“Mother!” Yixing, who had been anxiously waiting for his mother’s return, jumped to his feet to greet her. He had been feeling restless ever since he had returned from the hospital. It hurt him to see the girl that way, her face had seemed lifeless and it appalled him. He had been so wrong. He had thought of her as the girl who pretended to be reckless, carefree to garner people’s attention, but it had been so much more. What had caused her to arrive at such a shocking decision? Had she been so unhappy that she had resorted to ending her life?

He felt as if it had been his fault. He could have tried to talk to her; he could have gotten her to talk. He should have been sterner when she had taken those pills. Yet, he had simply left her, even if he knew how defenseless she had been after Luhan’s rejection. Did she love him so much that she couldn’t think of living without him? His heart hoped it wasn’t so.

“How is she?” he asked fretfully.

“Why don’t you go see for yourself?” his mother retorted.

“Mother, you know, I can’t be close to her anymore.”

“You expect me to accept that silly excuse?” she snapped, twisting his ears to cause him yelp in pain. “Such a stupid boy! Her best-friend is already there, taking the place which should have been yours.”

Yixing grimaced at the mention of Luhan being with her. Of course, Michelle would have been happy to be with him. 

“I think it is better that he stayed,” he sighed.

“Zhang Yixing!” his mother scolded. Why was her son so stubborn? Why couldn’t he be a little confident about himself? It had been evident that Michelle hadn’t been thrilled to see Luhan, but the girl hadn’t been thrilled to see her either. She knew she was mad at her for leaving her so suddenly. But she hoped the young girl would forgive her.

“The poor child thinks you don’t want to see her anymore. She thinks you think of her as a crazy, mad person.”

“That’s not true at all,” Yixing cried in protest. That thought had never once crossed his mind. Michelle was little different from the rest and he wouldn’t change anything about her.

“Then go and tell her that. You have all the odds in your favor, her father’s blessings, my support, what else do you need? Remind her how you feel instead of sitting here and sulking. Let her know that you’d always be with her.”

“I suppose you’re right, mother,” he finally conceded. His mother had always advised him to do the right thing, perhaps it was time he paid heed to her advises. He would try yet another time to convey his true feelings and maybe this time Michelle would give in.

“I’m always right,” his mother huffed. “The poor child, she feels everyone’s against her. She said it was unfortunate that she hadn’t managed to die!”

The older lady cried as she thought of Michelle’s harsh words. Did she detest her life that much? 

“I wish I had been there,” she wept.

“Mother!” Yixing rushed over to drape his large arms around his mother’s stout frame. “She’ll be fine, mother. Please believe in her.”

He was convinced that Michelle would emerge strong and fight, the amount of determination she bore was incomparable. And he would do anything and everything he could to support her.

∻∻∻

A week had passed, Michelle had been taken in for a few therapy sessions, but the girl had refused to speak. They had tried everything, Luhan had accompanied her for a few sessions while Nana on the others, but it was of no avail, Michelle simply refused to talk.

She had warmed up to Nana considerably; she supposed it was of no use being mad at her. She had gotten the older lady to narrate all the stories from her childhood. She would listen intently as she narrated them, even though she knew how all of them ended. They all ended in the same way- everyone lived happily ever after. At times, she wanted to mock the stories, they had been so impractical. The lead characters always managed to overcome all their obstacles and lead a carefree life. None of them had ever portrayed as a weak girl like herself- a girl who had tried to end her life, not being able to bear her misery. But she’d still listen, rather diligently as Nana’s voice soothed her. It took her back to her childhood; those were the days she missed. She had been happy at that time, she had been carefree, and she had Nana by her side. She wished to relive those days, but she knew that was next to impossible.

Luhan had refused to leave her alone too, until Nana had managed to convince him that they took turns in accompanying her. She hadn’t been very keen on spending time with Luhan. She had learnt about his eventful wedding and how he had left Liling at the altar. She felt bad for the other girl; it hadn’t been her fault for falling in love with Luhan. Luhan had been the problem to everything. And although the guy had been trying his best to fix their relationship, she couldn’t bring herself to warm up to him.

He had pampered her with an enormous amount of gifts, none of which seemed to excite her. He had tried talking to her about the silly things that had been their object of conversation when they were younger. He had been trying his best to make everything return to how it had been before. But it could never be the same; both Michelle and he knew that very well. Michelle silently believed that Luhan had been guilty about what he had done and he was thinking of ways to feed his conscience. She had even told him that she forgave him, hoping he’d leave her alone. But he hadn’t, he seemed stick beside her at any chance he got.

She was afraid if her feelings would falter if she spent more time with him. She had been in love with him for a long time; her feelings weren’t going to disappear in an instant, although they had been diminished to an extent. And she wasn’t certain if that was because he had lost her trust or if her mind had been occupied by someone else. He hadn’t shown up, despite Nana telling her that he’d drop by eventually and that he needed some time. She couldn’t help but wonder if he would. She hadn’t exactly said the sweetest things to him the day they last met. Anyone with a sense of pride wouldn’t come back.

“Nana, would you braid my hair?” she asked softly when the woman walked in.

“Most certainly, darling,” the woman exclaimed gleefully. It had been her favorite pastime when Michelle had been a child. She’d braid the girl’s long, silky tresses from time to time. She had always wanted a daughter, they had been expecting a girl child, but instead she had been blessed with a baby boy. Although slightly disappointed, she had still loved him a lot. In fact, the woman had even grown her son’s hair long so she could tie pig-tails on him. But, her dreams seemed to have come true when she was appointed to take care of Michelle a few years later.

“I used to tie Yixing’s hair into two tiny pig-tails when he was younger,” she said, hoping to make the girl laugh. She did, Michelle burst out laughing as she envisioned a little Yixing with braided hair. He might have been rather adorable, she thought.

“You must show me some photographs, Nana,” Michelle exclaimed, still laughing.

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