Wendy told me she was leaving the asylum a day before Irene’s funeral.

She said she would leave by the end of the month. It was her first time talking to anyone in days. 

Which I gladly agreed. Since she could not stay here for the rest of her life. She was ready. My job had done. So did Irene.

I finally realized why some people would come into our lives while some would eventually leave. To teach us a lesson.

I guess her part in my life had almost come to an end too.

I helped her pack all the stuff she needed.

“Thank you.” Wendy hugged me when we were at the airport.

“I should thank you too.” I smiled and patted her head like I always did.

“I would visit you once in a while.” She smiled in return. It looked less cheerful as it used to be.

“It’s okay. Just send me postcards or something.” 

“I'll miss you too, old man.” She pulled me to a hug once again.

“Me too.” I pulled away and walked her to the gate.

“Maybe I will be a psychiatrist someday.”

“I will be more than happy, you know. You’re like a daughter to me.” 

“I don’t know if it is a right decision or not……. Going to Seoul. A land full of Korean-speaking folks and a land that I have never placed my foot on.” Wendy nervously rubbed her hands.

“It's also a land where your ancestors were. Don’t worry. Follow where your heart leads to while you are young.” 

“So….. I guess, goodbye for now.” Wendy looked up, waving as she walks her way to the departure gate.

“Bye, kiddo. Stay safe and take care!” I nodded and waved back. 

I watched her figure disappeared at my horizon. 

She left when she was 19.

She went to Seoul. Then Tokyo. Hong Kong. London. Los Angeles. Berlin. Paris. Dublin. Rio. Oslo. Basically all the capital cities. At least. Judging from the postcards she sent me.

She had dropped by to visit me twice. She grew a lot. She lost weight. She was more beautiful.

She soon became a woman.

She would greet me with a warm big hug and start rambling about how I looked older each time we met. As a matter of fact, I did get older. I was a middle-aged guy when I first met her after all.

Still, I was blissful. It seemed that I did not have to worry about this girl anymore.

She took care of herself well. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. In less than three years, she got a MPhil in Psychiatry. 

“How did you manage to accomplish all these with like half the time of others?” I smiled sitting on my office desk.

“Don’t you remember? I got help.” She chuckled scratching her head, like she always does when she gets shy, and pointed to her right ear.

“I once said to myself, that you would must be something else with that ability, brain, and personally. You’re special. And I am right.” 

“You’re always right.” She patted my shoulder.

“Walk with me.” I offered.

So, we walked along the garden of the asylum. Just like the old times. 

It had expended by time. It was like twice as big as it used to be before Wendy left.

“I am sorry.” She mumbled while staring at her shoes.

“For what?” 

“I don’t know…. For leaving you here. For not visiting you that often.” 

“Hey,” I halted my steps to make her look back at me. “Don’t chain yourself to anyone or anywhere. Also, aren't you already bored here?”

She looked at me for a while before cracking a bright smile. “You’re always right.” 

“Old men are wise.” I touched my beard unconsciously.

“You know,” She continued the stroll and fixed her burgundy locks. “I guess I can be stupid too.”

“Try me.” I said tenderly. Like the very first time we really talked.

“I think I am still waiting for someone.” She sighed. “Probably because of Irene.”

“I have been a bachelor after my wife passed away too. But you’re still so young.” If I remember correctly, she was 22 at that time.

“I know she is gone. Long gone I would say. I know I should move on without forgetting her. I know…….. ” She shook her head as she spoke.

“Wendy, you don’t need to force yourself. The time hasn’t come yet.” I reassured her. That is my forte, and my profession.

She exhales deeply staring at the sky, “I travelled around the world, I got degrees, I got a job, I got myself a house…..  And when I stop and think, what comes to my mind is her. I long to see her again. I know it’s stupid. I somehow want her back to haunt me like all the other ghosts do.” 

“Love is complicated. If it doesn’t hurt sometimes, it means you don’t love enough.” 

“She should have told me earlier.” Wendy was slightly choked with sobs. 

“She had her reasons.” It was my turn to pat her shoulder.

“Can you go there with me?” She asked sincerely with her shinning eyes.

“Of course.”

We headed to the uphill graveyard. 

It was the first time for Wendy to drop by after the funeral. I guess she was not prepared before.

She silently walked and I followed her closely. She stopped as she kneeled in front of where Irene was rested. I stood a few steps away.

I heard her mumbling something to the cold tombstone.

But it did not take long.

She kept her stare on the stone while pulling a purple handkerchief out from her pocket. I did not know how but she folded it into crane-shape. Just like a paper crane. She carefully placed it on the tombstone and curved her lips into a satisfied smile.

She waited for a little while more before turning around and said, “Let’s go.”

“Just so you know, I would come by once or twice a year too.” I figured I should tell her on our way back.

“Thank you, doc. I really do.” 

“So-” I was trying to change subject but she cut me off.

“I don’t know what to say to her anymore actually. I think we’re better off when our lips were sealed.” She chuckled rather bitterly. 

“It doesn’t matter, Wendy. Because you two are the ones who ever truly listen.” I wanted to let her know how grateful I was to meet someone like her.

“I hope so too.” She, surely, heard the meaning behind my words. And flashed me an innocent toothy grin, which somewhat resembles Irene's.

She spent a couple more days with me befor leaving for her new job in Seoul.

She told me that she would come to visit me once a year. An old man like me wouldn’t ask for more.

I am like a proud father. But what I really wanted to see, is her happy face. Where her eyes would shrink and her nose would scrunch. And it was lost 5 years ago. It was gone with a girl called Irene.

But if it wasn’t Irene, I wonder what would Wendy be today?

She had played her part in Wendy’s life and it was on Wendy’s own to live her life.

I knew Wendy had tried her best to fulfill Irene’s will, so she had to live her own life from then on.

I knew how it felt. And that would be what Irene wanted to see too.

I watched Wendy disappeared from my eyesight once again, at the same airport.

It was what happened in 5 years.

I don’t know whether my part in her life is finished or not. I am still waiting for her next return.

How can really I explain her story? A girl whose right ear is deaf and is extremely clever can talk to ghosts? And she met a girl with cancer and they fell in love? They lived happily together for 2 years and then the other girl died?

Such a story that only you might believe.

A story that breaks and mends my heart, maybe yours too. A story that still has not ended.

So, it is really the end.
It starts by the doctor and it ends with him too.

I'm so glad that I got loads of support and love from you guys. It is not the best writing you can find here but I hope you still find this enjoyable.
Anyway, there’s a sequel for this called “Say Something.”

p.s. You can find me on twitter @AD_saudades

I love you all and thanks again :)
xo