Chapter 335

Just like Leon in her memories, after calling out the name of the girl before her eyes, Emma felt all her fatigue suddenly ebb away just like receding tides. Even her shoulders, which had felt weighed down by a thousand catties, instantly became lighter.

However, what replaced it wasn’t heartfelt joy or delight but rather an incessant wave of remorse and shame.

“I lost my job…”

After dejectedly uttering those words, Emma… or rather, the once Leon, explained with a face full of regret:

“I really didn’t slack off, but I could only handle about half the workload of others. The foreman only paid me for half a month’s salary and told me not to come back to the docks tomorrow. I…”

“You’ve done well.”

As the dim oil lamp illuminated the gentle steps approaching, After a warm embrace, comforting words devoid of any reproach sounded in Emma’s ears.

“Brother, it’s not your fault, I know you’ve done your best. I kept dinner warm for you; come inside quickly, eat, and then rest properly…”

“I…”

“Emma Senior?”

The doubtful light call in her ear and the warmth transmitted through the palm pulled Emma out of this memory that didn’t belong to her.

After shaking her head somewhat bewilderedly and looking at Leon, whose eyesight was filled with doubt, Emma apologized: “Sorry, I just… um… probably saw some of your past memories.”

Looking at the white bricks faintly glowing underfoot, Emma softly said:

“If I’m not mistaken, if two people step on the same brick, the one who steps on it later seems to see the memories of the first person.”

“Leon, if you mind, I actually…”

“It’s fine, go ahead and look.”

Recalling the time he cried secretly after losing his job at the docks for the first time and was consoled by Anna’s gentle words, Leon chuckled slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“There shouldn’t be anything too embarrassing in my memories. Besides, if you hadn’t saved Anna back at the hospital, these memories would have… well… anyway, if seeing my memories can help you cross the Black and White Bridge, then I don’t mind.”

“Thank you…”

Holding Leon’s warm and strong palm, warmed all the way from her hand to her heart by his sincere and fervent emotions, Emma’s cold hands finally stopped trembling, and her pale face regained a bit of color.

After confirming she was ready, Leon, with one foot still outside the bridge, clenched his fists and then lifted the other foot, completely stepping onto the Black and White Bridge.

White bricks, also bricks representing happiness.

And with Leon’s promise, Emma mustered up courage again and stepped both feet onto the bridge.

“Big Brother!”

This time, the figure that appeared before Emma was Leon’s younger brother, who looked like a little adult with his chubby tiger-like face, adorable yet always serious.

Was Leon sick this time? After hearing the question from Leon’s younger brother, Emma couldn’t help but hesitate slightly.

It shouldn’t be right! Leon stepped on a white tile; this should be a happy memory, right? And the Leon in the memory seemed to share Emma’s confusion. After shaking his body slightly, Leon said perplexedly: “No, I’m just a bit tired recently, but there shouldn’t be any problem with my body.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

After seriously looking at Leon and then glancing down at himself, the little-adult-like William shook his body as well and then frowned seriously: “If you’re not sick, why is your… so swollen…”

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

Using the loudest cough of his life, forcibly waking Emma from his memories, Leon, realizing that the memory of the brothers relieving themselves against the wall was also captured by the Black and White Bridge, awkwardly told the somewhat dazed Emma: “Well, I thought about it. Although I don’t mind sharing my memories with you, Senior, but… um… some situations are special… so… um… can I screen the content first before you step on?”

Through their still tightly clasped palms, sensing the embarrassment surging within Leon, enough to dig out a large apartment with one’s toes, Emma snapped back to reality and understood what she had seen.

Recalling that strange yet abnormally real sensation, Emma’s pale complexion flushed red instantly, even the glossy small earlobes turned pink, and she hastily turned her head away.

“Good… good…”

“…”

Damn it! I knew something was off when my luck was so good, stepping on two white tiles in a row. It turns out it was waiting for me here! Cursing his bad luck, Leon took a deep breath and took the third step.

White tile, still a white tile.

This time it was Melanie who appeared. Though mischievous and trouble-making, she was mostly a heartwarming little cotton jacket.

The beautiful memory related to her was when Leon caught a chill selling newspapers and fell ill with a high fever the next day. Anna went out to buy medicine for him, while Melanie brought William along to raid several crow’s nests to nourish his sick body.

Hmm… Up until here, it was actually quite nice, except for the following week when their home was fiercely attacked by enraged flocks of crows. Bird droppings covered everything from the door to the windowsills, semi-dry and sticky everywhere.

When Leon recovered and took a shovel to clean up, the gray-white dried bird droppings were piled up more than two fingers thick, requiring a hammer strike before they could be scraped off. It took him three or four days of scraping to barely finish cleaning.

To this, one could only say… That little cotton jacket, though warm enough when needed, truly let the wind in when it mattered…

After viewing this heartwarming yet laughable memory, Leon couldn’t help but shake his head helplessly and then squeezed Emma Senior’s palm hard, indicating that there was nothing inappropriate this time, and she could step on.

But despite Leon squeezing several times, Emma Senior behind did not continue stepping forward, remaining silent instead, while waves of almost overwhelming grief surged through their tightly gripped palms into Leon’s heart.

“Emma, my daughter…”

Along with the nearly heart-splitting grief, Leon felt a slight ache in his ears. A sorrowful voice tinged with mild resentment but brimming with worry and reluctance trembled into his eardrums.

“It’s been six years… How have you been?”

(End of Chapter)