- The Next Day, 6:00 PM, School Infirmary -
Feng Mian, Qing Yue, Yu An Xue, and I stood outside the white sliding doors of the school infirmary. The school nurse was already gone by now, but our principal - Song Qian Long - had unlocked the door and left with a mysterious wink directed at me. I shuddered at the memory. Yu An Xue had wanted to visit her sister as soon as possible after our fight with Ghosteye, but Song Qian Long told her it was better to give it some time. Thus, we came after school the next day.
...As a side note, because we were doing this today, my lecture from Feng Mian and Qing Yue was going to come tomorrow.
Yu An Xue was shaking slightly and appeared nervous, which was understandable. Song Qian Long had already guaranteed her Yu An Yan would be back to normal, but even then she couldn't help but have doubt rise up in her heart.
Feng Mian moved closer and placed a comforting hand on Yu An Xue's fragile shoulder, which stopped her trembling.
"It'll be fine," Feng Mian soothed. "It will be fine."
Qing Yue joined in too. "Go on! This is the moment you've been waiting for all this time, right?"
Yu An Xue looked at the two girls, one on each side of her, and laughed slightly, wiping away the tears that had formed in her eyes. "Thank you, everyone...truly."
I assumed the 'everyone' meant me as well, but I made no reaction.
Then, taking a deep breath, the forsaken sister opened the door that would lead her to her long lost counterpart.
*****
(Yu An Xue's Perspective)
Claaaack.
The door before me slid open with ease. I had my eyes closed, despite the eagerness hiding deep inside my heart. Qing Yue was right - this was the moment I had been waiting for all this time.
...So then, why was I scared? Why was I hesitant to open my eyes?
Questions surfaced in my head, threatening to break me down from the inside. What if the principal had been lying? What if my big sister could never come back to me? What if...the two of us could never go back to like 8 years ago?
I shook my head. I could stand around here all day asking myself these pointless questions, and never reach an answer. Remembering Feng Mian and Qing Yue's encouragement, I stepped forward blindly, eyes still shut tight.
I didn't crash into anything until I felt my knees bump into a soft cushion. Immediately, I knew what it was - my sister's bed. My hands began shaking against my will, and I clenched them tight in an attempt to stop the trembling. But it didn't work.
Doubts filled my head once more, and my legs felt weak as I stood, half leaning on the edge of the bed. I could feel tears forming in my eyes once more, and I desperately tried to stop them. But...
Woosh!
I felt an impact, and snapped my eyes open. The first thing I saw was the bright and beautiful orange of dusk. The sun shone brilliantly, even as it was making its exit for the day.
But that wasn't what I was most surprised about. What really made me open my eye, was-
I felt arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace.
This feeling...it was nostalgic, yet distant. It was warm, and reminded me of happier days - when I was a child, innocent and carefree. And before I knew it, a tear coursed down my right cheek as I stood there, still in a state of surprise and confusion.
I heard a voice. It was gentle and comforting, and I relaxed within the sayer's arms.
"It's okay now, An Xue. I'm here."
I smiled genuinely. Although I already knew who it was deep down from the moment she embraced me, I didn't believe it at first. It seemed too good to be real. But now that I had heard her voice, I was sure. Bringing my arms up slowly, I wrapped them around the girl who had comforted me.
The girl who I had been searching for ever since 8 years ago.
The girl who had been my only companion until I met Xuan Kai.
The girl who was my forsaken sister - Yu An Yan.
After all these years, we had finally defeated fate, and reunited.
*****
(Xuan Kai's Perspective)
Ah...this was indeed a very wholesome sight. Quite beautiful, too.
Two beauties, each having their own appearance and aura, embracing the other with tears - not of sadness, but of joy. Illuminated by the beautiful sunset, the two sisters shared their first genuine act of affection after eight years of separation.
It was a weird position, the two of them were in, considering one of them was sitting up on her bed and the other was standing up, leaning slightly downwards, but despite that the entire picture was still beautiful.
There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask Yu An Yan, but...I would really have to be a dimwit to interrupt this heartfelt reunion. For now...I could just sit back and enjoy this moving scene, paired with beautiful scenery.
We - Feng Mian, Qing Yue, and I - had let Yu An Xue walk into the room by herself, as we remained outside. This was something she had to do alone - the only thing we could do was give encouragement and reassurance.
Fortunately, she was able to overcome her inner doubts and cross the last obstacle in the way of her reuniting with her sister - her inner self. And this was her reward.
After a long time, the two sisters separate from each other, and Yu An Yan got up from the bed.
The three of us still outside walked into the room, and we each gave a slight wave to Yu An Yan.
For some reason, when she met my eyes, she quickly averted her gaze, but that wasn't the most important concern right now.
"There are a lot of questions we have, Yu An Yan," I began after initial greetings. "Are you okay with talking right now? Or would you prefer spending some more time with your sister first?"
Yu An Yan shook her head. "It's okay. I had suspected as much. Are we just going to talk here, or...?"
Just as I was debating inside my head, Qing Yue chose that moment to interrupt, and pulled on my sleeve. "Since it's around time for dinner anyway, why don't we go to a restaurant?"
Feng Mian and Yu An Xue seemed to be in agreement with this idea as well. "How about Grange Grill? I heard it was a pretty good Western-themed restaurant around here," Feng Mian suggested.
Qing Yue and I glanced at each other knowingly while sharing an awkward laugh. Feng Mian and Yu An Yan tilted their heads, as Yu An Xue explained the reasoning.
"You see...Xuan Kai had a bit of an incident there before."
- A couple of minutes later -
"Huh...I see," Feng Mian said. "In that case-"
But I cut her off. "It's alright. We can go to Grange Grill. I doubt they even remember me by now."
Yu An Yan seemed to be concerned. "Are you sure? I mean, it's going to be very embarrassing if you get recognized..."
"I'll be fine," I replied. Then, in a lower voice, "Hopefully, anyway..."
The girls didn't protest any further, and so, with that, the five of us set off for the restaurant.