--

“OK, talk to you later... Bye!” Hannah ended the call, and then sat on her bed. It was another phone call from Danson, telling her what has been happening about kit. She sighed, then looked at the side table. On her table was a picture of her and Kit during last semester. She took it, and stared at it for a while. “I wish I was there for you... so that you're not suffering alone. Don't worry, just wait a few more weeks and I'll be coming home. You can tell me everything.” she said. From the picture, she could see how happy Kit was. She could imagine how she is right now. She might be worse than the time when she and Calvin fought because of Trixie. “I wish everything will be back to how it should be. I hope Calvin would understand why you did those things... because I do understand. Be strong, Kit... you are stronger than I am, I know you'll get through this.” she said.

Just then, she heard a soft knock on the door. She put the fram back to the table, and then walked to the door to open it. It was her room mate, Daphne. “Hey, Hannah. I heard there will a parade later at the plaza. Let's go there now, OK?” Daphne said. Hannah smiled and nodded her head. “Of course. Is everybody coming?” she asked. “You bet! Better get ready, we have to be there earlier to get the best spot.” Daphne said. Hannah nodded her head, and went back inside her room. She took her jacket and bag before she left, and as she opened the door, she heard a something that fell. She looked back, and saw that the picture frame was no longer on her table. She walked up to the side table, her heart began to beat faster as she saw the frame lying on the floor, with broken glasses on top of it.

--

The black butterfly

--

“What did you say the reason why you came home again?” Kit asked Mike as they were strolling around the park. Mike looked at her and just smiled. “You want me to tell you the truth, or you want me to lie...” he said as he put his hands on his pocket. “Truth...” she said. “I've had enough lies. Tell me what happened.” she said. Mike took a deep breath before speaking. “Trixie and I broke up...” he said. Kit was surprised at what he said. “Oh... I... I never thought that... you and Trixie...” she said. Mike smiled and her and nodded his head. “Yeah. Trixie and I got together while we're on vacation. Reason for the break up, none other than your ex-best friend. She said she still loves Calvin, and she's just using me to forget him. She said she'll go back here in Taiwan soon, and make sure that she'll have Calvin again...” he said. Kit just shook her head. “Trixie seems to be really obsessed with Calvin, huh...” she commented. “I didn't know what's with that guy that all of you girls seems to be crazy about him. I mean, I'm way more handsome than him.” he said. Kit just laughed at what he said. “I agree. You're more handsome than him.” she said. Then, she paused, and then looked down. “Actually... I... I didn't know why... maybe because he's sweet, he's such a gentleman... once you get to know Calvin, you'll find out that there's more to him than his handsome face.” she said. “And is that the reason why you fell in love with him?” Mike asked. Kit paused, and looked at him. She was caught off-guard with his question. “You... you know?” Mike nodded his head. “I've always thought Danson is a quiet guy...” he said. Kit laughed at him. “Remind me later to cut Danson's tongue, OK?” she said. Mike smiled and nodded his head.

Mike walked in front of him, and then held her hands. “Kit, I understand what you're going through, maybe the pain I'm feeling is different from what you are feeling right now. If there is some lesson that you need to learn from this, it's that God only takes away something from you when He knows that you deserve something much better. Somewhere between heartaches and waiting comes the chance to be found by someone who can show you that you don't have to be an option, but the choice. You deserve something better, I know. Always remember that, Kit.” he said. Kit smiled at him and nodded his head. “Thank you, Mike...”she said. “You know, Kit... you should smile often. You're pretty when you smile. You may have your reasons to sulk... but always remember to smile. Who knows, someone out there is falling in love with your smile...” Mike said. Kit put her hand on her waist, and raised an eyebrow at him. “Let me guess, a guy named Mike He?” she asked. Mike let out a laugh. “Of course, it's not the guy named Mike He. Maybe it's some other random guy I know...” he said. Kit laughed at him, then she paused, looking at Mike into his eyes. “Mike, thanks for everything...” she said. Mike smiled tenderly at her, and held her hand. “I should be the one thanking you. After all, I tried to you before... I'm glad that you didn't file a case against me or something...” he said. “I know Trixie asked you to do that to me. She hated me so much, that's why. Anyway, I have forgiven you for what you have done.” Kit said.

Kit looked at her wrist watch, then looked at Mike. “Hey, I have to go home now. I'll see you tomorrow, OK?” she said. Mike just nodded his head. He watched Kit as he leaves the park. As he was watching her, something caught his attention. He saw a black butterfly landed on Kit's back.

--

The fallen rose.

--

Calvin stopped in front of Kit's locker. He entered the combination of her locker, and opened it. He immediately put his letter inside the locker, and then closed it. He took the peach rose, and then hanged it in her locker. As he turned back, he saw Joy standing behind him. He just looked at Joy, and then turned away from her to leave. “Calvin!” Joy shouted. Calvin paused and looked at her again. “Why? Why are you doing this?” she asked. She walked towards him, and then pulled him to face her. “Why do you still care for her?” she asked him again. “Joy... do you know what happened to Kit? Do you know what happened to her and Jiro? How can I not care for her...”
“I don't know what happened to her, and I don't care! Whatever it is that happened to her, it's none of my business.”
“But it still is mine...”
“Why?”
“Because I'm still her friend.”
“Still... have you forgotten how she lied to you? How she toyed with your feelings, Calvin!”

Calvin looked away from Joy again. “Joy... you don't understand...” he said in a low voice. “What is it that I don't understand?” she asked. This time, Calvin looked into her eyes. “I know that it was you... you planned to break her heart. You used Celestine for your selfish plans... you told Jiro what you found out so that he'll get mad at her... You knew all those times that Jiro is with Celestine, and you set her up to go to the hotel so that you could hurt her. I felt guilty for what you did, Joy. You've hurt her enough... more than enough. She have suffered so much, and she doesn't deserve this.” he said. “If I did that, I have enough reasons. I hate her, Calvin. I hate her. She stole Jiro from me. She is the reason why Jiro couldn't love me before. She have occupied his whole heart, and left nothing for me. And now, she's trying to take you away from me... Tell me, how could I not hate her, Calvin?” she asked. Calvin shook his head. “I can't believe you could actually do this, Joy... I know her, Joy... I know Kit. It wasn't her intention to hurt you, to break your heart. She's not trying to take me away from you... she chose to keep her distance from me. I want to think that you're hurting her because you want to get back at her for Jiro...” he said in a low voice. “Yes, I am...” she said in a firm tone. “I could never forgive her. I love Jiro so much, but in the end, he chose to leave me for her. He chose to find her, instead of giving me a chance to love him. I hate Kit, Calvin... do you hear me? I hate her because Jiro have always loved her!” she shouted at him.

Calvin fell silent upon hearing her answer. It finally have dawned him, that Joy will always love Jiro, and she still loves him although they are together now. “Oh...” he said in a low voice. “I'm sorry... I didn't know that all this time, you're still in love with Jiro...” Then, Calvin turned his back on her. He was hurt because of that realization. Joy finally realized what she have said to Calvin, and she know that with what she have said, she have hurt his feelings and his ego. “Calvin... Calvin, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to...” she said. She walked towards him, and reached for his hand, but before she could, Calvin turn to face her. “It's OK, Joy... I now understand where your hatred is coming from...” he said sadly to her. “I thought... I just thought that all this time, you love me in the same way that I love you. You were my dream girl, and all I ever wanted was for you to look at me in the same way you looked at him... but even though you're now my girlfriend, I realized that I can never take Jiro's place in your life... that's why you were like that... that's why you reacted differently when you found out about them, and their engagement... I should've known that time that you were still in love with him... but I was too blindly in love with you that I wasn't able to see that. I now understand why, Joy... I perfectly understand.”

Calvin turned to leave, but Joy still followed her. “Calvin... Calvin, I'm sorry...” Joy said in a weak voice. She could already feel the tears falling from her eyes. “I didn't mean to say that... please don't think of it that way, Calvin...” she said. Calvin paused, and then looked at her again. “Do you know how painful it is to know that you still love him? It hurts a lot here...” he said, pointing to his heart. Joy closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling, but she could not stop them. “Calvin...” she called again. “Maybe we need the space and time to think things through. Everything just seems to be too chaotic right now...” he said. “Are you going to leave me as well? Are you going to leave me in the same way that Jiro left me?” Joy asked. Calvin shook his head. “How can I leave you, Joy...” he said. “If all this time, you were never mine?”

As he turned his back to leave, a tear fell from his eyes. As he walked away from Joy, the rose that he put on Kit's locker suddenly fell on the cold ground.

--

The nightmare.

--

It was a cloudy day, and she found herself walking though the sandy shore. She paused, and as she looked down, she saw a blue shell. She stared at it for a long time, then turned her eyes at the sea. From the far side, she could see a tall man walking towards her direction. As the guy gets closer, she could clearly see who it was. “Calvin?” she said to herself. Calvin smiled at her as he got closer. Kit smiled back at him, happy to see him again. “Calvin!” Kit shouted. She ran towards him, but as she got to him, he slowly disappeared. She got baffled with his sudden disappearance. She looked around the beach, but she could not find him. “Calvin!” she shouted. “Calvin! Where are you!” she shouted. As she gazed at the sea, she saw Calvin crying out her name. “Kit!” he shouted. “Kit! Help me! Save me!” she heard him cry.

Kit panicked upon seeing him drowning. She immediately ran towards the sea to save him. She swam until she reached him, but as she was about to catch him, he disappeared again. “Calvin!” she shouted as she tried to stay afloat. She looked around to find Calvin, but she could not see any signs of him. Just then, she felt someone pulling her leg down. She tried to fight, and to swim up, but the pull was too strong. “Help!” she shouted. “Calvin! Help me!” Before she knew it, she was already underwater. She was already out of breath, and she felt her body slowly falling into the deep abyss.

Kit immediately opened her eyes, sat up on her bed. She have been having that nightmare for several nights now. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Why am I always having that nightmare?” she thought. She doesn't want to think that it's a warning of something bad that would happen. She looked outside the window, and stared at Calvin's room. “If something bad would happen, please don't let it happen to Calvin....” she prayed. She laid on her bed again, and closed her eyes to try and sleep. But just like the other nights, she knows she'll soon be awaken again by that nightmare. Guess it will be another sleepless night.

--

It was already night, and Danson saw Kit standing in front of the school's building. “Kit!” he called as he rushed up towards her. Kit looked up at him and smiled. “Hey, Danson...” she said. “What are you doing here? It's already late. Come on, I'll drive you home...” he said. He took her hand, but as she pulled her, she let go of her hand. Danson gave her a confused look. “Dan... I asked Calvin to meet me here tonight. We need to talk things through before it's too late...” she said. Danson wrinkled his brow. He's getting more confused with what she was saying. “Too late? Why would it be too late? You two are neighbors... surely you guys can still talk. Come on, it's getting late.” he said. Kit shook her head. “I will wait for Calvin, Danson. I have a lot of things to say to him before I leave...”
“Leave? For where?”
“I can't tell you for now... but I have to see Calvin.”
“But it's already late. His classes have already ended, and most likely, he's already home.”
“He promised me he'll come, Danson. I know he'll come...”

Danson sighed in resignation, then shook her head. “OK... if you say so. I'll stay with you till he comes, OK?” he said. Kit smiled and nodded her head. Just then, someone came. “Kit!” she called. The two looked at the girl in front of them. Danson's eyes widened when he saw her take out a gun and pointed it at Kit. He tried to run towards her to stop her from hurting Kit, but he could not move. Before he knew it, he heard a loud gun shot, and the girl beside him fell on the ground, lying in the pool of her own blood.

“Kit!” Danson shouted as he sat up on his bed. He took a deep breath upon realizing that it was just a nightmare. He looked at his side table to check on the clock – it was only 2 AM. “God... that nightmare seems so real...” he thought as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. After he calmed himself down, he went to bed, praying to God that his bad dream won't come true.

--

The card of death.

--

“Calvin...”

Calvin paused, and looked back. He was surprised to see Trixie walking up to him. “Trixie?” he asked. Trixie smiled and nodded his head. “I'm back!” she said. Calvin smiled at her, and then walked towards her to give her a hug. “You're looking good, Trixie!” he said. Trixie just smiled sweetly. “Thanks, Calvin. How are you doing?” she asked. “OK, I guess...” he answered. Trixie gave him a confused loook. “Why? Aren't you OK?” she asked. Calvin slowly shook his head. “A lot of things happened while you're gone.” he said. “Really? Why don't you tell me. I want to catch up on everything.” she said. Calvin smiled at her and nodded his head.

They headed to their favorite cafe, and as soon as they settled, Calvin told Trixie everything that had happened after she have gone to Europe. He told her how he found out that Hannah was the other paper crane girl. He told her about how Jiro and Joy broke up, because Jiro could not forget about his first love, Tin. He told her about how he got together with Joy shortly after her breakup with Jiro. He told her how Kit found out that Jiro was the boy she saved years ago at the beach, and how she turned out to be 'Tin'. He told her about their getting together, and their engagement. He told Trixie how he found out that Kit was the paper crane girl, that he got mad at her for lying, that he chose to end their friendship. He told her that eventually, Joy found out about Kit's secret, and that like him, Joy got mad at Kit because she was the reason why Jiro broke up with her, and she thought that Kit was trying to take him away from her. He told her that Kit and Jiro eventually broke up, the latter cheated on Kit because he found out that Kit is in love with him. Trixie shook her head after she listened to his story. “I can't believe it... a lot of things have happened while I'm gone...” she said. Calvin nodded his head. “Yeah... everything just happened fast...” he said in a low voice. “So... how are you and Joy now? You two are still together, I suppose...” she said. Calvin sighed, and then leaned back to his chair. He became silent, unable to answer her question. “I... I don't know...” he said. Upon hearing his answer, she smiled secretly. “I guess I could do my plan now with Calvin, now that nothing's in the way...” she thought. “I still care for Kit, and she doesn't understand the guilt I'm feeling for hurting her. Kit hated me now... she hate me so much that she looks disgusted whenever she sees me. I know I've said hurtful words before... and she could never forgive me for that. On top of that, Joy set her up to hurt her.”
“Kit is really important to you, huh? Even though you ended your friendship, you still care for her...”

Calvin smiled and nodded his head. “Kit is important to me... very important...” he said. Trixie nodded her head. “I know. You two were the best of friends. Even I couldn't break you two apart. I know one day, she'll forgive you for everything.” she said. “I do hope so, Trixie. It's hurting me that she's acting as if she doesn't know me...” he said. Trixie smiled at him. She leaned towards the table and then held his hand. “Everything will be all right, Calvin. Trust me...”

--

It was midnight when they reached the Yan mansion. Calvin and Trixie came from the bar, and both were dead drunk. “Where's you're room?” Calvin asked as she carried Trixie up. Trixie looked at him and giggled. “As if you didn't know!” she said. Calvin just laugh at what she said. Finally, they reached her room. As soon as they got it, the two plopped down the bed. “God, I'm not going to drink that much ever again...” Calvin said. “Ha! As if! You'll get drunk again one of these days...” she said. Trixie looked at him, and saw him already asleep. She sat up, and then stared at him as she brushed his hair. “Calvin... I love you. All this time, I still love you. Why can't I forget you? I tried to find you in all the guys I dated, but they could never compare to you... I hope you will give me another chance to prove my love for you...” she whispered to him. Then, she leaned towards him, and kissed him passionately on the lips. Calvin responded to her kiss, and she felt his hand roam at her back. At that moment, she was ready to give her all – her body and sould – to the man lying beside her.

She broke their kiss, and began to his shirt. Her lips started to kiss him on the lips, but she stopped when she heard him mumble a name. “Kit... Kit...” he mumbled. Trixie stopped, and looked at him. “I love you, Kit...” he said again. She felt her heart breaking again when she heard Kit's name. She had the gut feel before that Calvin is in love with his best friend, and now she proved that she's right. Calvin slowly opened his eyes, and then looked at Trixie. He suddenly got awaken with the thought that she is with Trixie, and not with Kit. If something happened between them, he knows he would regret it. “Trixie...” he said in a low voice. “I'm sorry... I can't do this. Each time that I close my eyes, it's only Kit that I see...” Trixie sat up, and turned away from him. “Are... are you in love with her? With Kit?” she asked. She could feel her own voice cracking. “Yes, I am.” Calvin answered.

Trixie covered , trying her best not to let him hear her cry. “I'm sorry, Trixie. I only love Kit... and I want to be with her...” he said. He stood up from her bed, and then left her room, leaving Trixie inside alone, crying.

Trixie laid on the bed, crying her heart out. Calvin's rejection hurt her, but what hurt her most is the fact that he could never love her again because of Kit. As he cried herself to sleep, a card of death fell from her side table.

--

The gun that will kill him...

--

She slowly crept inside her father's room. She didn't bother to turn the lights on. Anyway, she knows the exact place of that thing he was looking for. She reached for the drawer, and opened it. Despite of the room being dark, she was able to see it – a .45 caliber gun. She took it, and then put it behind her. She sneaked back to her room and then looked at herself in the mirror. “Why?” she asked herself. “Why can't you love me? Why did you have to choose your stupid best friend? I love you, Calvin... I love you too much. Why can't you choose me again like before? Why can't you forgive me for the mistake I did back then?” She felt the tears falling from her eyes. She clenched her fist, and hit her night table with her fists. She could not bear another rejection from Calvin. God knows she tried to change herself, and become a better person for Calvin so that he would love her, but just like before, he rejected her.

Then, she slowly pulled the gun from her back, she looked at it closely, and an evil smile formed on her lips. “I love you too much, Calvin, and you pushed me to do this...” she said as she stared at the gun. “If you can't be mine...” she said as she put it inside her bag. “then it would be better if you die...”

--

Chun
Danson
Joy
Jiro
Calvin
Kit...

One of them will eventually say goodbye....

Forever?