The Rain Still Falls (2)

Time seemed to have slowed down as Louise waited for that person—the one whom he had shared almost 8 years of his life with, and the one he thought would be with him for the rest of his life.

In truth, he was still muddleheaded about how he had arrived at this place. After receiving her message, he immediately took a shower and prepared himself. Rather than enjoying the breakfast cooked by his mother, he simply rushed off after taking a few big bites.

This baffled his family, but Louise had always been quite eccentric toward his family, popping in and out from time to time, so they were already used to it.

It was now 8 in the morning, and he had arrived at the meeting place two hours earlier than planned. The reason for this? His heart just wasn't prepared. It had been 4 or so months after that painful breakup, and he had been suppressing all his emotions ever since.

In truth, it could have been a perfect ending, but some things just weren't meant to be. Louise and that woman, Michelle, loved each other so much. They believed that they could be together forever, and what eventually deteriorated this belief was the test of time.

Different personalities, different interests and hobbies, different moral views... Louise's fingers weren't enough to count the many things they were opposites of each other.

Of course, there was always a compromise. There would always be a party who would give in, but all these give and take just left them with unhappiness and bitterness that grew over time. And at some point, Michelle just said, "I love you, and I know that you love me too. But... but we're just not meant to be."

Louise, who had always been adamant and stubborn, tried to fight to save their relationship, compromising even more just to lessen their differences. But ultimately, it came down to a question from Michelle that ended everything.

"Are you still happy?"

These words and the way she said those words with a cold, painful smile, Louise could never forget.

He wanted to answer "yes, I'm happy as long as you're with me," but these words were stuck in his throat, unable to be let out.

Michelle, with tear-stained eyes, turned around before saying, "It's over."

Four months had gone by since that day, yet at this moment, these same words reverberated inside his mind, as if it was just yesterday.

"Louise? Mr. Louise, your hot mocha is ready!"

Louise only woke up from his reverie after the server of the cafe had called his name 3 times. He searched for the receipt in his pocket and walked toward the serving area.

After taking his hot mocha and going back to his table, a sigh escaped his lips. He was pensive and unable to calm down. This cafe—Serenity—was a place full of memories for the couple. And unsurprisingly, this was also the place where everything had ended.

And now, they were about to meet again in this place.

Louise had many questions; he also had many regrets. He wanted to ask where things went wrong, how they lasted 8 years if they were really not meant to be, and how... just how could he wake up from the nightmare of losing her.

At the end of it all, the pain slowly burst out, and he rushed toward the toilet.

"Ah, f*cking onions," he muttered as he washed his face. They had yet to meet, and he had already broken down.

'I feel so pathetic? Haha.'

He looked at the mirror and forced a smile. He wanted to get out soon, lest people thought he was having diarrhea, but the tears just wouldn't stop coming out. It was so incredibly painful that he just had to let it all out.

After five minutes of attempting to calm down and stopping his tears from flowing, his face finally looked better. He looked at the mirror and at his not-so-handsome face.

"I'm okay, everything will be okay." He repeated these words as if chanting a mantra in an attempt to fully calm down his raging emotions.

After taking a deep breath, he looked at himself once again. His light brown skin had a reddish hue, but it wasn't particularly noticeable unless one stared at him for a while. Luckily, no one would really enjoy looking at his face.

He wiped his face clean and got out of the toilet. After calmly returning to his table, he took a sip of his hot mocha; he was finally able to calm down. Now, he had to think logically. He had to think about what loose ends she wanted to talk about, and how to make things amicable... Or if there was a chance...

Unfortunately, all these thoughts were pushed aside as his phone vibrated from his pockets.

—Michelle: I know that you've already arrived. I'll be there in 15 minutes.

It was a message from Michelle. It was so sudden that his heart and mind were put in a mess. He originally thought he would have 2 hours to prepare himself, and yet she was about to arrive so soon.

While racking his brain about how things went this way, he suddenly noticed one of the servers in the cafe. It was a close friend of Michelle...

'Damn, sh*t, damn, damn, damn, sh*t...' A string of curses incessantly flowed out inside his head. He was in a panic. He was sad, heartbroken, and excited, looking forward even, and all these emotions mixing together made him restless.

Buzz...

"Another message?"

This time, however, the message didn't come from Michelle. It was from discord, from someone who should already be asleep.

—Kyporith: Send me a pat. The sky is dark. It will rain soon. How is it over there?

The message from Anna brought him back to reality. At one point, there were so many things inside his head that he just couldn't think straight. Reality was, he was here to meet her to cut loose ends. They would meet to end everything once and for all.

A bitter smile appeared on his face.

'What a time to be alive.'

He looked up outside to see that the sky had suddenly turned dark. It was bright when he arrived here, but now, it seemed the rain would eventually fall on the land. Was it foreshadowing?

Louise honestly didn't know. With his mind slowly easing up, he checked the time and realized there was still some time before Michelle would arrive. Whatever she wanted to say or ask, he should listen and answer honestly. It was also a chance for him to move forward. Perhaps it was what he was waiting for to happen for a long time now.

In the meantime, he replied to Anna.

—Moxie: You should be sleeping now. Tsk. If you died all of a sudden one of these days, you can't haunt me because I tried to warn you.

The sky here is also looking gloomy. Looks like it's also about to rain too. On a serious note, Go. To. Sleep! Pats...

He was about to put his phone back in his pocket when Anna's reply came a little too fast.

—Kyporith: Isn't it amazing that we are so far apart and yet we are looking at the same sky?

—Moxie: Yes, yes. Sleep, now.

—Kyporith: Okay, old man!

—Moxie: What old man, you're older than me! Goodnight, Anna. Sleep, please.

—Kyporith: I will... Goodnight, Moxie.

The conversation ended at this point. And before he knew it, more than 10 minutes had passed by, and his eyes were now looking at the entrance of the cafe. She would arrive at any moment, and everything else should be set aside.

Louise closed his eyes. There was no point in staring at the entrance; she would eventually arrive, and he might as well take the time to compose himself. Taking in yet another deep breath, he finally opened his eyes.

And just like that...

Bang!

The facade he was trying to create shattered in but a moment. There, at the entrance, was the girl he had more or less given half of his life to. They were childhood sweethearts, and they had been together from high school to college, until four months ago.

Their entire time together seemed to have passed by in his mind all of a sudden. Pain. That was all he felt. After all, what truly ripped his heart apart was the "her" now.

Beautiful, incredibly so—these were the words ringing inside his head as his vision was filled with this woman. Her black hair looked even glossier than before, and her round face, thin red lips, and brown eyes barely mirrored the girl in his memories.

Prettier, happier, and glowing as if she was another person altogether—

'Was she this... brilliant when we were together?' Louise didn't want to continue this thought because he already knew the answer from the pain in his heart.

All the questions he wanted to ask vanished all of a sudden. There really was no point in asking them.

Only, he now knew one of the greatest kinds of pain known to men—to see the one he loved the most become happier without his own "existence" in her life.

Louise clutched his knee, hard. All the surging emotions he had inside his heart suddenly died down. This meeting was a catharsis, a powerful one at that. He finally realized that ending their relationship was for the better, at least for her.

He forced a smile, stood up, and waved toward Michelle. He was, at the moment, unbelievably calm, as if he was splashed with icy cold water. When Michelle came over and took a seat, he just said, "Hi, you seem much... more beautiful than the last time we met."

Michelle, on the other hand, seemed much more confident than in the past. She had a bright smile plastered on her face as she said, "You seem better, too. It seems you're doing well?"

Louise wanted to say no, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. His appearance looked better perhaps because he had been sleeping too much these days. He just nodded and said, "Mhm. A lot of things have... changed, I guess. That aside, how have you been since that time?"

"I cried a lot, but now, I think letting go of it was the best decision we made," Michelle said in a somewhat dull tone. There was a small hint of sadness in her eyes, but there was more resolution. Louise, of course, caught that.

"So what did you invite me for all of a sudden?" Louise couldn't help it anymore and directly asked.

Michelle opened her bag and took out a small box. She placed it on the table and said, "Here, I want to give them all back to you."

"This is?"

"See for yourself."

Louise already knew what these things were, but he still asked. That box was the same box he had given her on their 8th anniversary. He had specially prepared it, creating a collage of their memories from when they started dating until the present. And inside it was a necklace embedded with a ruby—it was her favorite gemstone.

Louise had never been a sweet guy. He was usually cold, but after all those years, he decided that he might as well put in all the effort that he could in their 8th anniversary. And after careful preparation, this box was the result. Who knew it would be their last anniversary?

Louise opened the box, and as expected, the things inside were the things he had given her before. The bracelet, too, which was the very first gift he had given her, was also there. There were also a few letters he had given her over the years.

He bitterly smiled and said, "You really didn't need to give this back to me. You could've kept them or thrown them away."

"You know I can't do that. I just feel like returning these things to you would put a clear end to everything. Without them, I can finally be free, and you too. This… should be better for the both of us, right?"

Her expression seemed like it wouldn't take no for an answer. Louise understood. He was laughing inside because, at the end of it all, he still had to compromise. There was no point in speaking more, so he just nodded.

"Then I'll be heading out," Michelle said all of a sudden. She was about to stand up when Louise hurriedly said, "Wait!"

"Yes?"

Louise wanted to ask, "Is this it?" All the four months of pain and suffering only amounted to these few minutes of saying goodbye? He felt bitter and astringent, yet he didn't have the courage to voice it out.

In the end, all he could say was, "Michelle, thank you. May you be happier and successful. Take care..."

"You too." These were the last words Michelle said to him before turning around and leaving the cafe.

Louise stared at the cup of mocha in front of him for a few minutes before taking the present she had returned. He stood up and stopped before the entrance. There, he was deliberating whether he should just throw it down the trash can and end everything...

But no matter how he urged his hand, he just couldn't do it. He stood there for a minute before eventually deciding to leave the cafe. At that moment, lightning grumbled in the sky.

Drops of rain fell down, slowly drenching him as he walked to nowhere in particular. At this moment, he didn't know whether the water falling down his face was tears or the rain.