During the long flight from Berlin to Dallas, where my mother lives, Zhan and I had a lot of time to talk about what we want to do next. We both miss our home, our little Yizhan and Grandpa Xiao, as well as everyone else. So we decided to spend no more than 3 days with my brother in the US and then fly home.

Meanwhile, the situation in Beijing has eased up again. The foreign vampires are almost all gone and also the critical situation with the many black werewolves, they have got under control. So there is no more danger for a possible war between the two species. Besides, Zhan and I are the new bearers of the peace treaty and if you believe what was told, no one would dare to attack us.

Besides, I am looking forward to finally being able to go back to work. We also want to push ahead with the move. So far, the manager has held the apartment back for us. But slowly he is getting impatient and wants to finally sell it or at least rent it out. Because the owner is slowly putting pressure on him. And we really want to have this apartment!

About the sale of my apartment, I do not need to worry. Because my brother will buy my apartment for himself and Cheng. He wants to live there with him. Which is probably just as well. Because my brother, during the time he spent with Cheng in the US, had also been looking for an actor's agency in Beijing that would sign him. And he found one.

And my brother was even luckier after he signed the contract that was sent to him. He got an offer for a leading role in a modern series. And Cheng will always be by his side, because he got a work contract to be my brother's personal assistant. Apparently, they know in the actor's agency that my brother and Cheng are a couple and have no problem with it. But so that there are no rumors or any gossip when Cheng is always seen with him, he is officially my brother's personal assistant.

Zhan told me that he plans to retrain to get licensed as a private detective so that he can continue to assist me in my work. His main job will still be as a historian. We plan to set up the unused room in my detective agency as his office. There he will have enough space for his work and he will always be close to me.

But we also talked about the fact that we will probably move every 10 years. After all, we don't age like normal people and that means we have to move before others notice. Who knows, maybe this way, we will have lived all over the world at some point. However, it certainly won't be easy either.

I guess Mira and Oleg had it even easier. They could just move anywhere and didn't have to worry about facial recognition, fingerprints or pictures. But today, with all the modern technology, it's not so easy anymore. Maybe that's why we'll someday live in seclusion in the deep woods, where hardly anyone goes.

The moment we landed in Dallas and the reunion with my mother was within reach, I became very nervous. Just like with my father, I hadn't seen her in years. And our contact with each other was anything but good. My brother was also suddenly not as cool as usual and also seemed very nervous.

We looked for a cab and told the driver my mother's address. On the way there, Zhan had held my hand very tightly, which calmed me down a bit, because my heart was beating really fast, for an undead like me.

When we arrived at the address, there was first a disillusionment, because my mother no longer lived there. The house was empty! But we didn't give up and asked the neighbors if they knew where my mother had moved to. And indeed we were lucky and found a woman who even had the new address and gave it to us. This woman was very surprised when we told her that we were the sons. Because my mother had obviously never told about us.

We then took another cab to my mother's new address. Once there, we stood in front of a small house, with a front yard that consisted only of lawn. We went to the front door and rang the bell. But no one opened the door. A neighbor called out to us that the lady of the house is always at the playground with her son at this time of the day and also told us where this playground was located.

It made me really angry to hear that she is on the playground with my half-brother and probably every day. Because she was only on the playground with my brother and me back then when she felt guilty and wanted to make up for something. Like forgetting our birthdays.

Packed with our heavy suitcases, we walked down the street to the end, then turned left and walked down that street to the end as well. We could hear the kids from far away and I wondered for a brief moment if it was really a good idea to go there now and maybe cause trouble. But I didn't want to wait any longer and ignored my concerns.

When we arrived at the playground, we were first surprised that only 4 children were there. Because it had sounded as if a whole kindergarten was there. And then we didn't have to search long for our mother. She was sitting on a bench. In front of her stood our little half-brother, whom she was blowing his nose.

It didn't take long until our mother discovered and recognized us. She immediately got up from the bench and pushed the little boy behind her. As if we would do anything to our own half-brother!

Little Lee, his name, complained loudly to our mother because he wanted to go back to play. He kept peeking out and whining that she should let him go. The whole thing had been really ridiculous. Who did our mother think we were? Did she really think we would hurt little Lee?

We walked up to our mother and before we had even said a word, she asked, "Why are you here? What are you guys doing here?"

"Well first let the little one go back to play mom. You don't think we would hurt our little brother do you?" I replied.

Little Lee looked at us questioningly. "Mom? Brother?" He asked.

My brother squatted down and said, "Yes, we are your big brothers. Your mom is our mom too. My name is Hai Kuan and this is Yibo."

Lee looked at our mom and asked, "Is that right mom?" She nodded. And he wanted to know why she didn't tell him that he had big brothers. Yes, we were interested in that too.

But she didn't answer him and instead sent him back to the playground. He refused at first, but then went when our mother strongly told him to let the adults talk and go play. He went, albeit pouting.

"And now for you guys. I don't know why you came here, but I find it impossible that you didn't let me know beforehand." Said my mother.

"Let you know what for? So you can run away really fast?" Asked my brother angrily.

"Mom, we came here to talk to you and to introduce you to your sons-in-law. I think there are things that should finally be said." I said, showing my mother the picture of Zhan and me, from our wedding day.

"And you have to do that today, here and now?" My mom asked.

"I don't think we have any other choice, do we? Because if we had asked you if we could come over, I'm sure your answer would have been no. Because I don't think you want anything to do with us anymore. You divorced dad and apparently you divorced us, your own sons!" I explained.

"I certainly didn't divorce you two. Yibo, even if it doesn't seem like it, you two, you and your brother, still mean a lot to me."

"Then who's going to believe you mom, it's been years since we've seen you and you rarely call even. And when you are called, you don't like it either. You don't even call on our birthdays. And why? Because you have a new family here. Why do you need to care about your sons from your first marriage? You don't care about us. Because otherwise you would at least show a little interest."

"Yibo, that's not true. It's complicated."

"Then explain it to us! Do you realize how much I wished you would show more interest in me and my life? Even Dad called me regularly. Asked how I was and what I was doing, if I needed anything. But there was never anything from you. A short call where you told me that you were fine and not even a question about how I was doing. You are more than just a bad mother."

"I know that myself. But what am I supposed to do? My husband doesn't want me to have contact with you. He wants me to put my past behind me, if this is supposed to work with him and me. I was against it. But since I became a mother again, I think about Lee and how he needs his father. He needs me and he needs his dad."

"We need you too mom! Even though we're adults!" Shouted my brother almost. Cheng hugged him to calm him down. I, on the other hand, had been calm. Zhan had been holding my hand incessantly since we arrived at the playground and I had been steady.

"Mom we are your sons. And just because your husband wants you to, you can't just leave us and your past behind. Of course Lee needs both of you. But we needed you and Dad too. You've never been there for us. All you've ever done is work. Hai Kuan raised me because you didn't have time for us. And yes, I think it's good that you're doing things differently with Lee now and want to be a good mother to him, to be there for him. But still you should not forget that we are and remain your sons. We don't expect you to call us every day or come to visit every weekend. But we can expect you to call us regularly and show interest in us and our lives. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

"I know we made a lot of mistakes back then. And I'm sorry for that, too. I know we should have been more there for you guys. It was Lee who made me realize that. But I can't turn back time."

"Then at least be there for us now from time to time. Listen to us, talk to us. We don't mind that you have a new husband and another son. We are even interested in our little brother. We want to know more about him, get to know him. Don't blame your husband as the reason why you never contact us. Because a mother who loves her children, she wouldn't let anyone stop her from contacting them."

"What do you need me for? You are adults and have your own lives."

"For what? What kind of question is that?" Asked my brother angrily.

"I needed someone to listen to me, to give me advice when I had to quit my job. I would have loved to tell you about my new job, my own private detective agency. Or how I met and fell in love with my husband. What happened to me over the years and how I became who I am today. Hai Kuan would have needed you back then when his career was destroyed by this guy. I'm sure he would have loved to tell you about Cheng and how his fans fought for him and that he will soon be back as an actor. Mom, there are so many things we wanted to tell you. So many questions we wanted to ask you. But you were never there and never showed any interest." I explained.

My mom looked at us thoughtfully and didn't say a word. Instead, Lee came up to me and asked me if I wanted to go on the swings with him. I nodded and went with him to the swings. My brother came with us. I saw my mom sit down again and Zhan sat down next to her.

I heard Zhan say, "It's not too late. You should really take your time and get to know your sons properly. I can only speak for Yibo right now and tell you he is so wonderful. He's absolutely sweet, sensitive, talented, insanely smart and honest. But you only get that when you spend time with him. You can be proud of him. And he would want to hear from you, his mother, that you are proud of him. And it's the same with Hai Kuan. Look at him. He's in the process of rebuilding his career. He's happy about it. But he's also insecure and afraid. He's afraid that something bad will happen again, causing him to lose everything again. You think they're grown up and don't need you anymore. But I would say they still need you and right now Hai Kuan needs you more than ever. And they also want to have contact with their little brother. Think calmly about what was said today and decide whether you want to be their mother again or not." Afterwards, Zhan joined us at the swings and hugged me.

Cheng was also still talking to my mother, explaining to her how much Hai Kuan suffered in the past years because his own mother lives in the same country as him but would neither call him nor see him. He explained to her all that my brother had been through and how great he was.

In the end, my mother didn't speak another word. She just sat there in silence and watched us play with Lee. Lee was all excited and even happy to have two such big brothers to play with him. He told us that he wanted to see us more often. Well, neither my brother nor I can decide that, but I also hope I will be able to see my brother more often in the future.

Around 6 pm, my mother called little Lee over because they wanted to go home and have dinner. She looked at us thoughtfully, but I just said, "Don't worry, we're not coming. We'll call a cab and go to Hai Kuan's house." She nodded and left with Lee. No goodbyes, nothing. Only Lee waved goodbye and shouted that he wanted to see us again soon.

Since I went to this meeting with no expectations, I couldn't be disappointed either. I don't know why my mother just kept quiet. Maybe it was a little too much for her. Maybe now she is finally starting to think. And who knows, maybe we'll hear from her soon and find out if she wants to be our mom again or not.

Right now, I'm just glad I talked to her. I didn't say everything I wanted to. But I said the most important things for me. Now I just wait and see what my mother will decide. And until then I will be patient. And no matter what she decides, I have Zhan by my side, so I'll be fine either way.