Sitting in the dark bedroom, he thought about the hint Old Onion had given him.

“Gray, why don’t you turn on the light?” said his dad, standing by the door.

“I want to clear my mind.”

“Have you got an idea, then?”

“No. Especially about the python. Did Grandpa Onion summon it?”

“Very likely. Grandpa Onion can do anything.”

His dad went into the living room. Gray felt a chill. There was one more thing that he couldn’t figure out: Grandpa Onion was usually a dirty old widower who smelled bad. Why did he change into a different person on the mountain? Was he usually disguised? But as far as he could remember, the old man never pretended or told lies. He wanted to go to his house to find out the truth, but the old man had gone away.

Gray saw a shadow swaying at the window and went over there.

“It’s you, Spoon!” he said excitedly. “Come on in.”

“I won’t come in. Do you miss me?”

“How can you ask such a question? Of course I do.”

“But it doesn’t do any good, right? I’ve got to go. Bye!”

“Good-bye.” Although Gray opened his mouth, he said this silently. Strangely enough, once Spoon left, he didn’t think about her much. He was thinking about Grandpa Onion. Years later, when he was old, would he be like Grandpa Onion? If only that were true! Grandpa Onion could walk around in the dense forest just as easily as if he were at home. The woods were his second home. The python had probably made a deal with him. So was it possible that what had appeared in front of him was just a show—a false performance that had become true? Gray still remembered his despair at that time. He had brandished the hoe and nearly injured his own feet. At that moment he felt that it was not the old man who was going to die, but himself—the python was so scary. The feeling was so real.

Another person appeared at the window. It was not Spoon this time but an old woman.

“May I help you?” Gray asked.

“You’ve brought out all those old things by going up the mountain. I’m your second aunt on your mother’s side.”

“Auntie! They said you were lost . . . It’s been years!”

“It wasn’t true. How could I get lost? I just like to amuse myself in the mountains.” The woman giggled.

“So do I, Auntie. Will we see each other in the mountains?” he said earnestly.

“It’s up to you. Gray, will you become an old mountain man someday?”

“You mean like you and Grandpa Onion? That’s what I dream of being!”

“I’ve heard from Grandpa Onion that you’re going to be a barefoot doctor. If so, I’ll see you around.”

With that, Second Aunt disappeared from the window. After a while, Gray saw a little light flashing on that road. Was it the torch that Auntie was carrying? It turned out that she had been in the mountains all along. This was good news for everyone. He hoped he would run into her in the mountains, but he was a little afraid because he wasn’t sure she was a real person. Maybe she had become a mountain spirit. He had heard old people say that the girls in Yun Village were very wild, and if they were dissatisfied with their lives, they would disappear. But he didn’t know anyone who had disappeared and then returned later to visit, as Second Aunt had just done.