43 YEARS AGO I MET THE SUN

He was her first love.                              

And she was his.

Even when her eyes were open, she could daydream about him and their future together – him and her sharing moments with each other – both trivial and special. 

It was a lovely blossoming of their romance akin to how flowering buds sprout in colorful forms in spring.

However, everything went upside down when it got tainted with evil deeds. Their pure young love was taken advantage of. Ruthlessly, so.

It destroyed both of them.

 [Flashback]

Ten years ago.

A fifteen-year-old girl was talking to the phone inside a lavishly decorated Victorian-inspired house. "My report card is out for the last term, Mother. I did well. Hihihi." 

"You better be! Our relatives are paying for your education so you better prove to them that you are worth the investment! Prove to their faces that we are only lacking in money but not in talents and skills! If they need you to help them with anything, do not hesitate to serve them, do you understand?" The stern voice of a middle-aged woman traveled onto the phone line.

"Yes, Mother. Leave it up to me." The girl's smile faded into a concerned pout. "How's Father's condition?"

The woman from the other line sighed, full of exasperation. "He's not getting better. He needs to be operated, or else…"

"That means we need a large sum of money. Mother… Should I just work?"

"That's nonsense! Bring honor to our family by being groomed into a city lady! Hang in there and learn how to be sophisticated like the other fine ladies in the city! Then, maybe a young master from a good family can take you in! Only then can you prove your worth! It's our only chance! Don't blow it up if you care for your Father and me!" The lady banged the phone with all her might.

The teenage girl cringed at the heightened disruptive boom brought by the earpiece from the other line.

Her mother's message was clear. 'Don't mess up.'

The very next day, the girl went to visit a temple to pray for her family's future and for her father's health. She knew they were lacking the means to support her father's medical needs.

The temple she went to was a place suggested by a relative who had taken her in, clothed her, fed her, schooled her, and even offered her internship in a prestigious company – her uncle. 

She trusted this uncle very much. She couldn't be more grateful. 

The previous night during dinner, when she relayed her intent to visit the temple, her uncle not only allowed her to go and gave her with additional pocket money. He also suggested a good one. It was the most reasonable proximity to her current stay-in location.

"I want you to meet someone there." Her uncle told her. "I know of a boy your age who would be visiting the temple tomorrow. He's an intern in our company. Why don't you see if you can be friends with him? It's good to start in developing connections as early as your age. You'll be seeing each other in the company more often anyway."

"It's not a bad idea, Uncle." She answered with an optimistic smile on her hopeful, naïve countenance.

"But don't mention my name, alright? It's between you, kids." Her Uncle was already a director at where he works.

"Understand, Uncle." She thought that it's only appropriate not to use her uncle's name for work or for personal benefit. 

She went to the temple without expecting much from what her uncle told her. She did not know who this boy was, or how he looked like. She had no idea so she simply set it aside.

After all, she was there to pray for a miracle to nurse her father back to good health. With all her heart and a hundred percent full concentration, she repeatedly bowed and stood with clasped hands in deep prayer. 

'A miracle. I'm praying for a miracle.'

 Once her task was accomplished, she used her spare time to roam freely around the vicinity. The temple was old, yet still beautiful in its austere way. It was authentic.

As soon as her eyes landed on them, the aesthetically pleasing oriental edifices and architecture captured her heart and enthralled her. Her soul drank from the sight, filling her with unimaginable gratification. Everything around her was beautiful.

Very few people visited the temple that day. So when a boy her age passed by her, her instincts somewhat nudged her to believing that he's the boy her uncle told her. 

Or at the very least, she convinced herself that he's the boy.

She thought that he's like no other. Like the enthralling temple landscape around her, this boy fascinated her. It appeared to her that everything seems special about him, even if she knew nothing of him.

He's like the sun that stood out from all else. The environment, the people around him faded in the background and drowned into his brightness. He shone like the mighty sun.

'I had never seen a person so radiant as him.' She was all gasps and smiles. Maybe she's already looking so stupid.

She did not notice that she had been following him thoughtlessly. Perhaps he could sense it, for once in a while he looked back. 

Frightened of being discovered, she always tried to hide herself behind a wall, or a tree. Her heart raced from the thrill of it all, yet she couldn't stop admiring him. 

'He's like the sun. I'm drawn to him.' She saw him smile, and his smile softened her heart she did not know could be melted like how the candle's flame could do to wax. She felt the heat of her racing heart quickly spread up to her flushed face.

Behind a tree, she found shelter, and as she thought that she's safe from detection, she nursed her cheeks with her palms.

But her heart leapt through her ribcage when she heard someone say. "Hello."

Her mouth automatically gaped as her eyes widened in panic. 'What should I do?' She kept her loosely balled fist close to her bosom, her shoulders hunched forward. It wasn't a confident stance.

"Do you live around this region? It's my first time to visit here." The boy's lively, enchanting voice was without inhibitions. She could detect his innate cheerfulness from his voice and tone alone. There was innocent laughter in each of his words as if communicating that he is looking forward to her company, even if he doesn't know her yet.