Reminiscing the Past

"I missed her, a lot."

She remained standing up from his side but when she looked at him, a tear from his eyes fell. She saw how he struggled trying to stop himself from crying. But Zhang Jin, finally realized there was a woman standing beside her, which surprised him, and instantly brushed his cheek using the back of his palm. "He was my friend, before." He began to speak. She felt a sense of confusion as she tried to grasp who he was referring to.

"He was a good friend of mine, someone who even reminded me of my mom," he continued, his expression growing serious while a trace of sadness lingered. She allowed the young man to share his story, her silence encouraging him to reveal what he needed to say.

He let out a deep sigh, the weight of his emotions visible. "He was my very first friend in my entire life. He was like a brother to me. Our mothers had been friends since high school. It was my mom who introduced us to each other. She always emphasized treating him well and being there for him, no matter the circumstances. And I did just that. We were inseparable, spending time together, sharing secrets, even participating in activities like drag racing."

"They were such close friends of his mom and my mom, which naturally made us close as well. But I can't understand why he chose to do this to me," he added, his heavy sigh echoing the depth of his bewilderment.

"But I received news that his father got sick, so he needed money and he struggled to find work. I should've helped him, but he didn't want it. He didn't accept the money I sent to him. I don't know why." He chuckled slightly, reminiscing about the past. She remained silent, seizing the opportunity to listen to the story he was sharing.

"The time came when Mom got sick and died, they even went to the funeral. After that, they moved to another place but still in this city. We still had the opportunity to hang out with him and his new friend, although I was unaware that they had already formed a gang. And we're still friends until now, it's just that he began to change. He didn't even give me a reason why he did this to me."

She began to move to his side, taking a seat next to him.

"That's how we met and became the only friend that I had." he concluded, wrapping up his final story.

Both of them became silent. The only noise they heard was the chirp of the birds' singing and the wind that hit their skin.

"You know." She began to speak, breaking the silence between them. He instantly focused on her when she talked while she looked in front of the tomb. Her smile faint but real, "We actually had differences in our life stories, but a common pain has taken root in both of our hearts, perhaps this shared pain comes from our relationships with our parents."

She turned back to the tombstone and said, "We need to continually remind ourselves that each person we meet is bound to depart someday. I understand the sorrow you've faced since I too have walked through that path." But Zhang Jin's fixed, unyielding gaze lingered on her.

Now, it was his time to listen.

"I once had a perfect family," she stated. "I wasn't exiled nor orphaned back then. My entire life was perfect, or so I thought. When I was seven years old, my mother died because of cancer, and my father was killed by that notorious group, the one that was after you." Pain was visible in her eyes.

Zhang Jin's eyes widened when she mentioned about that group, who were after him.

"How did he die?" He asked in confusion.

Her gaze turned to him, "He got caught up in the hostage situation inside the bank."

"That's why I hold grudges against them until now. I chose not to show it, though I secretly wish for all of them to die," she said with a slight chuckle. "Who would have thought that a nine-year-old would want to kill someone?"

" ...But good thing I became an officer to the law of the government. All of us who were part of people without family, accepted it. They fed us, clothed us and put us in own apartments. They cost us too much but the exchange, was to support the police."

"...They wanted us to train harder, and we even underwent study for at least 10 years. I was left alone, but I realized I wasn't truly alone because there were many people out there who shared the same story as me and carried the same pain, although in different stories."

The guy who was on her side didn't know how to even comfort the woman. But he could feel that she was used to it already. The pain that she went through is valid. She had the right to get revenge on that notorious group but she chose not to rush things forcibly.

A huge loud thunderstorm instantly created a boom sound, and a sign of the rain was coming. And the rain immediately started falling. They both thought that the weather was attuned with their feelings.

"Let's go!" Lian Qiang called out, took his hand and they ran immediately to find shelter. When they got to the free standing building of the cemetery, Qiang doesn't remember that she was still holding Zhang Jin's hand tightly.

She immediately let go of his hand, "Sorry" she said, shyly.

Zhang Jin was also a bit surprised when the woman immediately grabbed his hand to seek shelter. But when the woman let go, he also felt a hint of shyness within him. They waited until the rain stopped, and he allowed the woman to drive when she offered to take the wheel.

Both of them were silent as they got into the car, and she started the engine.

Zhang Jin felt a lighter weight in his heart, after their conversation.