24. Epilogue- Timeless. 

Time. What a strange thing. It couldn’t be controlled. It couldn’t be played. We are the one being played by it. Even if I found a way through it , it found a way to catch me as I grew older. People often say to enjoy our time as we are young. I sure did. I enjoyed my life as it passed by like it never happened.

In the end , after living this life full of love , hate , surprises and happiness , I was there , left with nothing. There , in the house I spent my entire life in , I was now trapped alone. My aching bones reminding me I was nearer the end than the beginning. The only thing reminding me from this life I lived is this book that I carefully filled with my souvenirs. Our souvenirs.

After all the adventure passed I was there , alone , with the sound of my rocking chair cracking on the old wooden floor. The only thing that remains is what we left behind. I personally made sure to left my mark in this life.

As I took a really deep breath I caressed the leather covered album that was resting on my laps. The book was nearly has old as I was. I started it a long time ago. I was 20 to be exact. Or so everyone thought I was.

As I turned the first page I cracked a smile at the very first picture. I think I almost forgot about this one. I slowly grabbed it and brought it closer to my eyes. Xiumin , Daiyi , Yixing and I. It was taken shortly after his released from the hospital. I remember that day like it was yesterday.

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“ Ok so , listen to me , Xiumin, you might have a shock. You know outside it’s not like you are used to be. “ I tried to tell him as he was getting ready and packing his things to go home. He rolled his eyes.

“ What could possibly be this disturbing? I already say those kind of disturbing machine that make that strange sound when you plug them to me. I think I am ready to face the sun again.  “He said and I opened my mouth to say something but was stopped by a pinch on my left shoulder.

“ He will see for himself. “ Daiyi said as she smiled to me and I smirked with her. He will surely.

Yixing was walking with me , hand in hand , when we leaded the way out of the hospital. Considering the fact it was the first time Xiumin was seeing the outside world consciously , we expected some reactions but never this much.

Daiyi was walking with Xiumin behind us and we surely came to a stop when Xiumin saw the very first car of his life.

“ Wait… What’s this? Where’s the horses? It can’t be moving by itself!” Xiumin was practically jumping up and down. I turned around to comfort him , along with Yixing , but what I saw stopped me on the spot.

There , in front of my eyes, Daiyi was holding Xiumin close. I don’t know if it was for pleasure of only to reassure him but I was smiling at the scene none on the less.

I stayed like that , smiling at the future couple to be and I felt someone grabbing my waist. “ I don’t think we will be the only couple for too long. “ Yixing whispered in my year. I smirked and turned back to him as I stayed in his embrace.

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We weren’t. This afternoon , we took Xiumin to the park and explained it all to him. The “ future” he was now living in. That’s also this afternoon we took this picture , to show him who a camera was working. Everything must have been so disturbing for the poor boy but it did his best to look mature and masculine. Or also impress Daiyi if you want my opinion. I smiled at the picture I was still holding before putting it back at his original place in the book.

Xiumin and Daiyi effectively became a couple soon after. A really loving one. With Xiumin happy elsewhere I felt less culpable to love freely as well. That was one of the most grateful feeling I ever had.

From a page to another I remembered my entire life. The next page reminding me of the divorce of my parents and how public it became. I remember the media coming to China only to cover the affair but nothing was to be said. My dad only wanted a divorce to start , or should I say continue, life where he left it before my mom.

Another page stopped me for a moment. The souvenir it brought me was bigger. The kind of moment in our lives we could never forget. Our marriage.

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Yixing and I never wanted anything big. Simply something personal with the people we loved the most.

“ Do you accept Yixing, here present , as your eternal husband and do you swear to be faithful to him and love him in time of need and illness? “ The old man asked me and I immediately said yes. No words were needed in extra. Yixing immediately said the same.

I didn’t wore any fancy robe. It was white and simple. Sleeveless and in white silk. Some flowers were placed in my hair the long of the braid they were put into. Some rebellious strings fell out to give it a more natural look. Yixing was wearing a simple white shirt and black pants.

He came closer for the most romantic moment of my life. Instead of going straight for the kiss , he caressed my cheek gently and looked at me with lots of love before coming closer and finally kissing me. He kissed me so passionally that I almost fainted. I wanted to stay there in his arms forever. We were now united forever. Even more…

The old man leading the ceremony coughed and we heard some people laughing as we finally broke the kiss. I became as red as the roses placed in my bouquet. Yixing smile was the only scene for me but , when I had to leave it to look at the crowd when we bowed under the big round of applause we received, I noticed the all audience making a stand up ovation.

I said we did it privately. I never lied. I insisted to make it in the village. The same one I grew up in. My grandmother insisted to invite some people of the village and I let her invite whoever she felt like needed to be there. Which meant the entire village for her. You can never take the country out of the country girl. At least I knew them all and they were good people. I couldn’t ask for more.

My grandma , along with Daiyi and Xiumin, helped for the decoration and placed some flowers all around our garden where was placed a lot of chairs now filled with people.

The clapping went on for the entire evening. Clapping after the kiss. Clapping after we cut the little cake. After we made our first dance also. Another set of clapping , this time different , when we all dance to the rhythm of the music… but the most important wasn’t this one for me.

The most important was the clapping when I threw the bouquet. When everyone clapped except Daiyi herself because her hand were already full…

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A night like that you could never forget it. Daiyi explained to me later on that Xiumin proposed to her indirectly that night. I couldn’t be more happy for the two of them. They ended up marrying two years after us. By the time they were married many things changed.

My dad rebuilt another company but decided to , this time, keep it local. He opened a really small commercial center and worked in with my grandparents. They were the most happy person on earth and tried their best to give back to the society they lived in. Many times you saw my dad giving free thing to the people that wasn’t rich enough to buy food or clothes warm enough for the winter. It was his own way to give back to the society after the bad things he might have committed as a spoiled CEO in the past.

After looking through another few pages , I fell on another one who caught my attention. The picture was took on the January 22 , 2023. Why remembering the date? Because it was one of the most memorable day of my life. The day every woman dreamed and would always cherish. The day I gave birth to the most beautiful and loving creature on earth.

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It took me some times to finally open my eyes after I slept for a really long time. First thing I saw was Daiyi coming right at me.

“ Oh my god , I thought you were dead it isn’t normal to sleep this long. How are you? Are you hurt? “ She asked abruptly as I just opened my eyes. I raised on my elbows to see the white and blue room I was in. Then I remembered everything.

“ My love ,