But Mom, I'm Dead

(Blurb not finalized)

-1-

Your name is Yu Ling. You were born in the summer of 1999, when the world was celebrating the arrival of the millennium. Your mother gave birth to you in a county hospital and named you “Ling.”

She said the character described plants flourishing, and that you would surely have a resilient life force.

Later, you learned that the same character could also mean “pig manure” or “withering.”

In the summer of 2018, you jumped from a high-rise. You said, “I’m sorry, Mom.”

You shut your eyes in fear as you jumped, expecting to hit the ground hard. Instead, your body grew lighter and lighter. Gentle hands lifted you from a cradle, and you made a string of baby sounds.

Every time, you return to the summer of 1999.

You see your mother again and hear her wish that you have a vigorous life force.

But, Mom, I died.

-2-

(Romance version)

You returned to the starting point of your life, and met Li Heqing again.

Yu Ling, you don’t know that he went through untold hardships to find you.

[You’re ordinary and boring, and you can’t even fake a smile well.]

(Inspiration noted on 2024.3.10; blurb written on 2024.11.20)

* A new attempt at a short story, where laughter and tears coexist. It focuses on family, with a touch of suspense.

* A bad ending, in every sense.

* The main story is told in third person. The blurb’s narrative style foreshadows what’s to come.

Theme: Loving yourself is the prerequisite for being loved.