In My Next Life, Let Me Watch You Grow Up

I died of massive bleeding late in my pregnancy, fighting with all my strength to give birth to my daughter, Nianwan, but never even hearing her say “Mama” for the first time.

My lingering attachment kept me as a lonely spirit in this world. Only she, swaddled in her blankets, could reach for the air in the night as if she could still feel my hand.

I watched my husband, Qin Ming, hold our daughter and tremble as he cried over my photograph, guarding our home so tightly that nothing could get in.

I thought we would keep living like this forever, until Wen Ran, a kind early-learning teacher, appeared and knocked on the door we had kept shut.

I was so consumed by jealousy that I wanted to push her away. Instead, I watched her make my daughter laugh and rekindle the light in my husband’s eyes.

I finally understood: love is not possession. It is watching the person you love live well.

If there is another life, let me be the one to watch you grow up, an ordinary person who can hold you and kiss you.