The wind brushed past my ears, the cicadas’ song still lingered. Someone was running quickly through the dense forest. The girl, not paying attention, tripped on a rock on the ground. She saw a butterfly land on her finger and forgot she was still sitting on the ground. A pinecone fell from a tree and hit her. The butterfly flew away without her noticing.
“Ah— A Ly, the butterfly flew away!”
“…”
“Come here, let me see your forehead.”
Liu Tinh gently pushed her bangs aside, revealing a red patch on her forehead.
“What am I going to do with you? Luckily, you didn’t damage your brain.”
I said it unconsciously, and this time, I received a reply.
It was then that I realized I had traveled through time, back to when our love was at its deepest. Before I could even react, he pulled me forward.
The setting sun in the distance cast our shadows, one tall, one short. The person I loved was still holding my hand. In this moment, I was the happiest person in the world.
Back in the wooden house, everything that had once happened here slowly unfolded before my eyes. I even knew what he was about to do.
“Tinh Tinh, come here and drink some water!”
Looking straight at him, a mix of joy and sorrow intertwined within me. This time, I was determined to save our relationship and find out why we eventually broke up.
A hand waving in front of my face interrupted my thoughts.
“Why are you so spaced out? Does your head still hurt?”
“I’m fine, I just missed you a little.”
Jiang Ly gently embraced Liu Tinh. A sob reached his ears. Jiang Ly looked up and immediately became flustered, panicked.
“Tinh Tinh, what’s wrong? Do you want to go home? Or should we go home now?”
“I’m fine, I just feel very happy right now. Let’s go outside and stargaze.”
Nestled in his arms, counting each bright star, I wondered, could this star on earth shine as brightly as the stars in the sky?
Early the next morning, we set off to return. This trip into the forest was also our journey to find inspiration. Jiang Ly is a singer. This was our first year together, and in about two more years, we would break up. It was due to company interference. By then, he had become famous, and more and more people were paying attention to his private life. He thought we could go public, but I wasn’t ready to face the consequences that going public would bring. After that, we broke up.
“Tinh Tinh, follow me.”
Walking hand-in-hand with him through the airport is the most common sight for lovers, but for me, it was what I wanted to do most. I organized what I remembered and wrote it in my diary. Firstly, to prevent things from changing course, and secondly, because I was afraid I would forget over time. So, for now, I could only let events proceed as they had before.
Back in the apartment, I looked at the room filled with memories. We had stayed up all night, talking about the future, hoping to one day stand on the biggest stage and sing the songs we wrote, hoping to hold our own concert, looking forward to our fan meeting.
“A Ly, you’ll become the singer you want to be, standing on the stage that belongs to you.”
He ran over and hugged me, holding me tightly.
“What about you? Will you stay by my side?”
I want to be by your side too, but there are too many uncertainties in the future.
“Mm, I promise you.”
“Let’s pinky swear.”
I looked at his serious expression. A Ly, why wouldn’t I want to be with you forever!
“A Ly, let’s go to the beach tomorrow.”