Then, he opened his eyes, filled with resolution. Holding December’s tiny body in his hands, as if cradling the most precious treasure in the world, he carefully handed over the little life he had protected for ten days and nights to Max, who had been quietly waiting at the side.
Then, he didn’t look again. He feared that if he looked once more, he would never be able to leave.
Resolutely, he turned away, each step seeming to use up all his strength, and walked down the gangway.
He heard behind him, Max soothing the once again whimpering December with a gentle voice.
He heard the heavy cabin door, under the influence of the hydraulic rod, emit a "sizzle" and then "bang," closing completely, sealing off that small world he was so familiar with and attached to.
The helicopter’s engine started to roar loudly.
He stood amidst the swirling wind and snow stirred up by the rotor blades, looking up, his gaze fixed through the falling snowflakes on that small piece of window beneath the cockpit.
He knew that she was there, possibly watching him too.
The enormous orange-red helicopter slowly ascended, then turned its nose and flew further and further towards the distant horizon.
Eventually, it beca a tiny black dot, lting away into the gray and white sky and snow, disappearing completely.
The wind and snow made it hard for his eyes to stay open, and the cold snowflakes hit his cheeks, quickly lting and trailing down his face, indistinguishable whether it was snow or sothing else.
He didn’t know how long he stood there on the snowy ground. Until the sound of the engine was completely replaced by the wind, until the entire world returned to that familiar, suffocating silence.
Until Mark ca over, gently patting him on the shoulder.
"Hey, An. It’s over. You did... really great."
Only much later did Lin Yu’an slowly co back to himself from that endless sense of loss.
Coming back to his senses only to find his cheeks were already ice-cold.
Afterward, he saw off the crew, dragging heavy footsteps back alone to the suddenly vast and silent shelter.
Mark and his team had already left by helicopter, and before leaving, Mark told him, "An, the whole world will be proud of your choice today."
Lin Yu’an just nodded.
As he pushed open the door, a familiar warmth hit him. Yet within it, he sharply noticed sothing missing.
Missing was the little white figure that would always rush over first, rubbing its little head against his pant leg.
Missing was that unique, familiar scent mixed with milk and a pup’s sll.
Missing was the lively "awoo" that would occasionally ring out...
The house still retained the milky scent of December, but it was inevitably fading little by little.
The warm and soft wolf skin bed he had laid out for her was empty.
The entire shelter suddenly seed spiritless, turning from a lively "ho" back into a cold "nest" purely for survival.
He silently began to tidy up, trying to fill the indescribable vast void inside through chanical, thodical work.
dical supplies and formula cans for December had already been taken away by Max’s team, leaving little for him to organize, rely smoothing out the wolf skin bed and adding new logs to the dying fireplace.
As he tidied up the sleeping bag, his hand brushed across sothing round and elastic deep inside it.
His actions suddenly froze. His heart felt as if gripped by an invisible hand.
Slowly extending his hand, his fingertips trembling, he pulled the object from the deepest part of the sleeping bag.
It was a red rubber ball.
In the dimly lit shelter, the vibrant red stood out like a scorching brand, instantly stinging his eyes.
The ball’s surface was covered with deep crescent tooth marks left by December’s gnawing. His thumb instinctively caressed those uneven indentations, each mark instantly unlocking a vivid mory.
He rembered the first ti throwing this ball to her, her startled yet curiously clumsy deanor.
He rembered her tumbling around, chasing the ball with short legs, finally bringing back the prize with a proud waddle.
He rembered countless afternoons when this little ball would carve red arcs across Ice Lake, accompanied by her joyous "awoo-ing."
He could even clearly recall that just last night, she had persistently tried to conquer this "red prey" using her not yet fully grown teeth, pretending to growl fiercely from her throat.
She must have, last night, either after he fell asleep or during their playful tis, secretly used her little paws to push it inch by inch to the deepest part of her sleeping bag.
This unexpectedly left ball seed like a child about to part with her parents, clumsily using the only way she could think of to hide her most cherished, unique toy in the world, for the most important person in her life.
She might have hoped he would rember her upon discovering this surprise soday in the future.
She might have hoped that her scent lingering on it would offer him a bit of silent company in his loneliness.
Lin Yu’an tightly clutched that red little ball, feeling the sensation of December’s unique teeth marks on it.
The emotions he had forcibly suppressed with iron will on the gangway now, in front of this "gift" from December, finally transford into an irresistible tsunami, sweeping over him.
He could no longer stand.
His body, seemingly drained of all energy, sank slowly to the ground, ultimately kneeling on the wolf skin deeply infused with December’s rich scent.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as if trying to engrave the last bit of her scent deep into his mory.
This man, who built a snow shelter in a blizzard, hunted porcupines in the forest, and never once frowned in the face of any danger, finally, in absolute solitude and silence, let down all his defenses.
His body didn’t tremble; his throat didn’t make a sound.
Just a drop of hot, clear liquid seeped from the corner of his tightly closed eyes, silently dripping down, moistening the soft wolf fur below, leaving a small damp spot.
Then followed the second drop, the third...
He just silently shed tears, which wasn’t weakness, but a release and baptism of complex emotions.
Fortunately, there were still six days.
He didn’t know how long it had been when he slowly raised his head, his reddened eyes still carrying traces of tears, yet his gaze was no longer filled with empty sadness, but lit by an unwavering conviction.
In six days, the challenge would be over, and he could go ho.
And then, he could go see her.
He tightly held the red little ball in his hand, as if gripping a significant promise.
To see the little princess nad December whom he had saved by hand. To partake in her training and growth, to fulfill every promise he made on the ice field!
————
(Rest assured, no harm will co; she will be adopted later on.)
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