On the 28th floor, where Miah's family resided, the hallway led to two different paths. On one side, there was a secure exit staircase, while on the other side, there was a window that opened to allow ventilation. An adult could easily leap through it and escape.
Blake had sensed the despair and lifelessness in Miah's mother's eyes from the moment she uttered her first words. So, the instant she rushed towards the window, he quickly stepped forward and intercepted her.
Miah's father was shocked and immediately embraced Miah's mother. "Let me go... Let me go!" she cried.
"I want to go with our baby. Let me go. I can't bear the thought of our baby walking that dark and long path alone..."
"What if she gets scared? What if she gets lost? What if she can't find Jannat and is left all alone?"
It was said that ghost spirits had to traverse Golden Ridge and Hellhound Ridge, where chickens would peck at their eyes and dogs would bite off their limbs. The ghost spirits would have to run desperately forward.
When Miah was little, she was pecked by a rooster, and that same day, she was hospitalized with a fever. The incident left a deep psychological impact on her.
The thought of her little child, who had been sheltered in her arms since infancy, having to walk those paths alone, facing chasing chickens and dogs she rarely encountered, was unbearable. It broke her heart.
Miah's mother cried, her tears dried up, and her despair became evident. Her eyes grew increasingly red and swollen as if one could expect blood tears to flow at any moment.
Miah's father held onto Miah's mother tightly, unwilling to let go. At that moment, his mind, once consumed by the fantasy of resurrecting Miah, cleared up considerably. Ever since Miah's passing, he and his wife had plunged into a delusional pursuit of bringing Miah back to life, as if they had lost all purpose in their world with their daughter's absence. The search for a way to revive Miah had become their new motivation to keep living. But in this process, he had inadvertently neglected his wife's emotional well-being. Instead of consoling her, he had blindly followed her into a dead-end.
Now, if his wife were to take her own life as well...
Miah's father held Miah's mother tightly, and even this grown man couldn't hold back his tears. "Let our baby go..." his voice hoarse, he continued, "It's all fate... Forcing her to stay, is it truly for her good?"
"Perhaps in her next life, she will be reborn into a wonderful family, blessed with wealth and prosperity... a healthy body, a peaceful and happy life..."
Growing up like any other child, going to kindergarten, attending school...
Growing up, getting married, having children...
"Wouldn't we be hindering her then?"
It wasn't right to forcibly hold her back, to let her stay until she was spirited away, leaving nothing behind. It shouldn't be like this!
Miah's mother collapsed to the ground, finally understanding.
She lay on her back, tears streaming down her face, clutching her chest, hating her helplessness, blaming herself for not protecting her child.
Lilly watched, feeling a pang in her heart.
What if one day she, too, left in the same way?
Would Granny also be devastated, overcome with grief...
Lilly shook herself out of her reverie.
She steadied her emotions and said, "Auntie, if you were to take your own life, even in death, you wouldn't be able to accompany Miah."
"Suicide is considered 'evil' towards oneself. It would be taken by Behemoth and Leviathan and subjected to judgment... You think that by ending your life, you can be with Miah, but in reality, it won't happen."
Miah's mother was truly hopeless this time.
With a heart as lifeless as ashes, she realized there was nothing she could do.
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