Anya, my sister!

The next day.
Monday.

Hawk, who had requested leave in advance since last Friday, woke up early this morning. Instead of heading straight to Calvin Cemetery in Glendale, he slung a golf bag—purchased yesterday afternoon and now containing the five Chitauri alien weapons—over his shoulder and took a cab to a Mexican burrito shop not far from an orphanage.

The shop owner was a genuine Mexican, who seemed to recognize Hawk. Upon seeing him, he looked somewhat surprised.

"Hawk..."

The owner quickly recovered his composure. "Is it the tenth?"

Hawk nodded, took some pre-prepared loose change from his pocket, and handed it over.

The owner accepted the coins and said, "Just a moment."

After a short while, two freshly made Mexican burritos were packed up.

Hawk took them, muttered a thank you, and then, with his golf bag slung across his back once more, turned and left.

About an hour later.

After wandering around the nearby neighborhood with his golf bag, Hawk finally flagged down a taxi carrying a dozen takeout bags in his hands and headed toward Calvin Cemetery.

Spanning across the borders of Brooklyn and Queens, Calvin Cemetery was established in 1849, making it a venerable, long-standing burial ground.

Logically speaking, after so many years, Calvin Cemetery should have long since been packed to capacity.

And indeed it had been. However, in 1984, the cemetery welcomed a turning point.

It was bought out from the New York City municipal government.

Yes.

Calvin Cemetery became privatized. Because of this, the newly privatized cemetery underwent a massive cleanup. Within a mere three months, Calvin Cemetery announced that it was reopening to the public, and this time, there were plenty of available plots.

Don't ask why it suddenly had so much space.

In any case, when Calvin Cemetery announced its reopening, there were no protests or objections whatsoever.

Moreover, to adapt to the changing demands of the times, the cemetery not only specially designated a picturesque, south-facing section with supreme geomantic properties exclusively for people of Asian descent, but it also undertook government-funded burial projects.

By the time Hawk arrived at Calvin Cemetery, it was already nine o'clock in the morning.

After inspecting the documents Hawk handed over, the security guard simply glanced with mild curiosity at the golf bag slung over Hawk's back. Without conducting any search, he let Hawk pass.

Calvin Cemetery covered a vast area, spanning two boroughs after all.

Having visited many times before, Hawk was very familiar with the grounds. Following the winding path for about fifteen minutes, he arrived before a small headstone.

Affixed to the headstone was a photograph of a young girl with a very sweet smile.

Her name was inscribed above.

Anya.
May 20, 1995 – September 10, 2009

Hawk unslung the golf bag containing the five alien weapons and casually set it aside. He squatted down before the headstone, then carefully placed the takeout bags filled with various foods onto the small stone platform in front of it. He raised his head to gaze at the sweet-smiling photograph on the marker.

He did not speak, simply looking on quietly. As he gazed at the smiling face in the picture, a gentle smile slowly formed on his lips.

It was the very same happy smile that appeared on his face every morning when he first opened his eyes and looked at the photo on his bedside table.

After a moment, Hawk took out his phone—turned off today to avoid any unwanted disturbances—and placed it beside the offerings. Then, he turned around and leaned his back against the headstone, gazing out at the scenery before him.

If one were to view the scene from a distance, Hawk's figure appeared to be leaning right against the photograph on the headstone. Their gazes were directed toward the exact same direction, as if they were enjoying the scenery together.

If the perspective were pulled even further away.

Midtown High School.

"Gwen, do you know where Hawk went?"

"Uh..."

Just as she was about to put her backpack into her locker and head to class, Gwen received a call from their guidance counselor, Mrs. Snow, and paused in surprise.

"Didn't he ask for leave from you?"

"I know, but I just got a call from New York University. They're coming to the school today."

"...They're here for Hawk?"

"Yes, but I can't reach him. Good grief, it was one thing when he didn't have a cell phone, but now he has one, and yet it's turned off."

Mrs. Snow sounded rather exasperated over the phone; having a phone was turning out to be no better than not having one at all.

"I figured he might have mentioned something to you. Do you know where he went?"

"Uh..." Gwen hesitated.

She had a pretty good idea of where Hawk was today, but she wasn't certain whether Hawk wanted anyone to know that she knew.

"The NYU representatives are coming today to finalize the roster. It would be an absolute shame if Hawk isn't here."

"All right."

Hearing this and recalling that Hawk had indeed been preparing for New York University, Gwen realized he might miss out on this major opportunity if he didn't show up today. Hesitating no longer, she nodded. "Mrs. Snow, I'll go look for Hawk right now, but I might need to take a leave of absence."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Snow let out a sigh of relief.

"No problem."

After hanging up, Mrs. Snow shook her head involuntarily, then, recalling something, couldn't help letting out a chuckle.

As expected.
It always took Gwen to get things done.

Meanwhile, after ending the call, Gwen returned her books to her locker, grabbed her backpack, and closed the door. She hurried out to the parking lot, climbed into her yellow Corolla, started the engine, and drove away from the school.

Gwen drove straight toward Calvin Cemetery.

Upon arriving at the cemetery gates, she parked her car, found the security guard, and explained her purpose.

The cemetery attendant very cooperatively opened the gates.

Seemingly quite familiar with the place herself, Gwen followed the path around a bend. As she turned the corner, Hawk came into view not far ahead: one leg stretched out straight, the other bent at the knee, his left arm draped casually over his knee, with his back resting against a headstone.

Lost in his own thoughts, Hawk heard the footsteps gradually approaching from afar. He focused his gaze and turned his head to look at Gwen, who was walking toward him with cautious steps.

Seeing the slight smile that formed on Hawk's face once he noticed her, Gwen felt a weight lift from her heart as she walked over.

Instead of immediately stating the reason she had come looking for him, she let her gaze fall upon the headstone. The girl in the photo was identical to the one Gwen had seen on Hawk's bedside table. She then glanced at Hawk, who was leaning against the marker, and asked in a gentle voice:

"Can you tell me about her?"

Hawk smiled faintly, turning his gaze back to the photograph on the headstone with tenderness in his eyes.

"Anya."

"My..."

"Sister!"