Excerpt: Xī Bǎi Hé

Hao stumbled behind his mother as she held onto his hand for dear life and dragged him to the forest at the edge of the village. Coming to an abrupt halt at the edge of the forest, with Hao nearly crashing into her, his mother turned to him, knelt down and grabbed hold of his shoulders. She gazed deeply into his eyes, worry deeply embedded in hers, “Hao… you must run. Run into the forest, and go as far as you may.”

Hao started to ask why, but his mother stopped him with a swift shake of her head, “Do not ask why Hao, just do as I ask of you. You must not look back, you must not stop, and for nothing must you return. Your Father and I, we will... we will join you later on, but for now we must be separated. You must stay safe, Hao. You are our only child, our only future. Now you must leave, please Hao, go as fast as you are able.” Hao's mother stood, ushering him into the forest before running back towards the village. Hao wanted to look back, but his mother told him not to, not for anything. He did not understand, but he did know that his mother was scared. So, he ran. His mother was urgent about it. She was afraid, and it made him afraid. He had to run, if only because his mother felt it was important.