The girl talked, about everything, and Lay always listened.

She told him about her low self esteem, her fear of not being accepted, her difficulty to say what’s really on her mind to people, her frustration because she was no good at anything, how she seemed to have no one by her side, everything.

He on the other side, always listened wholeheartedly to what the girl had to say. He just listened quietly, he didn’t say a word, but the girl knew that he paid full attention to what she said, that he listened to her without judging her. He was just there, and yet, the girl felt content with merely his presence.

They always met at the same time and place. At the school’s rooftop at lunch time. The girl would sat at her usual place, and Lay would stood at his usual place. This kept going on for a few days, until one day, the girl stopped talking, not because she didn’t want to, but because she already told him everything, and then Lay was the one who talked, and the girl was the one who listened.

He told her many things, about his mother, his sisters, his friends, and also all the funny things that they did, which were a lot. As time passed, the girl found herself smiled more and more, and cried less and less. Now, every time the bell rang, she would smile and jumped from her seat, and then went to the rooftop where she would meet, and talked, and laughed with him about many things.

“Lay, you never told me about your dad, what’s he like?”

The girl randomly asked him one day while busily eating her lunch. She often offered to share her lunch with Lay, but he always refused. He also never sat, always stood at the same place, everyday, it’s like he never got tired.

There was a moment of silence between them. The girl raised her head and caught something dark flashed across Lay’s face.

“…..Lay?”

“He’s dead.” Lay finally said in a low voice. Sadness appeared in his usually smiling face.

The girl felt a painful clenched in her own heart, she immediately felt guilty.

“I’m…I’m sorry, I didn’t..”

“It’s okay, it was such a long time ago.” Lay cut her short. His smile was back on his face, although his eyes still showed his sadness.

“My dad was a kind man, he used to be happy, to smile, all the time. But then, one day, he got sick, really sick. He couldn’t go to work anymore, all he could do was lying in the hospital bed, all day. I was still a little boy at that time, maybe about 10 years old, and my sisters were still just babies. I vaguely remember that every day, after school I would go to his room and then he’d welcome me with his usual smile. However, as time passed, his condition was getting worse and worse, until he couldn’t afford to smile at me anymore.”

Lay stopped talking for a moment, he turned his eyes from the girl to scan the beautiful landscape in front them, then he continued to talk again. This time, his voice slightly trembled.

“We were not a rich family, don’t get me wrong, we weren’t poor either, but then my dad got sick and the fees for his treatment were very expensive. My mom had to work all day to cover it, only rest when I was going to school. My mom and I took turn to take care of my dad and my sisters. My dad’s condition continued to get worse and he couldn’t stand to be a burden for our family anymore.”

Lay’s voice was shaking terribly, but he kept talking.

“One night, my father spoke to me, something that he couldn’t do in a very long time, because he got all kind of tubes in his nose, mouth, and throat. But at that time, he slowly pulled out the tube in his mouth with his trembling hands, and he said to me with a slow raspy voice that he loved me, that he’s sorry for everything, and that I should take care of my mom and my sister well, and then he smiled at me, a strange smile, not the one that he usually gave me, but at that time I didn’t think much of it. Then I got sleepy so my dad told me to go to sleep, so I slept.”

The girl wanted to say something, anything, but she just couldn’t. All she did was watching Lay closed his eyes and continued his story.

“That night, my father took some….pills. Pills that he actually really should take, but that night, he intentionally took too many. He took his own life, he gave up his life, because he didn’t want to be such a heavy burden in our family anymore.”

The girl gasped, unconscious that she got tears streamed down her own face. Pain, great pain and sadness rushed through her heart, because of the heartbreaking story. She wanted to go to him, tell him that everything’s going to be all right, but somehow she couldn’t, her body rooted to the spot where she was sitting.

Lay let out a deep breath and finally opened his eyes. Sadness still reflected in his gaze, but his eyes were dry.

“When we first met, I told you that I knew the look on your face. It was because I realized that your look was the same as his, as my father’s. The look of someone who has given up on life. So will you…will you promise me that you won’t do what my father’s did? That no matter what happens, you won’t give up on your life? I mean, you have me, you are not alone, you know that right?”

Lay asked the girl with a hopeful look on his face. Although it was a cold day, but the girl felt a strange warmth spread in her body, into her heart.

“I promise.”

She meant it, with all her heart.

Lay smiled widely, hearing her answer.

“Thank you.” Lay said in his usual soft voice. His face was back to its usual cheerfulness.

“I’m the one who should be thanking you, thank you…for listening to me, for being here with me.”

She said sincerely at him.

“You’re very welcome, it’s all my pleasure.”

Lay answered, and then he smiled, showing her his adorable dimple.

The girl’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, because at the moment she found it, it was there in his sincere gaze and beautiful smile. His unhidden affection for her.

She found her reason to live.

Author's note:

It was supposed to be a three shot, I swear, but I kept writing T___T I'm sorry.

The next chapter would be the last and then I'll add an epilogue and then I'm done.

Please don't hate me for making this longer :s