The Rain won't Last Forever

Jack explained to the doctor that my stomach ulcer was a long-standing issue and then he took me back home.

Since then, I haven’t seen Oliver again.

The reason? I was slipping into longer and longer periods of unconsciousness.

But when I woke, the sharp, piercing pain made life almost unbearable.

Today, however, the weather was perfect and I felt surprisingly energetic.

I begged Jack to take me outside for a walk.

Since I could no longer walk on my own, I had to depend on him to push me in a wheelchair.

It had been forever since I felt this relaxed.

The crisp early autumn breeze caressed my dry cheeks, calming the turbulence within and wrapping me in a serene sense of peace.

“Jack, I’ve made up my mind. Just cremate me and scatter my ashes in the sea.”

His eyes were red and his voice was choked with emotion.

“Why are you talking about wanting to return to the sea again? Didn’t you used to hate the ocean?”

The truth was, when I was younger, I saw the sea as the most breathtaking sight on earth.

Sunlight would sparkle on the waves, turning them into a glittering trail of jewels.

The salty breeze carried the familiar scent of the ocean straight to my nose—a fragrance I used to cherish.

But after my parents died, my feelings changed and I began to loathe it.

The ocean itself wasn’t at fault, nor were the fishermen who set out to make a living.

It was an accident, a pure, unforeseen accident.

Yet, I had to find some rational excuse to make sense of it.

So, I ended up hating the sea.

I let my resentment spill over onto everything connected to it, simply because I couldn’t change or accept what had happened.

I gave a faint, bitter smile.

“There isn’t a cemetery I like anyway. Reuniting with family in the sea wouldn’t be too bad.”

Jack emerged from behind me, knelt down in front of me and rested his head in my lap. He wrapped his arms around me, his voice soft and tender as he said,

“Alright, I promise.”

I couldn’t help but smile, my hand instinctively reaching out to gently stroke his head.

“Aren’t you being all sweet and cuddly?”

Jack gave a dismissive sound and buried his head, ignoring me.

I slowly felt a warm, moistness spreading on my lap.

After a long moment, he finally spoke.

“Thank you, Emmy.”

Just then, fine droplets of rain began to fall from the sky, pattering softly.

Jack quickly pulled out the umbrella he had prepared and shielded it over my head.

I stretched my hand out of the umbrella and used my hand to catch the cool droplets on my palm. It'd be the last cool sensation that I'd feel in this world.

I then said to him with a smile.

“Jack, believe me, the rain won't keep falling.”

Oliver’s Epilogue:

I didn't meet Emma for the first time when I was fifteen years old. It was much earlier.

I met her on the day my family went to Pearl Shore Isle for a trip.

Emma was the daughter of a fisherman on the island. She had gorgeous tan-colored skin. Her hair tied into little pony tail and her eyes were exquisite like two black grapes. She looked different from most children in the city.

I immediately noticed her the moment I arrived at the island.

Emma was sitting alone on the edge of the beach and played with the sand.

There were none of the beach toys that city children would bring along into the beach. Meanwhile, the island had a lot of awesome pile of stones, bamboo baskets and broken fishing nets.

I was very curious about the things Emma was stacking up, so I boldly joined her to play at the beach.

That was the first initiative I ever made in my life.

Emma was not surprised by my arrival, nor did she reject my presence. Instead, she touched my face with her little sand-covered hands and praised me sincerely.

“Wow, you're so handsome! Pretty like the aquamarine!”

Her eyes were shining and she stared straight into me.

Her exaggerated expression seemed to show that Emma had discovered a new world and that made me blush.

I asked her stumbling.

“What is... aquamarine?”

She clapped her hands and sand dropped as she stood up. Her little finger pointed to the sea in the distance.

“There, look, don't you see that's the aquamarine?”

The sun was pouring on the vast blue sea and the sea breeze was gently blowing, setting off layers of fine waves.

Countless golden spots of light seemed to be jumping around on the sea. From a distance, the dots of lights truly looked like brilliant gems, shining on the sea.

Yet, Emma's brows suddenly frowned when she looked into the distance.

“Hey, I think someone is drowning over there!”

Emma quickly left me and ran elsewhere.

“Mom! Mom! Someone has been swept away by the waves again! Go and have a look over there!”