The Worst Actor

Heaven and earth are spectators, and all things are actors. To be seen is to exist. To be forgotten is to die. The most terrifying thing in the world is not death, but ending - being erased from everyone's memory, as if you had never been there. There is only one spotlight on the stage. Some people sacrifice their lives for it, some people sacrifice their friends for it, and some people step on the master's bones to take a final bow. They say this is called practice. And I am not even qualified to be on stage. There is no appearance, no role in the drama. Her real name was sold by her parents for three taels of silver in Baobao. For sixteen years, I have been working in the troupe sweeping the floor, running errands, serving tea and water to the actors, and watching the actors and actresses leave without even leaving a word. I thought that was it for the rest of my life. Until that night, I picked up a burnt old book backstage, with only four words on the cover: "Remember them."