The woman rode the bicycle, carrying Serana and Simon into the isolated island.
Human creations, hardened surfaces, undulating buildings, rushing vehicles and pedestrians, diffused fragrances and stenches—the city was actually also nature, just with different species of organisms. Trees turned into steel and concrete, shrubs turned into street markets, flowing water turned into crowds of people, and the fragrance of flowers and the stench of decay were also replaced respectively.
The woman arrived in front of a primary school, stopped the bike, and let the deer head go to class by itself. Serana held it and walked into the school gate.
Inside the gate was a small playground, blocked by trees on the east side and with several buildings on the west side. Serana looked back; the woman was waving at her, then turned the bike around and disappeared into the river of the city.
A little boy walked over, looking up at the deer head, "Simon, you let your mom drop you off again."
Serana didn't speak, so the little boy muttered to himself, sniffing from time to time, and wiped his face with an embroidered handkerchief from his pocket. With the little boy's guidance, Serana successfully brought the deer head into the classroom. She didn't know what to do yet, so she just stared blankly at the blackboard all day. Teachers came and went, the blackboard was filled and erased, and the children shivered in their seats. When their hands holding the pens went numb from the cold, they would tuck them between their thighs to warm them for a while, then pull them out to continue writing.
In the blink of an eye, it was noon. The teachers rubbed their empty stomachs and went out, and the children all opened their lunch boxes to start eating. The movements were all in unison.
Serana also opened the schoolbag. Inside, there was indeed a white iron lunch box, which looked dented and a bit ugly. After opening it, it was a ball of cold sticky rice with pickled vegetable filling. It had been stir-fried in oil, and she found it quite delicious.
She had eaten half of the rice ball when she realized the deer head hadn't eaten. She placed the head on the desk and scooped a spoonful of rice to the deer head's mouth. The deer head didn't move. The soup and rice grains from the morning were still stuck in the fur, so Serana cleaned it up for it.
Later, she ate the rest of the rice ball herself.
The woman's cooking was really quite good.
Serana was happy. Time passed quickly around her. It was soon time for school to end. As soon as the bell rang, the teachers swarmed in to assign homework, chirping like a flock of old sparrows.
The class monitor was a little girl. She led the hygiene committee member to Serana's side and said seriously to the deer head on the table: "It's your turn to be on duty today. Empty the trash can."
Serana blinked, lifted the deer head up, and the class monitor and the hygiene committee member's eyes followed it as it moved, turning once, turning twice.
"Hurry up. Go once they finish sweeping the floor. I'll stay behind to check." The class monitor finally gave an instruction and trotted off to remind the other students on duty.
Serana tucked the deer head into the cloth schoolbag, slung the bag over her shoulder, picked up the large trash can, and went out.
A day passed, and the woman brought Serana home.
At night, she lay on that bed. She was an adult woman after all, and the quilt, which was big enough for a boy, was actually a bit cramped for her. She curled up on her side and placed the deer head by the pillow.
Starting today, she replaced Simon.
Waking up from a sleep, the room before her eyes was not the familiar one. An alarm clock woke her up. Serana opened her eyes and saw the alarm clock, that iron thing, with two bells on top, emitting a continuous, crisp noise.
Outside, spring had arrived and flowers were in bloom. The door was opened, and outside was no longer a balcony, but a living room. The floor was covered with wooden planks, and food was set on the table, looking like a well-off family.
The woman was dressed much more stylishly. As usual, she let Simon sleep for two more minutes, but Serana wasn't sleepy, so she put on a jacket and got out of bed.
She didn't know how long she had slept. Times had changed before her eyes, and Serana was quite dazed.
The man at the head of the table was wearing a suit, looking all smiles. He was no longer eating leftovers, but delicious snacks bought from a breakfast shop—wontons and pan-fried dumplings, the aroma wafting through the air.
The woman and the man didn't look happy. They ate the meal in silence, each with their own thoughts.
After the meal, the man drove a boxy, old-fashioned car to take Serana to school.
Halfway there, he asked, "Do you want to stay with Dad, or Mom?"
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