Yifan leans heavily against the glass walls of the payphone box, dialing the numbers with clumsy fingers. He misdials numerous times due to his intoxication and the small buttons, but he eventually manages to find the numbers he’s looking for. He fishes some coins out of his pocket and slides them into the slot, swearing under his breath when he drops one and he can’t find it on the cold, dark floor.

“Hello? Hey, it’s me.”

There’s so much that he wants to say, apologies and confessions and everything in between.

“I miss you. A lot. But I know no matter what I say, you’ll never come back.”

A voice begins to reply, but Yifan merely talks over it, uncaring.

“Do you know how much it hurt me, to find out that you weren’t home one night? To find out that you’d never come home again? I promised never to let you go, but that’s just what I did.”

Yifan sinks to his knees, the concrete cold through his jeans, and hot tears begin to form behind his eyelids.

“I miss you. So, so much. I don’t deserve forgiveness, but I still wish you’d hold me in your arms and tell me that everything will be okay.”

The voice sounds again, but Yifan ignores it, his voice catching, his tongue stumbling over his words.

“And now you’re gone forever. Never coming back to me.”

Yifan stays there for a long time, until an automated voice tells him that he’s run out of time.

If only life could be so simple—if you