It was a very cold night when I saw her. The young little city was shivering on the streets of Beijing, and she couldn't help but cry as she looked up at me. I loomed over the child, picking her up ever so gently.
"Who are you? 請問點稱呼?"
"…I am a city named B-beijing…" she cried ever so softly. I looked at her with my usual dull and expressionless eyes. Why was it that whenever I saw a child, I wanted it to smile? In most cases, they did. Maybe it was to assure me that they didn't go through what I went through. It wasn't clear, really, I just wanted them to. To show me a sign of happiness in a true smile, and not tears, like…when I had to leave Aniki…
"Hey…listen…" I whispered. Beijing looked up, a bit confused.
"Do you have a family?"
"N-no…I just sort of…appeared, a year ago…" she replied. It was the faintest reply. I could tell she hadn't eaten in days. Who knows when her last meal was?
"…You need someplace to stay, huh…" I muttered. Beijing only looked ashamed, until I started to carry her home.
"My name is Hong Kong. Or if you'd like, you can call me your dong xi…" I explained to her in a soft tone. "ask me if you have any questions, alright?"
"O-okay…actually, I have one…" she stuttered, timidly. I didn't stop, and waited for her question.
"你帶我去邊?(where are you taking me?)" she said in a slightly sloppy Cantonese pronunciation. I smiled a small smile at the shyness of her voice.
"I'm taking you to your new home…"