He returned to the road. He decided to walk along the road until dawn, and then take the bus back to Yun Village. It was clear that he was not welcome in Deserted Village, where people weren’t compatible with him. But to his relief the villagers (including Grandpa Onion) were passionate, even fanatical, about his pursuit. What kind of place was this Deserted Village? And what else set Mia apart from him besides being more conscientious and determined? Oh, Mia, were you hiding in order to teach me a lesson?

He didn’t meet anyone on the long walk. Somehow, the lonelier he was on the road, the more he felt this was a friendly place. Maybe he was far away from Deserted Village, and maybe the villages along the way were hidden like Deserted Village. Is this what Grandpa Onion meant by “putting distance between them”? How interesting! Occasionally a couple of the villagers poked their heads out of the trees, took a look at the sky, and then disappeared. They didn’t pay any attention to Gray.

He boarded the bus. Through the window, Gray looked wistfully at the partially exposed hidden houses here and there, as if they were telling him something.

“Gray, did you learn a lot on this trip?”

“Dad, why are you here on the bus?”

“Because I was worried about you. But now I can see you’re quite self-assured.”

“Me? Yes, maybe a little. No, not really. I’m not confident at all . . . What’s going on in Deserted Village? Can you tell me, Dad?”

Father and son looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

“Gray, why don’t you ask it? Perhaps it can tell you.” Dad pointed to the goose in the basket next to him.

Gray squatted down, and put his cheek against the white goose’s neck. He felt a warm wave wash over him. When the goose looked at his eyes, Gray clearly saw the eyes of Grandpa Onion.

“Dad, it told me. I’m sure now.”

On the way back, Gray fell asleep on Dad’s shoulder. It was the first time in his life that he had had such intimate contact with his father, and he was bewildered by the unfamiliar emotion he was feeling. He dreamed that Dad kept calling, “Gray, Gray . . .”

Gray didn’t wake up until the bus stopped. His father motioned him to get off.

A woman nearby said to his father, “Is this your son? He is very shy. Perhaps he has never gone out alone before?”

“You may say that.” His dad nodded. “He’s a homebody. But he’s an adult now, and he may do some great things. Who knows?”

The woman made a face at Gray, and Gray blushed. Suddenly he felt that the woman was familiar. Oh, it was Mia’s cousin, wasn’t it? He recognized her, but he hadn’t spoken to her—he hadn’t spoken to many people in the village.

“Well, you’ve raised a promising son,” the woman said solemnly, nodding her head.