“If there is another life, you and I will part ways, each finding joy in our own paths.”
“Years pass without seeing each other, may each year be peaceful.”
These words echoed in Hamish’s mind, the dried bloodstains and tear marks on the yellowed diary vivid in his thoughts.
Elisa had chosen reincarnation or disappearance, a choice given to her by the divine.
As for Hamish, he chose rebirth, always wondering if going back to the beginning could change anything.
Thus, he was reborn in the year when his parents tragically passed away when he was seven years old.
He could change many things, like his parents’ deaths, or perhaps even meeting Elisa sooner.
But what he hadn’t expected was that Elisa truly never returned to the mortal realm in this lifetime. Was it because of him? Or for her family’s sake, or to avoid repeating the past?
Reconciliation and rekindling old flames, such phrases always sounded so beautiful. But reality taught him that even if one went back to the starting point, the mirror would still shatter, there was no true reconciliation as one hoped.
So why did he think that simply returning to the beginning would bring her back?
Biting his lip until it bled, Mrs. Burns pried open Hamish’s mouth, checking, “What happened?”
The car window opened, letting in a gentle breeze of summer, carrying a hint of coolness, causing him to involuntarily shiver.
In the warmth of winter sun and the companionship of summer breezes, experiencing the joys and sorrows of mortal life, things he could feel but Elisa could not in this lifetime.
Even the most ordinary day and night lost a viewer in this world.
In his past life, he sat on that rocking chair, feeling the warmth of the sun and the breeze, watching the shadows fade, the ring slipping from his hand. He had truly believed he had let go.
People are always greedy, for things they don’t have. Even if given a chance by fate to prevent his parents’ deaths, he couldn’t help but be greedy about Elisa’s fate.
He even fantasized about meeting Elisa earlier, how laughable…
The tears on his face had dried, Hamish blinked his sore eyes, taking his mother’s hand, hoarsely saying, “I’m fine…”
Mrs. Burns was genuinely frightened when she heard Hamish saying his heart hurt, but now, hearing him say he was fine didn’t ease her tension.
Mr. Burns also suggested, “You should still go to the hospital for a check-up.”
“Mom, Dad, I’m really fine. Please don’t worry about me.” Seeing the worried look in his mother’s eyes, he reached out to hug her, he still had his parents.
“You rascal.” Mrs. Burns was momentarily taken aback by her son’s sudden affectionate behavior, but she still ruffled his hair and asked, “Can you tell us why you went so far, to the Powell family and then to the gates of the amusement park?”
Hamish simply replied, “It’s all in the past.”
Seeing that he didn’t want to say more, Mrs. Burns left for the hospital for a check-up. Everything was fine, except for a slight fever on his forehead.
Back at the hotel, Hamish slept, with Mrs. Burns by his side. Whether he had nightmares or not, tears trickling down his face… it was heartbreaking to see.
After a night’s sleep, Hamish woke up as if nothing had happened. He had memories of his past life, knowing how his parents had passed away, the day of their accident still vivid in his mind.
It was on their way back from Bankshire to Chiwood that the accident happened, on a rainy day.
Once their work in Bankshire was done, Mr. Burns had decided to take the family back home.
“Dad, can we wait another two days before going back? I want to play a little longer.”
“What do you want to play?” It was the first time his son had expressed a desire to play, and since there was nothing urgent after the work was done, he let the child have his way.
Hamish listed off half the names of tourist spots in Bankshire, surprising Mr. Burns with how many places there were to visit in Bankshire.
Hamish handed him a travel guide as a distraction.
They stayed in Bankshire for another week, during which a heavy rain fell, the weather turning misty. It was time to head back.
Would the accident from their past life happen again with a different timeline this time?
Hamish didn’t know. Maybe things would change, or maybe nothing would change at all. But with him there, even the unchangeable must change, even if it meant sacrificing his life.
Wasn’t Elisa doing the same for her family?
On the way back, the driver was driving, just like in their past life. The three of them sat in the back, and when the accident happened, his parents shielded him.
But this time, Hamish requested to sit in the front seat.
The weather forecast had predicted clear skies, but halfway through the journey, rain started pouring down, dark clouds looming dangerously overhead.
The car continued steadily on the road as the rain intensified, the familiar scene from his memories becoming clearer. Hamish held his breath, focusing everything on what lay ahead.
In the back, his parents were engaged in a warm conversation, but suddenly, Mrs. Burns asked, “Hamish, do you remember what your dream was?”
Hamish shook his head, “I don’t know.”
He said he didn’t know instead of not remembering, but the meaning was roughly the same. He too wanted to recall his past dreams, but no matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t remember.
That dream had vanished long ago, lost amid the pursuit of fame and fortune, disappearing in the torrent of time. In a world focused on money, it slowly faded away. Who could truly rediscover that pure and passionate dream?
Mrs. Burns smiled, “Your dream was to become a doctor.”
Was his childhood dream really to become a doctor? It seemed absurd. His dream was to become a doctor, yet as he grew older, he didn’t even know if Elisa was sick or not. When she was diagnosed with stomach cancer, he thought she was pretending; when she had a miscarriage and the doctor said she had difficulty getting pregnant, he arrogantly insisted that as long as he wanted Elisa to get pregnant.
His dream was to become a doctor, yet he died of lung cancer due to heavy smoking.
How ironic.
Hamish chuckled, but tears fell from his eyes.
The car skidded suddenly on a mountain road turn.
And at that moment, a fierce truck came towards them head-on. The driver froze in shock, but Hamish had already unbuckled his seatbelt, grasping the steering wheel.
“Step on the gas, don’t stop, Mom, Dad, crouch down quickly!”
With a roar, the driver instinctively hit the gas, and Hamish changed the direction of the car, ramming it into a large tree at the roadside. The trunk was snapped in half on impact, crashing down, a part of it landing on the car roof.
The car was severely damaged by the impact, the original shape unrecognizable, airbags deploying. Hamish was thrown to the side, hitting his head on the car door, a sharp, burning pain spreading.
The view before him turned red with blood, the “nightmare” of his past life seeming to replay in the present, the taste of blood filling his nostrils, blurring his senses, slowly engulfing him in darkness.
…….
Hamish had a long dream, of past and present, of a person in a red dress walking towards him. He tried hard to see her face, but it remained elusive.