the story of a mei in a you's body

Leave letters for Zhou here.

"Leave a message."

His apartment is not a place he stays often. He has not done much to decorate the place aside from a plant here and there. But, he has been there for the past few days to try and get himself used to staying there a little more regularly.

He doesn't think he'll fully abandon his warehouse and garden but maybe he stop living like a mei who's so afraid of people taking things away from him and start living like a, well, human being. There were still societal divides here but nothing like he was used to, nothing like Taiwan.

He still finds himself hesitating every so often, hesitant and worried that he'll lose what he has but he's trying to be better. And that better is walking around his apartment and cleaning the dust that he's let build up over the past few months up and away.

Jason's sneezed way too many times already.

Jason's nervous. It's not the first time he's been to Beth's apartment but the last time he'd been here, he'd been bleeding and in pain, not really thinking coherently for awhile. That situation had turned out pretty well, sure, but he still hadn't had much of a choice in being there because Beth would have either dragged him there by his ear or followed him to his own apartment to make sure he didn't die in his sleep.

The memory does make him smile and it gives him a little boost of encouragement. He's been standing outside of her door for a few moments, staring. Eventually, he does knock and then straightens his hair, tugs on his shirt. He's dressed casually, jeans and a tee shirt but they're clean, at least.

He's brought over a few vegetables that have harvested already. He doesn't think they'll go into tonight's dinner but he didn't want to show up empty handed so he's brought vegetables. Hopefully they can be of some use for her.

If asked, Jason would have said that going out on a date wasn't a priority and probably wouldn't happen to him anyway. The circumstances surrounding the last girl he liked hadn't lent themselves to many dates even if there had been interest on both sides. Daiyu was so much better off without him, without the impostor who had kidnapped her and held her for ransom.

Forgiveness from her had eased his burden slightly but he still believes that she's better off. He's not exactly boyfriend material which makes this whole turn of events in Darrow even more surprising. While he'd told Beth how he felt (unintentionally), he'd expected nothing to come of it. She was getting over the loss of someone else and he was content to stay away, keep to himself.

Now, he was on a date with her. He wasn't really sure how they'd gotten from there to here but he was trying not to think about it too much. He was too busy marveling over the simple fact that he was on a date. He'd sat in an actual movie theater and seen a movie that he didn't really understand while eating popcorn.

The yous back home would have snickered at how mundane and boring they'd see the whole affair as but, for someone like Jason, it had been new and pretty nice. He doesn't know if he'll remember the movie but he remembers sitting next to Beth, to peering over at her a few times in the darkness, to restraining himself from asking her if she really wanted to be there with him, and to seeing her smile and laugh during some of the more comedic parts of the movie.

When the movie ends, Beth suggests going to get ice cream and he agrees because he doesn't really want the night to end either. The sun's sunk down behind the horizon and there's a warmth in the air that signals the changing of the seasons.

Jason tucks his hands into the pockets of his pants, still not really sure about the rules for dating. He's not even sure what he is to her, really, and he's too embarrassed to ask. So, he takes a 'look but don't touch' stance for the moment.

"I don't really know where they serve ice cream," he admits, shaking his head. "I haven't eaten it a lot since I got here. I wasn't sure if my stomach would tolerate it since I didn't eat a lot back home."

It's late. Or early. Zhou doesn't really know what time it is only that he's been at his garden for awhile, getting things ready for an early Spring harvest. He'd considered just sleeping out there on the thin mat he's left out there but decides, in the end, that he should go home.

It turns out to have been a bad decision.

Zhou knows he's being followed but he decides to pay the group no mind. If they don't pick up a whiff of fear, perhaps they'll find something else to waste their time on. Mentally though, he's preparing. Readying himself for a fight. The last time he'd been faced with unfavorable odds, he'd wound up tied to a chair, bleeding and gasping for air.

Hopefully this time isn't like that.

The footsteps grow closer and Zhou resigns himself to a fight, one that he might not win. So, he whirls around and finds himself facing two large men, both with shiny, sharp knives at their sides. That's not what draws his attention, though. There are fangs splitting their lower lips, allowing slow streams of blood to trickle down their chins.

There is going to be no talking his way out of this one so Zhou doesn't even try. He just shoots forward, barreling into one man and taking him down. The wind is swiftly knocked out of him so Zhou pushes up and then punches down with everything he has. The element of surprise allows him time to get in two hits before the other man kicks him. Hard.

Zhou goes flying off the other man and spits blood, feeling it filling his mouth. He's probably bitten his tongue or his cheek but his jaw doesn't feel broken. That's good. He staggers to his hands and knees and is immediately met by another kick. This time he actually spits blood. Jaw's still not broken.

Groaning, he rolls onto his back and holds up his wallet, just wanting this to be done with so he can go and lick his wounds. Both men are up and they're grinning, fanged teeth crimson stained.

"We don't want your money," one says in a low, rough, ragged voice. "We're hungry."

Zhou doesn't really understand that but he throws his wallet at their feet anyway. They ignore it and come toward him, yanking him up by his shirt. It tears and he stupidly thinks about how he's going to have to get a new one.

He's on autopilot know and as one comes closer with those teeth, he kicks, catching the other man in the kneecap, making him stumble. But, he's outnumbered so he can't stop the first man from slashing the knife across his chest hard enough to tear his shirt, deep enough to bleed. It hurts and he cries out, unable to stop himself.

"We'll just have to break you down before we get to the fun stuff," he croons before slashing again, this time low on his belly. They're not stab wounds but they hurt. They hurt and they bleed and he's already seeing stars. It doesn't help that the one who's kneecap he just kicked is back up and proceeds to use that knee to smash Zhou's face into.

Pain explodes and he hits the ground, seeing nothing but the black of night and feeling nothing but his battered body and blood.

Zhou's had to build up his bouldering supplies since being deposited in Darrow so many weeks ago. He'd arrived with so little, just the clothes on his back, and he'd been hording the money he was given because he didn't quite believe that it was going to remain. Someone would figure out their mistake and ask him for the funds back and he wanted everything to be gone when that happened.

But, it hadn't happened and, eventually, Zhou had relaxed slightly. A voice whispered about how that was a mistake that would come back to haunt him but he ignored it for once and had finally purchased a few things like harnesses, helmets, belay devices, ropes, and other essentials. Next, he'd had to find a place to actually use the equipment and had, amazingly, found a large boulder located in the countryside, bracketed by thick frees, rich earth and the blue sky overheard.

He'd gone on a few trial runs, finding the climb challenging due to the unusual shape of the boulder but he'd still made it easily. Now, he was back at the base of the boulder, sitting in the earth with the equipment surrounding him.

Today, he's waiting on Beth having invited her to come along on a whim. He tries not to think too much about why he'd chosen her and how he was inviting her along on something very few people had seen him do. He's done it, it was done, and he hopes she enjoys herself even if she didn't get to the top.

But first she had to find the place. He'd given her directions, even offered to come and walk with her out here since it was a bit of a trip but she'd promised to find it on her own so all he could do was wait. He pulls out a book he'd stuck into his bag and thumbed through it, reading a few passages here and there to refresh his memory and to pass the time.

Zhou will always remember that first breath he took after the week of hell had ended. It didn't necessarily smell crisp, clean and light but the relief he felt when he wasn't able to smell the nearest person to him and have his mouth water was immense.

For the first few days after everything had ended, Zhou had laid low. He'd stayed inside his apartment, sleeping and staring at the walls. Eventually, he'd gotten himself together enough to go and seek out an abandoned building in the city that would suit his needs.

After a few hours of searching, he'd found something tucked away in a quiet corner of the city. A few of the floors had decks that would be perfect for what he intends and from there, he sets out to make it happen. He buys everything that's needed to start a small garden. It won't be as big as the one in Yangmingshan but he does want to grow his own food both for the feeling of doing something with his hands and for the connection it gives him to home.

Tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions and a few other small things are what he starts with. It's not difficult to create a scene similar to home, with a trellis for the cucumbers and various troughs for the other food.

In between working on the garden, he manages to move a few things into the building as well. Some old chairs that he'd bought, bookshelves that he's already started stocking with books from the stores in town, throw rugs and plants.

Zhou doesn't know if he's going to live here but it's nice to be here, away from the din of the city in a place that's not home but feels a little more like home that he remembers. He's out in the garden right now, watering a few of the tomato plants while music that he doesn't know the words to plays in the background.