“Yes,” Louis said as he gently placed his hand on her head and rubbed it. The wind outside was too strong, even though she was wrapped in a scarf, the wind still managed to seep inside. Louis adjusted Elisa’s scarf, saying, “There will be more and more gentle people around you.”
Elisa chuckled softly, reached out and grabbed Louis’s hand. She was wrong… there wouldn’t be more and more people in her world. At this moment, she only had Louis. As for Louis, there would be many gentle people around him in the future. He deserved to be loved.
“If someday I disappear, Louis, I hope you can live well and do the things I haven’t done for me. I like the warm sunshine in winter, the dusk smoke, the green fields, and a person named Louis. I like to go find cicadas in winter, listen to the whales sing by the seaside in summer, seagulls spreading their wings, and the lingering light of the sunset over the sea… I like someone to accompany me to see all the scenery in this world. But if I’m not here, I would appreciate it if you could see everything in this world for me.”
“Elisa, what’s wrong?” Louis, with a keen mind, caught the fleeting glint of tears in Elisa’s eyes, though it was just a flash.
“I just feel so lucky,” Elisa said softly, taking a deep breath to suppress the lump in her throat, “to be so lucky to meet you.”
…
Finally finding a day off, Louis and Elisa went to the hospital at five in the afternoon to visit Mr. White. Mr. White’s condition was the same as yesterday, not much change, neither good nor bad.
Passing by a flower shop, Elisa bought a bunch of sunflowers and placed them by the hospital window, watching the family chat. Mrs. White suddenly mentioned the wedding.
“Yesterday, I asked Elisa what kind of wedding she wanted, she said she wanted a Chinese-style one. By the way, I checked the dates recently, how about having it on the last day of December? That’s over a month away, we don’t need to invite many people, just a few close friends and family,” Mrs. White said, looking at Elisa, who was standing by the window caressing the sunflowers.
“Elisa, what do you think about having the wedding on Christmas Day?”
December 25th, it would be the sixth year since her death. Before Elisa could speak, Louis, standing beside her, said, “That day is not auspicious, let’s change it later.”
“Actually… we don’t have to have a wedding,” Elisa spoke up.
“No,” Mrs. White, Mr. White, and Louis all spoke at the same time, their gazes still locked on her.
“Marriage is the most important thing for a woman, how can you not have a wedding, even if you have no money, you must get married, even if you have to sell everything,” Mrs. White said.
Elisa and Louis didn’t stay at the hospital for long. Mr. White was resting early, and if they didn’t arrive by eight o’clock, he would ask Elisa to go home. Mrs. White escorted the two of them out, holding Elisa’s hand as if she were her own daughter, and admonishing Louis as they walked, “You must take good care of Elisa and not let her get tired.”
“I know without you telling me, Mom. You can stop here, take care of yourself,” Louis said.
“Okay.” Mrs. White stood at the hospital door, feeling the strong wind outside. She felt cold even without going outside and adjusted her coat tightly around herself. Elisa turned back and waved, “Mom, you should go back, it’s cold outside.”
“I know, be safe on your way back, and send a text once you’re home.”
Mrs. White kept talking but remained in place, watching the two of them leave until they got into the car. Elisa clearly felt the gaze behind her, and after getting into the car, she looked at the hospital gate through the rearview mirror. Thinking about the accident on the bungee jumping ride today, if Louis hadn’t paid attention and fastened his seatbelt or held onto the safety bar, the consequences would have been unthinkable. It had been hours since the incident, but just thinking about it, along with the text message on her phone, made her shiver all over.
This time, no one would forgive her if something happened. Neither Louis nor anyone in the White family would forgive her for any accident that occurred because of her. Aunt Burns and Uncle White were so good to her, how could she bear to make them sad? Elisa looked out the car window and said, “She hasn’t gone in, she’s still there, Mom doesn’t want to leave you, after you’re done with your busy time, spend more time with her. She’s a good mother.”
She said “you” instead of “us.” Louis noticed, feeling that Elisa had something on her mind, but he didn’t ask. After a long day, he held Elisa in his arms and, with a low voice, responded, “Hmm.”
Halfway through the journey, the brakes malfunctioned. The driver noticed in time, pulled over, and averted a potential accident. Two accidents in one day, it’s hard not to pay attention. Louis furrowed his brow, “Didn’t you have a regular maintenance check?”
The driver explained, “I took the car to the shop last week for a check-up, it shouldn’t have had any issues… I’m also puzzled.”
Louis used to drive this car frequently, but he had asked the driver to take it for maintenance recently, opting to drive another car himself. The car he had driven back in last night had been through a storm, and the body was too dirty, so it had been taken to the car wash today, leaving him with no car, hence the driver.
Listening to their conversation, Elisa applied a bit of pressure with her hand. Clearly, if the brakes were faulty, they couldn’t continue driving. Luckily, they weren’t far from home, so they hailed a taxi by the roadside to go back.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Louis asked, seeing Elisa’s pale face.
Elisa rallied herself, her tired face displaying a faint, pale smile, “Maybe I’m just tired today; I feel a bit drowsy.”
Louis said, “Then let’s get you home to rest early.”
Not only was she tired, but she had also been shocked. The first thing Louis did when he got home was to prepare a hot bath for Elisa and let her change into her pajamas to take a hot bath. Being startled easily could lead to nightmares. Louis made a cup of hot milk for Elisa, hoping it would help her relax after her bath. However, the nerves tensed like a bowstring, and Elisa still ended up having a nightmare.
She dreamed that she and Louis had overcome a virus but couldn’t escape a series of accidents. In the end, he died in front of her. She shivered and woke up from the nightmare.
As she woke, Louis, who was sleeping next to her, also woke up and turned on the light. “Did you have a nightmare?” he asked.
Hearing Louis’ voice, Elisa curled into his embrace, responding, “Louis, I’m afraid something will happen to you. Promise me you’ll be fine and nothing will happen.”
Louis stroked her long hair, “I won’t have any accidents, I’ll always be by your side.”
“What nightmare did you have? You’re so scared,” Louis asked.
“I forgot,” Elisa didn’t answer, instead, she hugged Louis tightly.
“Forget about it, no need to dwell on it.”
Elisa couldn’t sleep for a while after being startled. She lay on the bed, murmuring to herself, “I should get up early tomorrow to make breakfast, or else you won’t have anything to eat in the future…”
The next morning, before dawn, Elisa got up quietly and made breakfast for Louis. She added something to the milky white porridge and stirred it until nothing was visible.
Louis woke up and, not finding Elisa, called out twice without getting a response. He was scared and quickly got up and went downstairs. He only relaxed when he saw her busy in the kitchen. “Why are you up so early today?”
Elisa turned around, “I didn’t have much to do today, so I thought I’d make you breakfast. Go freshen up, and after breakfast, you can change clothes.”
Elisa made fried breadsticks for breakfast, and they were crispy in her mouth. Watching Louis take a big sip of the porridge in front of him, Elisa pursed her lips, her eyes downcast, concealing all her emotions.
“You shouldn’t drive today. I’ll call a car for you later; I’m not too confident about your cars,” Elisa said.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
Elisa had called the car, and by the time Louis changed, the car had arrived. Perhaps because she had been overworked recently, after resting for a day yesterday, she had entered a state of exhaustion. Even though she had just woken up, she was already feeling sleepy again, her eyelids involuntarily drooping.
“Are you going to work today?” Louis asked.
Elisa shook her head, “Did you forget it’s Saturday today? I don’t work on Saturdays; I’ll be resting at home waiting for you to come back.”