hapter 9 

I looked out the window but didn’t see the car, so I asked around. Finally, I found Rod near an alley. 

He was standing by the roadside, his shirt slightly wrinkled, without a coat. He didn’t look well and was holding an unlit cigarette. When he saw me, he instinctively straightened up. 

I approached him: “Where’s your phone?” 

1/3 

He seemed a bit at a loss, took out his phone, tapped it a few times, and said, “It’s dead.” 

“You should go back. This isn’t a place for you.” 

Rod was stunned for a moment: “I don’t know what came over me, I just followed you here unconsciously. You mentioned before that your family was pressuring you to get married, I…” 

“You what? Don’t tell me you want to marry me? Rod, that’s impossible.” 

All along, the one who never easily looked back was actually me. I’ve always been stubborn. Once I set my mind on something, I had to see it through. The same applied to letting go of someone. 

He looked at me silently, his eyes suddenly reddening. After a long while, he shrugged and smiled as if nothing had happened, saying to me: “Hulda, I’m hungry, and I didn’t bring any 

chapter 9 money.” 

2/3 

I treated him to a bowl of spaghetti. Eighteen dollars, not much meat, lots of vegetables. Steam rising, we sat across from each other, blurring each other’s faces. 

He ate slowly but finished it all. After finishing, he returned to the manner I first knew him for, leisurely wiping his mouth with a napkin, then speaking: “This is truly the worst spaghetti I’ve 

ever eaten.” 

After that, I returned to Ironhaven. Rod and I never met again. We belonged to different circles, and unless I deliberately sought information, it was actually hard to hear news about him. 

In the first year after graduation, I dated again. He was a director from a partner company, steady in character and very amiable, but our relationship never really took off. We broke up before reaching the one–month mark. 

In the spring of the second year, it rained in Ironhaven. Coming out of the company, I ran into Earl. He was on my leftStill holding his suitcase, he stood before me travel–worn yet smiling: “It’s been a while.” That memorable autumn, we got together. He accompanied me in everything I loved to do. His friends all called me his future wife, and they always took my side in any matter. We never spoke of breaking up lightly. Together, we visited a love and marriage wishing tree–a tradition for couples seeking blessings for their relationship–where we wrote both our names on a single tag. After finishing, he meticulously 

chapter 9 

3/3 

added: “Forever remembered.” As he held my hand on our way back, he smiled and said, “This is wonderful.” I responded with a simple, “Mm–hmm.” 

I suddenly remembered one time when I knelt on a prayer cushion at the temple making wishes. I had so many wishes that I counted them carefully in my heart, afraid to miss even one. He stood beside me, watching, and finally helped me up, casually saying, “Just tell me what you want–it’s faster than this.” He never believed in such things. Yet after leaving the temple, away from the incense, he sighed softly and said something I’ve remembered for many winters–he said meeting me was his greatest fortune across three lifetimes, a blessing spanning his past, present, and future. 

B 

Write your comment