Cold.
The bone-deep chill did not come from the air. It seeped out from deep within her marrow, winding like a snake along every splintered bone and every torn muscle, until it coalesced into a heavy block of ice in her chest. Yiyu kept her eyes closed, yet her mind was unnaturally clear, as if she were submerged at the bottom of a cold, murky pool. She could clearly “hear” her faint heartbeat. Every pulse tugged at her shattered ribs, bringing a suffocating sense that death was near.
The darkness wrapped around her, thick as ink. But beyond this despairing darkness, another voice stubbornly forced its way in.
“...Useless! A dog would be more useful than you!” A man's harsh roar mixed with the dull thud of a blunt object striking flesh, again and again. It was her father.
“Don't beat her to death... You'll make a mess...” A woman's shrill voice quivered with disgust. It was her mother.
Yiyu curled up in the corner like a discarded rag. The wound on her temple felt sticky and warm. Blood trickled down into her eye, turning her vision scarlet. Through the blur, she saw the man raise a rolling pin high above his head. Its wood grain twisted in the dim yellow light. This time, she didn't even have the strength to lift an arm to shield herself.
So this is what death is like...?
Just as the heavy rolling pin came crashing down with a whoosh, an irresistible force suddenly seized her! Cold and slick, like the tentacles of a deep-sea monster, it dragged her consciousness away with brutal force, tearing her from that cramped space filled with blood and curses!
The last thing she saw was her father's face, twisted with rage
