The Temple

Friday came.

I was so nervous I could barely hold a spoon.

“Don’t be afraid,” Adrian said, holding my hand. “Even if we fail, you will be safe.”

That was exactly the problem.

I feared he would not be safe.

We had known each other properly for only two days.

Yet something had already grown.

Was it because I made him?

Because he took care of me?

Because his old glass eye warmed against my collarbone?

I did not know.

At 10:30, I parked far from the abandoned temple.

Adrian climbed into a large prepared cardboard box.

I placed the box on a cart and pushed it into the temple, following the message instructions.

I left him beneath the Buddha statue.

Leave. Do not call the police.

A new message appeared.

I obeyed.

I ran out without looking back.

But I did not return to my own car.

I entered a nearby SUV, put on headphones, and opened my laptop.

I had installed a pinhole camera inside Adrian’s eye.

The switch was in his mouth.

When off, no equipment could detect it.

For several minutes, nothing.

Then I heard a blade cutting cardboard.

Two masked men appeared.

One tall.

One short.

The screen went black immediately.

Adrian had turned the camera off.

Five minutes later, the image returned.

“Brother, the goods arrived,” the shorter man said on the phone.

“No problem. We checked.”

They sat on the ground, whispering.

At 11:25, heavy footsteps entered.

A man appeared.

No disguise.

Julian Ji.

I did not understand why he was there.

Then his actions explained.

Julian stacked firewood together.

Fixed a large pole in the middle.

Placed talismans around it.

“Time’s up,” he said. “Begin.”

Adrian was moved onto the pile of firewood.

Flames appeared in the camera view.

So close.

Even knowing he could not feel burning, my heart still hurt.

Maybe for him.

Maybe for my month of work.

Either way, it hurt.

They tied him loosely.

As if all they needed was for the doll not to topple.

Once the fire started, the three prepared to leave.

The short man suddenly pointed at Adrian, terrified.

“He… he’s moving his mouth!”

“Nonsense,” the tall one snapped. “What doll opens its mouth?”

Then all three froze.

Because Adrian was not only moving his mouth.

He was walking out of the fire.

He brushed at the burned edge of his sleeve.

Then smiled at Julian.

“Xiao Yan. Long time no see.”

I clearly saw tears slide down Julian’s face.

Crocodile tears?

Or fear?

Or relief?

The two masked men pulled out guns and pointed at Adrian.

Could something beyond science be defeated by a scientific handgun?

“Call the hospital!” Julian shouted. “Ask about Adrian’s body!”

The short man made the call.

His face shifted from fear to despair.

“The hospital says… Adrian Ji seems to be waking up.”

“How is that possible?” the tall man screamed. “Kill you! If we kill you, he dies too!”

He fired.

Julian shouted for him to stop, but it was too late.

Gunshots exploded in my headphones.

Resin limbs cracked.

The sound was duller than bullets hitting stone.

Each hit landed on my heart.