章節 1: A Fateful Night

Desperation. Pain. Fear.

As Will ran through the streets of New York at 1:00 am in the night, these feelings coursed through his mind and threatened to inundate him under their rising swells.

It seemed as if a silhouette was in the corner of his eyes each time he turned around, pushing him to run and search faster and faster as he tried to stop that fleeting ephemeral figure from fading away from his sight.

Yet, no matter how much ground he covered, there was no sign of the woman who had reached down to him like an angel from heaven when he had been in the darkest depths of hell.

His heart, which had only been held together by the faint hope that he would be able to get her back, slowed down despite his exertion, letting him know that forsaking her, he had forsaken life itself.

Still, he was not ready to give up.

Hitting himself on his chest hard enough to make a purple bruise appear on his pale skin, Will coughed and tasted blood in his mouth before forcefully regaining a moment of clarity from the wave of desolation which had almost engulfed his heart and soul.

He had already been running for 3 hours without a break. Even with his athletic figure, this was too much strain for his body to handle.

Even though his steps slowed to a stagger and his eyes started to go in an out of focus, he kept moving to all the places where she could be.

The spot in Central Park where a simple cold breeze had elicited the purest smile he had ever seen in his life.

The ice cream stall on the corner of 85th Street where she had dropped chocolate all over her face and hair and let out the most soul-enchanting laugh in the world on seeing herself in the mirror.

The restaurant where a business meeting had devolved into a silent food war.

So many places, so many memories.

So many tears, so much emotion.

All of which kept floating in his mind, spurring him on and on even if he was slowly starting to lose feeling in his body.

Finally, as he paused on the sidewalk of a busy intersection while waiting to cross, the last hope started to disappear even though Will tried to grasp it between his fingers.

Just as he was about to collapse where he stood because of both the mental and physical pain to which he was going to succumb to, someone stumbled into him from behind, making him move forward and reflexively look up.

There she stood, on the other side of the road.

Although her image was flickering, to his desperate mind, it was enough to make him believe that his salvation was right in front of him.

At this moment, his mind became blank, replaced by a yearning which controlled his body and made him step forward without a thought.

BEEEEPPP

Oblivious to the glaring horn of the car which was speeding towards the exact spot where he was going to walk into, Will only smiled, feeling happiness gush inside him at the thought of seeing her again.

BAM

It was only at the moment that he felt himself flying in the air with excruciating pain radiating through his legs did he finally realize what had happened.

As this moment froze in his mind, Will found himself drowning in regret.

He realized that he didn't even know if it was actually her who had entered his vision to make him step forward.

Yet, even the possibility of seeing her one more time had made him forget everything else.

Her eyes which felt like they were pools in which he wished he could dive in forever.

Her embrace which made him curse himself for wasting so many years of his life while being unaware that such a divine feeling could exist.

And her kiss which made his entire body feel as if it had ascended into the skies, making him wish that he could freeze time so that he could enjoy the feeling forever.

Just one last time, he wished that he could see her.

Hold her.

And tell her that he was sorry.

As the sadness that he couldn't do so consumed him, Will crashed to the ground and lost consciousness.....