Year 2023,
28 April,
Time: 12:45 PM
After the cold and hard winter, finally the spring graced the country with its presence. With new leaves and flowers blooming all around, a girl was standing on one of the highest buildings of the S city, gazing at the sky. Her hair flowing as the gentle wind blew–there were scratches over her hand and knees. Her eyes were dull and tired, but upon a close look, one could say those eyes were desperate for something...
"So beautiful...." she whispered as she marched her foot forward in the mid-air while looking at the sky. And then, without a trace of nervousness, she jumped off the building. She continued to gaze at the blue sky while light pink Sakura* flowers flew all around her.
A lone tear escaped out of her eye as she uttered her last word,
"Goodbye..."
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"NO!!!" The man with black messy hair and light brown eyes screamed as he woke up from this traumatising dream. His body drenched in sweats, and his hands shaking uncontrollably.
"Hah, was that a dream…?" He murmured. Once his hand stopped shaking, he rubbed his eyes and checked his phone.
There was a new text message from (ZHAO LING.
Ling: Let's meet at 4 pm at XX place.
Him: Okay
After texting her back, the man went to the bathroom and took a warm shower to ease his mood. He really needed this after such a strange dream. Once he was done with the shower, he had his breakfast, and then got dressed up to leave his house.
With a charming face and an attractive body and height, Yang Feng, a 29-year-old architect, was back in his hometown after almost 10 years. Being tired of the bustling city life in the US, he wanted to take a break, hence he came back into the embrace of the place where he grew up. Walking down the same old pavement brought back some nostalgic memories of his teenage days.
Everything in his old neighbourhood had changed for the better, it was a good thing. And yet it made him a little sad, because those old things had carried the hint of his childhood days.
He kept walking around without thinking of anything else, even though the dream he saw this morning was still vivid in his inward eye.
He sighed, "I wanted to distract myself, but how come I ended up here?" Feng murmured as he ruffled his slicked-back hair while looking at the vast building, it was the same as his dream. Unlike the other buildings, which were fully constructed, this building was still deserted.
"Maybe ever since that day, they stopped working in this building." A voice came from behind him.
Startled, he turned around only to see a woman with long brown hair and fair skin.
"Wow! that scared me, Zhao Ling," Feng said as he put his hands on his left chest.
"Why? Did you think it was a ghost or something?" Ling joked.
"Forget it," Feng then asked her, "What are you doing here anyways?"
"Well, shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" The girl smiled as she asked him back.
"This is my old neighbourhood, so I was just walking around.."
"I see....your neighbourhood is quite close to our school."
"Yes, it is...but what are you doing?" He asked as he saw Ling bringing out a bottle of wine.
"Care to join me for a drink?" She asked as she offered him a paper cup.
"Wine...and here?" Feng asked her with uncertainty.
"Uhm, look at this grass… so green. C'mon, sit down." She said as she sat down on the ground facing the building, followed by Feng.
"Cheers to our reunion!" She said as she clinked her cup with Feng's. Then she looked at the building and raised her cup in the air as if purposing a toast to that certain building.
Feng noticed that and did the same. "Wow! you are copying my actions~" Ling said as she looked at Feng.
"I am not copying you, I am just doing what I must." Feng said as he asked her, "But how do you know about this place?"
"How can I not know? After all, it was me and her who discovered this place and…" Ling felt a lump in her throat."And also the place where she took her last breath. As her best friend, I must know about it, right?" She said as she looked at the top of the building and then at the sky with a bittersweet smile.
"That crazy girl…must be laughing her heart out while looking at us like this," Ling let out a bitter chuckle. "She must be happy..."
"....how do you know if she is happy or not?" Feng asked as he looked at the sky.
"Ge (Brother)..who won't be happy to leave this sh*ty world? At least she would and I am happy for her..." she said as she smiled, looking at the clouds passing by.
"Well, you are right...but still I thought you would be a little sad at least..."
"Sad? I don't really feel so, but I do feel guilty..."
"Guilty? why? Did you do something bad to her?" Feng asked.
"What I did to her was not just bad but also inhuman..." Ling said as she drank the whole cup at once. "Which is why I am here, because I am too ashamed to face her grave..."
Feng looked at the girl's guilt struck face and said, "Well, as far as I have known her, she must have forgiven you long ago. So don't blame yourself for whatever you did. Who knows? She might be waiting for you to visit her graveyard,"
"I know. She would forgive me and that's what makes it even sadder. Because that girl would always blame herself...that idiot," she said as her eyes teared up. "That idiot left me alone *sob* *sob* If only I would have been by her side, maybe, just maybe, she would have been with us today…" She clenched her fist, "Fu*k! I planned not to cry today, but...I just can't get over it!" She said as she cried down rivers.
Whereas Feng was facing an emotional shock because it was his first time seeing someone cry for that girl. Even in class, when they heard of her suicide, everyone was shocked. But it didn't last for long, and as if she was never been there, everyone moved on.
Ning…
Xiao Ning was such a forgettable presence to everyone, including Feng, but sometimes he still dreamed about her and he wondered why?
"Ahh, I wish I could join her, but I have other responsibilities on my shoulders which I need to fulfil or else she would curse me from heaven," Ling said as she looked at her watch.
"Seriously, what's so good about death?" Feng asked as he drank the last cup of wine.
"Nothing to people like you, but a lot for people like her..." she said as she stood up and looked around.
"I am here!" She said as she looked at the entrance and a small boy around the age of 10 came running towards her. The boy had exact facial features as Ling, but the colour of his eyes and hair differed from her.
"Mommy! Where were you all that time? And what's with this haunted place?" The little boy asked.
"Oi! Be polite and greet your aunty. I told you I would take you to meet her, right?" She said as she dabbed the kid's head.
"Is my aunty a ghost residing inside that building?" The kid said, which made Feng laugh.
"This kid! I wonder whose sh**y attitude did you take after?" Ling grumbled, not pleased by her child's words.
"Aren't you and father the same?" The kid said as he bowed towards the building.
"Hello, I am Zhao Kai, son of your best friend Zhao Ling. I hope you are doing fine in heaven. My mother keeps talking about you and she is always thankful to you, my mother even said that she did something bad to you…" The kid continued, "If possible please forgive her, and Aunt Ning,my mother… misses you a lot." Kai said as he bowed towards the building once again.
And just when he did so, a sakura petal fell upon his hair, "Mom! Look, Aunty must have blessed me!" He said with a smile on his face as he shows her the flower petal.
"Yes, she must have." Ling said as she smiled at Kai, Then she returned her attention to Feng. "Yang Feng, there is something I want you to do for me." Ling said as she pulled out a red book out of her handbag.
"I want you to publish this book under your publishing company. Don't worry, I will pay for everything."
"But whose book is this?"
"It belongs to Ning. I found it yesterday in her old house. She always wanted her work to reach others, but she wasn't able to...so I want to fulfil this dream for her. And for that, I need your help."
"But why me? There are other companies too,"
"Because I don't have faith in others." She stated, "And I will leave this country forever...so I need someone reliable."
"Leaving the country? Why?" Feng asked, taken aback by her decision.
"Because I want to leave my past here and start a new life with him," she said as she looked at Kai, her son.
"What about his father?"
"We are already divorced..."
"Oh, sorry..."
"No worries, it was bound to happen anyway teenage love made me crazy....haha. So, will you help me out?"
"I can't be sure, but...I will try." Feng said as he looked at the building.
"Sweet. Then take this." She handed him the notebook.
As soon as he held that book, he felt a weird sensation, as if he was holding into someone's memories.
"Then, see you around," Ling said as she bid her farewell to Yang Feng.
And Feng, with that book in his hand, returned to his home, unaware of what was going to happen next.
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Characters info
Zhao Ling
A 28 years old divorced woman who married young and has a son named Zhao Kai. She is the best friend of Xiao Ning.
Sign: Capricorn
Height: 165.1cm (5.5feet)
Likes: Food and Adventures
Dislikes: Egoistic and arrogant people
Habits: Starts acting cold when angry
Characteristics: A loud extrovert who has crushes on almost everyone. Is loyal to her friends and relationships and likes stylish clothes and hairstyles.
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Sakura means cherry blossom in Japanese and I am using it here since it suits it [or more like I want to]