27

"Dear passengers, the G21 train you have booked is about to arrive at the station. Please prepare your luggage and line up at the corresponding platform for boarding."

At the train waiting station, a woman clutched a ticket in her hand, her eyebrows furrowed as if hesitating about something. She wore a white dress with a vintage blue long velvet cardigan draped over her upper body. Underneath her beret, only half of her face was visible, exuding an elegant and otherworldly charm.

Her fingertips rested on the phone screen, and the message content hadn't been updated since two days ago, leaving only a short sentence:

"This week, I have a business trip. Take care of yourself, and I'll wait for you to come back."

The sound of the train approaching brought a sense of frustration to her beautiful eyes. She silently recited the destination in her heart and stepped onto the train.

Dark Forest Town.

Geoffrey's address on his ID card.

Based on her estimate, the destination should not be far away, but this trip took seven hours. After getting off the train, Aileen curiously looked around. The train station in this small town was much simpler and older than the one in New York, with most facilities showing signs of rust and age.

One would think that the air in the countryside should be fresher and cooler, but even the weather felt stuffy.

Few pedestrians were on the road, but Aileen could feel people's gazes on her. She didn't shy away and looked back at the person staring.

"Young lady from the city, right? Are you here to look for someone?" said a middle-aged woman dressed like a farmer, with a healthy redness to her dark skin, indicating that she had just come from the fields. Her loud voice carried a strong local accent.

"Yes," she smiled and nodded, wondering what crops could be grown in this season and wanting to learn more about the place where that person had grown up.

"Looking at your attire, I guess you're not from our village. Which family are you looking for?" The middle-aged woman was quite straightforward, glancing at the mobile phone in Aileen's hand.

"This thing won't be of much use here. The roads here are like the intestines of a sheep, winding and twisting. A while ago, there was a girl who had been working outside for many years, wandering around with her gadget for half a night before finally finding her way home."

"Well... Do you happen to know any family surnamed Johnson around here?"

"What? Surnamed Johnson? There are seven or eight families surnamed Li in our town."

"Um... It's 21 Shadow Street."

"Shadow Street?" The middle-aged woman's expression became strange, and her eyes scrutinized Aileen back and forth. "That family is almost extinct. Why are you looking for them?"

Startled by the phrase "almost extinct," Aileen instantly retracted her smile. The woman lowered her voice and continued, "The man of that family drowned in the lake thirteen years ago, and his wife died of illness four years ago. However, their son hasn't been seen since his father's death, and no one knows where he went."

"Could you please take me to that address?" Aileen's heart trembled, thinking she'd like to see Geoffrey's former home before it got dark. The people in this small town were indeed direct and outspoken.

As the farmer woman opened her mouth to say something but hesitated, she eventually nodded and led Aileen. The country roads crisscrossed, just as she had described, like the intestines of a sheep. Aileen glanced at her muddy boots.

"It's that small house."

Following the woman's pointing finger, she saw a one-story cement house, dilapidated and seemingly about to collapse in the next rain, devoid of any signs of habitation.

"You said the female owner of this house passed away four years ago. Why is it so rundown?"

"That's strange. That woman went away for a while, and when she returned four years ago, she lived in the hospital until she died half a year later. After that, no one came to look for her, and the hospital took care of her cremation."

"Her life was also unfortunate. Her son was abnormal, and her husband was an alcoholic who got drunk and beat people every day."

Seeing Aileen listening attentively, the woman became interested and leaned closer to her ear, "I heard that the night before the man drowned, someone encountered Johnson family's son, who was completely soaked. He's usually quiet and weird-tempered, and who knows, maybe he hated his father so much that he...".

The farmer's expression was eerie as she made a gesture to push someone away.

Her gaze returned to the dilapidated shack, seemingly seeing the lonely figure of a young boy lingering under the eaves. The air she had breathed in now felt chilling, making her shudder.

Suddenly, she remembered something and took out her phone, showing a photo. "Is this the boy from the Johnson family you mentioned?"

Aileen knew he came from a humble background, but she never imagined his childhood had been so heart-wrenching. She handed the phone with an anxious heart, even though her original intentions for this trip were different. However, at this moment, she desperately hoped for a negative answer.

But as the middle-aged woman's eyes fell on the screen, her face changed dramatically. "This, this is the mother and son from the Johnson family! Where did you find this photo, young lady?"

Hearing this, Aileen looked more shocked than the middle-aged woman, her lips drained of color.

Back in New York, it was already midnight when she returned. Absentmindedly, she switched on the living room light and collapsed onto the sofa.

"Miss Johnson, why are you coming back so late? Have you eaten?"

Miss Johnson...

Reciting these three words, she felt so inadequate as Miss Johnson.