Chapter 58: Color of Sunset

It felt like his heart sank when he saw the scene in front of him.

What was she trying to say?

That this is how things change and so, she changed too? That's what he wondered.

Chu Hua faced him. "I've treasured our memory here together," She whispered. "It never left my heart. I never regretted the day I got lost and the day we met."

Mr. Wang swallowed a lump and cleared his throat as he restlessly looked around.

"Can I… Can I see your child?" He asked, hesitating. "I want to see your child… just once. I'm not going to bother you afterwards. Even if it's not mine, it's still yours, so I want to see the child."

The woman heaved a long breath and nodded with a smile as if she had resigned as well. "Of course, of course you can. I'll try to arrange it. You can see my child, dear. I'll let you see her."

"So, it's a girl…"

"It's a beautiful baby girl."

Mr. Wang nodded and slowly trudged away. It felt wrong to follow him, so the woman stayed behind. Mr. Wang got to the house alone again.

That night, he couldn't sleep at all. He was having difficulties sleeping ever since the night they fought and she left him in the dining room with the ringing echoes of pain.

Five days later, Mr. Wang was finally invited to the house where she's staying right now.

The man with her was out of town for some business, so it was the perfect time for him to visit. Chu Hua led the way towards a small room and there, he saw the yellow crib of the baby girl. She had a soft cotton bonnet and comfortable clothes.

Chu Hua held the baby girl in her arms and slowly handed it over to Mr. Wang.

His hands were slightly trembling as he carried the fragile, beautiful baby girl in his arms.

He could feel like something was pulling against his heart and this time, he held onto it instead of running away from it. The baby looked peaceful and gracious.

"She'll grow up strong and kind…" Mr. Wang said in an undertone, his breaths hitching. "You, You're beautiful, so she'll be beautiful too."

Chu Hua nodded. "I know. She's so precious, isn't she?"

Mr. Wang nodded, while his eyes were glued to the baby on his arms.

That day, Mr. Wang was satisfied with how it went.

He couldn't feel the anger and pain he thought he would feel. He thought that he would be too overwhelmed to face them because it frightened him.

When he returned home again, he didn't let out a single tear. He never cried.

Even his nightmares were erased as if it never existed in the first place. But all the angst and pain welled up in his heart.

In spite of that, he led a peaceful life.

He used the compensation he received from the government for serving in the war in a frugal way and lived a simple and peaceful life.

He began laughing at silly jokes at the television shows and went to bed without having to drink alcohol or beer. He would even meet up and make some friends outside.

His therapy went well and it felt like time helped in healing his wounds.

--

"I told you, didn't I?" Mr. Wang said in an undertone. "It was just a dull and pathetic story…"

In the Glassglow Woodland, behind the botanical garden they found, Haru, Ali, Camille, and Mr. Wang formed a circle around the little bonfire, eating exotic fruits.

"Since that last time you went to see her baby, have you really never met her again?" Camille asked.

"Never, not even once," Mr. Wang answered. "After seeing that precious sight, I didn't have a choice but to honor my promise. I was to never bother them again. It was the man who arranged everything involving our divorce. He's the one who approached me and I silently conceded. He was the one who even told me about their remarriage. Knowing Chu Hua, she must've told him to invite me in their remarriage, but I could feel that he didn't have the heart to say it."

"Still, it must've been hard… moving on," Haru said. "You loved her all your life, didn't you?"

The flame's crackle was like a lullaby and the breeze was soft and fairly cold. Mr. Wang couldn't answer his question.

He knew in his heart that he loved her all his life but…

"But it hurts…" He whispered and then, his tears finally fell.

It trickled down his cheeks and it glowed against the orange-yellow hue of flame splashing his face.

It was like the sight of the painful and beautiful and lonely sunset in that place they got lost… and somehow fell in love once.