Aoife silently stared at Finn for two seconds, gently pursing her lips as she calmly stated brutal facts.
“You never thought about Ethan’s death, but he is gone.”
“You never thought that the video would be leaked, but it spread everywhere.”
“You never thought I would be hurt so much, yet every scar on my body is because of you.”
“You never thought our relationship would turn out this way, but who was responsible?”
“Finn, tell me, what else have you not thought about?” With the last word spoken, Aoife let out a mocking laugh.
With no strength left in her body to resist Finn, Aoife had exhausted all her energy on this journey, leaving her completely defenseless.
“Let go…”
“No, I won’t let go.” Finn held onto Aoife tightly like a child, with an intuition that if he did not hold onto her tightly in that moment, there would be no future between them.
He remembered a long time ago, holding his mother in the same way, her body cold and rigid, no matter how hard he hugged her, he could not warm her.
Trembling hands tightly held onto Aoife’s cold hand. “Aoife, I’m sorry… I don’t want to let you go, I’m sorry, I…” The immense grief crushed Finn’s nerves. He lost his pride in being calm, realizing that he could also become so weak, weak enough to kneel in front of a woman and deeply repent.
Aoife couldn’t show any expression, she only felt the damp coolness on her neck, seeping into her heart.
No matter how much Finn regretted now, she couldn’t forgive him.
Even in his warmest heart, he couldn’t warm her cold, lifeless heart.
Driving all the way, the only sound was Finn’s muffled sobs, as if they were isolated in their own space with only the two of them left in the world.
“Finn, there’s one more thing…” she had one last thing to do.
“What is it? I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“I want to see Ethan, to visit his grave, his tombstone.”
Finn hesitated for a moment, his throat aching, as if something was stuck in it. After a long pause, he nodded. “Okay, I’ll take you.”
Ethan passed away on May 30th, time flew by so fast. It was almost July.
After July came August, and then it would be autumn, with the fragrance of osmanthus in the air.
She remembered last year, when she and Ethan were together, they had made a promise to see the osmanthus together “next year.”
“Ethan, you must wait for me, we will see the osmanthus together.”
Finn buried his face in Aoife’s neck, not noticing the soft smile on Aoife’s face, filled with countless prayers.
Returning to Chiwood late, after a long day, Finn wanted Aoife to rest and visit the next day when it was light.
But Aoife insisted on going to the cemetery.
The road to the cemetery was driven by Finn. He sent the driver back.
By the time they arrived, it was already 7 o’clock in the evening, with few people around. At night, there were only a few streetlights, as they say graveyards are full of gloom.
Perhaps it was an illusion, even though they were still in Chiwood, the cemetery felt much colder.
“Stop here.”
Finn didn’t stop the car, but slowed down. “It’s still a bit of a distance to the cemetery from here.”
“Finn, do you think I would let you appear in front of Ethan’s grave?”
Screech- Finn suddenly slammed on the gas pedal to stop.
Aoife sat in the passenger seat, clutching the seatbelt tightly, not looking at Finn. She gazed at the lonely streetlights outside, saying, “You are the one responsible for his death, within a radius of 500 meters from his grave, you are not worthy to show up.”
“Fine, I won’t go.” Finn replied reluctantly, unlocking the car door.
Without hesitation, Aoife unfastened her seatbelt and opened the car door, stepping out.
Watching Aoife walk away without looking back, Finn hoarsely said, “Be safe.”
Watching Aoife’s figure disappear from his sight, Finn got out of the car, lit a cigarette, and looked up at the sky with the smoke.
– Ethan’s death in the year he felt most guilty, most sorry, and loved him the most, became a permanent scar. Finn didn’t know how to steal feelings from a dead person.
When Ethan was alive, he couldn’t even win Aoife’s heart, and now, with Ethan gone, Aoife’s heart died along with him.
…
Aoife’s footsteps did not stop as she walked towards the cemetery, stepping on her shadow on the ground. She looked up at the sky, the stars shining brightly tonight, with the largest and brightest star directly above her head, as if she could see a lively and smiling Ethan.
Humming “The Wedding in a Dream” in the quiet night made it even more poignant.
Running towards the cemetery, faster and faster, even when she was out of breath and tired, she kept running towards Ethan as if she was desperately running towards him.
The night wind stung her face, as if trying to stop her, but Aoife smiled.
Arriving at the cemetery, registering and buying Hell Money, incense, and candles from a closing shop, along with a bouquet of forget-me-nots, Aoife carried fresh flowers in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.
There were many tombstones in the cemetery. Though she used to be afraid of everything, afraid of death, ghosts, graves, and cemeteries, but now she was not afraid of anything, because the ghosts in the graves of the cemetery were the ones she longed to see day and night.
In the cemetery, many tombstones, Aoife quickly found Ethan’s tombstone and saw a couple standing in front of it.
They were Ethan’s parents.
Her steps, already heavy, now felt as if they were bound by chains. Her heavy breathing caught the attention of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.
The loss of their son in the past month had left Mr. and Mrs. Johnson emaciated, with gray hair and a shrinking figure. Mrs. Johnson was so weak that she almost stumbled upon seeing Aoife kneeling before them.
This was the Aoife that Ethan loved, the person he wanted to protect with his life.
Seeing Aoife kneel before them, Mr. Johnson was taken aback. He was not forgiving; he was a father who could not forget Ethan’s death or forgive those who caused it.
If it weren’t for Aoife, Ethan would be well and alive now, not lying alone.
“How dare you show your face here? Get out! Get out!” Mr. Johnson pointed at Aoife, his hand shaking.
Aoife said nothing, only bowed her head to the ground, each time heavier than the last, the only sound in the quiet night being the muffled thud of her head hitting the ground.
She didn’t know how to face Ethan’s parents. Even saying “I’m sorry” to them felt like adding salt to their wounds.
Mrs. Johnson watched Aoife’s head hitting the ground until it began to bleed. She tugged at Mr. Johnson, shaking her head: “Let’s go, she came willingly, Ethan wanted to see her.”
She had promised Ethan that she wouldn’t make things difficult for Aoife.