After finding a good spot, I lit three joss sticks and stabbed them into the ground. I opened the jade bottle gourd to release Aji. 

As soon as he got out, he took in a few breaths of smoke from the joss sticks. I stood behind him and gently called him. 

When Aji saw me, his eyes were bewildered. I softened my voice and said, “Aji, my son. Daddy misses you a lot!”

My skin crawled because of my voice. However, as it was for Aji, I had to endure it.  

When Aji heard the word ‘Daddy’ his eyes turned blood-red. His face was full of hatred. He stared at me. A sob came from his throat as he dashed toward me. 

To not let him figure out that I wasn’t his father, I didn’t dodge his attack. He was quite...