11 2 Camellia: Longing
Instead of immediately going home, Chen decided to take a stroll in town.
He hasn't been wandering outside as much ever since two years ago. Most of the time, he was stuck in a carriage or on a horse, quickly going to places. The only exception was when he would walk towards the palace to stop by 'that' place on the way. It became his special place, where he felt at ease when he was stressed. He even sometimes has tea by the abandoned gazebo near the bridge.
Chen had hoped maybe she would be there when he visits from time to time.
But she hasn't appeared.
She had left such a deep impression on him, inspired him to enjoy life freely. As a result, he's been working so hard to free up time for the future, for himself.
His country right now was in the sky. Due to the king and his magic, they were able to lift it, floating in the air with parts of the ocean around them flowing downwards to where the land use to be. Though it was to protect them from an oppressive enemy, the process gave the country a mythical nickname known as the land of Fallen Angels, Country G.
It looked like a piece of the sky fell on earth when once a month the country would be lowered to the ground for trading and other political purposes.
When he reached the town, he saw the corner stall they once visited, giving him memories of that time.
"Can I have two of that pancake please?" Chen asked the shopkeeper.
"Oh, it's you!"
"You still remember me?" Chen pointed awkwardly at himself.
"Of course, encountering such a beautiful couple is hard to forget! You should come by often. Are you getting two this time for your wife? She isn't here with you today."
"...We've been busy as my work has prevented us from visiting town often." Cold sweat started to form at his back.
"It's a shame! Here this one is on the house. From the last time I remembered, wasn't she pregnant? Did she gave birth safely?" Parents such as this, the little one must be blessed with great genes as well! The shopkeeper was quite curious and wanted to see the child.
Ah, indeed lies come back to bite you in the butt. This was only a mere white lie to boot. Chen thought.
"Unfortunately it was a false alarm. We were hoping too much! Hahaha...haha..." Chen attempted to work his way around the lie. It is inevitable that people knew of his name due to being the king's aid, but not many know his appearance as he disliked being public. If he caused trouble, it would really come back to bite him.
"Then I hope you come back with your wife again and with good news! As a man, you must try harder!" She encouraged slightly dejected that there was no child.
Chen let out a sigh of relief that the shopkeeper accepted his response and replied, "Thank you," And with a straight face continued to wander the town.
He passed by many shops and the feeling of nostalgia was potent especially when he reached the end of the street where the coastline was.
Finally deciding to rest, he went to admire the scenery. Part of the ocean was still in view just like that time, except towards the horizon, one can see the current that travels to the bottom and back up. It was logic-defying magic that made this unusual environment to exist.
Standing here, he also had flashbacks to her sad smile. It wasn't a pleasant memory per se, but it was indeed memorable. She showed so many emotions in such a short span of time.
After a brief blank moment, Chen suddenly had a realization.
Why is he thinking about what happened so long ago?
He's been to some of these places so often, even way before he toured them with her. They've only known each other for not that long yet why is the image of her keep replaying in his head? Chen was frustrated, he never felt this type of feeling before.
No, actually, he lied.
He had an idea of what it was but was too afraid to admit it. He had already gotten out of it. This is merely a bud and it should be nipped from the start.
It was the feeling of longing and attraction for someone.
Trying to get rid of his inner thoughts, Chen decided to walk back to the palace again, wanting to work. Despite the King's orders, he planned to convince him to pause his vacation for just a little bit more. Chen planned to prevent any useless thoughts clouding himself.
He feels lost right now, the world was black and white to him. Even though he worked hard in order to enjoy life, he doesn't know what to do with his free time.
Money wasn't a problem since his job was prestigious. He could travel if he wanted to, but he'd done so due to his job. Time was at a standstill with everyday feeling like the previous day and so on.
Chen's eyes were dimmed, filled with no colors.
After walking for at least a couple of hours consumed by his thoughts, he realized he was almost at the castle again where the bridge was in sight.
As Chen approached it, a figure slowly appeared in his peripheral, standing at the peak of the arch.
His heart suddenly stopped along with his footsteps.
He stood there frozen.
Long hair dropped past her waist and swayed effortlessly like before. Her clothing was of unusual design, not like the plainclothes when they first met. It was finely made with many layers of a baby blue color. Despite its uniqueness, it was not overbearing that people would notice its difference to what people wore in this country.
After a couple of minutes, he subconsciously started to run, throwing all kinds of logic out of the window and strode with his long legs.
His heart began to race again as he sped up his pace.
When he reached there, he saw the back of a girl clearly.
Noticing someone was behind her, she turned her head around.
In his eyesight, he saw her neckline to her cherry red lips first. His eyes slowly trailed up to see her slightly flushed cheeks and big, crystal clear eyes that reflected the water.
His heart quivered.
"Long time no see..." She said in her sweet honey-soothing voice.
How he missed hearing it, he hadn't had enough of it before.
"Chen!" She finished her sentence, with her lips curving upward. She gave him her brightest smile, a cheerful face.
This was what he longed to see. The beautiful world all in one.
Colors started to paint his eyes. She looked the same, like the sunflowers they saw that week.
No.
It was the sun itself.
Is it okay to have these thoughts? Can I approach you?
He thought that if it's her, maybe he can be brave and take the first step.
If it's her, he may discover something he hadn't before.
Time unknowingly started to move in his heart.
