Ling bolted up. What was that?
That voice… reminded him of a dream that seemed so long ago. A dream so tender, so real,
so alive.
Then Ling remembered. That voice that once reached out to him every morning. That voice
that once belonged to…
“Mother?”
Ling, come here. I am here.
“Mother!” Scrambling up, Ling untied the blankets that formed knots around him. “Mother!”
Ling, come here. I am here. It’s me. Ling…
Ling’s fingers fumbled with the tent as he bolted out into the sand. It was his mother. Ling
knew it deep in his heart. “Mother! Mother, wait for me!”
Shang was still fuming at the memory of Ling’s lash marks. Marching towards the tent, he
relived the night they spent at the shed together, remembering how Ling slipped away before
dawn to go back to his uncle.
The next morning, Shang met up with the other traders to load up the Baotou carpets. Shang
was stacking them on his camel, when he saw a lanky man walking past them. In his hands, he
held the scruff of a boy’s shirt. It was Ling.
Shang sneaked after the pair, curious to know what the man was up to. He followed them
through an alley, and saw the man shove Ling towards the slave market.
Shang immediately leapt forward to purchase Ling. It didn’t take long for the two men to
reach an agreement. With a bag of jiggling coins given away, Shang brought Ling back with him
to his camel.
Shang wondered how Ling was feeling. Hopefully the boy would be sound asleep and resting.
He needed it.
Opening up the flag of the tent, he tip-toed inside.
“Ling?”
Scrambling up the sand dunes, Ling forged forward. It had to be his mother. Only one voice
would say his name so lovingly.
Ling, come here.
It was a lie. It always has been. His mom wasn’t dead. His mother was always here. Here in the
Gobi Desert, waiting for him to return.
Who said his mother had moved on to another world? Ling fought against the wind and the
sand, ignoring the heat that burned from heaven. He was going home.
Ling, come here. It’s me.…
“Mother, you’re back! Mom, do you know what they said? They said you’d been taken away by
some… god. I didn’t believe them, Mom! You would always come back for me.” Ling chirped.
Ling, come here. It’s me. Ling, come…
Ling smiled. He could taste blood as his lips cracked with the effort. But that didn’t matter.
* * *
* * *
