broken sobs that shook her entire body, she whispered, "Fine...you win. I want you in my life, sister." The words came out mangled, twisted by grief and surrender, each syllable a testament to a spirit thoroughly broken.

She watched as Li Hao bounced on his heels by the kitchen doorway, his eyes bright with anticipation, and felt herself being drawn into his simple, uncomplicated joy.

"Little Firefly?" Li Hua asked in her mind.

"Master."

"The soul of this body, will she be re-incarnated?" Li Hua questioned him softly.

"Yes, master. The soul has already moved on and perhaps would be starting its new life as we speak."

A wave of relief washed over Li Hua, followed immediately by a pang of guilt. She had been worried that in taking this body, she had somehow trapped its original soul in the void between worlds.

"Little one," Li Hua whispered, her voice soft as morning dew, "thank you for entrusting me with the love of your family. May your next journey be long and filled with the warmth and tenderness. I promise to cherish what you've left behind." The words settled in her heart like cherry blossoms on still water, delicate yet profound.