Loving Him Was Like Walking on Ice—And I Fell Through

Nathan Ruthledge suffered from Emotional Indifference Syndrome.

We were together for seven years, but he never believed that I loved him.

The love letters I painstakingly wrote were dismissed as insincere.

Outsiders mocked me as a gold digger, and he coldly ignored them, indifferent.

Until the sunflowers I planted for him in the backyard bloomed, my efforts were finally revealed to the world.

Only then did Nathan believe that I loved him.

But he didn't know that I had already died.

A year ago today, a mountain landslide buried me after I used all my strength to save him.

Nathan left without looking back, never mentioning me to anyone.

Trapped in the mountain, without rescue, I eventually starved to death.

He always wanted to hear me say I loved him, but he only knew that I couldn't speak and didn't understand sign language.

He didn't know that the first thing I signed every day was, "I love you."

...

When my remains were discovered, a year had already passed.

After the accident, the area was sealed off, with no one allowed to enter or leave.

The path was blocked by debris, leaving me trapped in a small cave, unable to find a way out.

By the time the rescue team arrived, only my skeleton was left.

My rotting flesh had been eaten clean by rats and insects, even the fragments of clothing dragged several meters away.

I don't know why my soul didn't disperse.

After a year in this lightless place, I went from initial despair and terror to a tranquil acceptance.

I stood in the corner, watching them cautiously gather my bones for DNA comparison.

Following the rescue team out of the cave, touched by sunlight, there was an unreal, dazed feeling.

On the way down the mountain, a female team member waved her phone, her face full of excitement.

"Nathan mentioned his fiancée again in an interview. He's so devoted, why has she vanished without a trace for so long?"

At the sound of the familiar name, I instinctively looked up.

"Yeah, his fiancée planted a field of sunflowers for him. When they bloomed, Nathan posted several updates a day, all showing off."

"But since they love each other, they'll definitely resolve any misunderstandings and get back together, especially since Nathan is rich and handsome!"

A group of people clustered together, chatting animatedly, their eyes shining as they recounted Nathan's illustrious life.

Listening to them, I stood frozen in place, my mind a chaotic blur.

Nathan rarely had anyone close to him, and the only woman connected to him in these years was me.

It wasn't that he was virtuous, but only because I clung to him relentlessly.

The day before we went to the mountains, I planted the backyard with sunflowers.

After crouching for too long, I stood up too quickly and blacked out, falling to the ground.

Nathan walked by indifferently, not even sparing me a glance.

He was always aloof, even after seven years together, often treating me like air.

When I scrambled up to chase him, he looked at me calmly.

I frantically tried to explain, gesturing in sign language, but as our eyes met, it was like a bucket of cold water poured over me.

Nathan didn't understand sign language, and I couldn't speak, so our communication was always in writing.

"Nathan, when the flowers bloom, shall we get married?"

I carefully typed out the words, showing him the screen.

Despite everyone doubting our relationship, I stubbornly believed in Nathan.

He took a long time to respond, and my initial nervousness slowly eased.

Bloodied scratches on my hand, a gash on my calf from the sharp shovel.

Nathan's gaze flickered over my disheveled state, then he turned and left.