Mystery Man’s POV

I  remembered the first time I saw her. She was at the café looking out the window. Right across from me. Like how many people say , it was love at first sight. I knew nothing about her, or if she was going to be here another time, but I had to go get to know her.  With a kick in my gut, I smoothly walked up to her and sat right across from her. She then turned towards me. She was even more beautiful up front. Her eyes were open wide as she saw me staring at her. It seemed as though she was shocked from him being the one staring at her or scared from the intense gaze. Immediately, she had  gotten up and left the café, with me only staring at her in awe.

I learnt from my friend Joonmyun that her name was Sabrina. What a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. I remembered that same night I stayed up writing her a ‘short’ note professing my love for her. My mother gave me a worried look knowing I didn’t fall asleep that night. She wondered who the girl was to keep me only thinking about her and her alone. It took a while for me to see her again, but when I did, my heart fluttered.

She was quite tall; taller than most of the girls I’ve seen. She wore glasses, but it didn’t really matter to me, it made her eyes even more beautiful. Her skin tone was nice; not too bright yet not too dark. She had eyes like an Arabian, making her even exotic. Call me crazy, but just by seeing her once, I knew that we were meant to be together.  I needed to see her again. And I did. Everyday I would quietly follow her and her mother who walked around the  town everyday. It seemed that they were new. She seemed ot be a gentle woman.

I remembered the day she wrote back to me. With  the letter she sent a lock of her hair. I greedily grabbed and smelled the essence that were once part of her. She wrote back that she loved me too. Oh was my heart crying for joy! Gladly, I wrote back to her asking if we can meet. She had written back saying that it would be difficult especially with her father being a strict man. She said that she would try her best, for our love. I ended up smiling like an idiot for the rest of the day because of that.

The day came for us to meet. We met in secret because of how small the town was and we knew that people would talk fast about us seeing each other. We had so much fun together. I can still remember the first time I kissed her. I still have that feeling today just by seeing her once.  She told me about how she was still in school. She was  nineteen while I was a good few years older than her. That didn’t really matter though, age is merely a number. Before we parted, I promised her that I would give her eternal love, that though one day we might part, I will never stop love her. We continued to keep on writing letters to each other, while she was away in  school and I was at my job working as a librarian.  Weeks had gone to months which made me have a burning desire inside of me to see  her once more.

That night, I had brought my violin and softly began to play for her. Bother her and her mother came outside. Both the elder and latter were shocked to see me there. I asked her to marry me, telling her that our love was endless and we would never have to be apart as soon as we had gotten married. I can still remember her beautiful which had given me a yes and she then sent me a kiss, which I had gladly taken.

Some days afterwards, an old man came to me. He seemed to look rich, wrinkles surrounding his face. His nose was pointed while his eyes looked small from aging.  He was Sabrina’s father. He told me to stay away from her. That Sabrina and I were not meant for each other. I had asked her about what she had thought of this and he told me to forget about that. Moving his jacket a little, he showed me a gun and said “don’t make this any harder for me.” I simply pulled away my sweater from my  chest and had a hand over my heart. “I am willing to die for our love”

Days later, she was no where to be found. I asked people around where did she go, they all said the same thing. Her family left hoping to find a better place. My heart broke a little, knowing that it would be a long time before I saw her again. A woman then gave me a  paper folded up. “What is this?” I asked cinfuse about what was going on. The old lady simply smiled saying, “Something that you would always love.”

When I had gotten home, I immediately opened the paper seeing bunches of her hair there.  She didn’t want me to forget her. I smiledat the thought, taking up her hair and smelling it. From then on, I knew our love was real.

Years afterwards I had heard from someone that her family came back to our  town. I was  overjoyed knowing that I would see my lover once more. I searched for her day and night, hoping that our love would begin a spark within us once more. When I had found her, she looked at me shocked. I wondered what had happened. The words that had come out of would have to be the most hurtful words that a person would ever hear. “Our love was an illusion.”

I wanted to die hearing that. How could she say that about our love? If out love was merely an illusion, why do I still love her, even after her saying this ? Was this a dream I was having? Or did I hear wrong? She then vanished from my sight. My eyes became watery and  I cried out her name as if I was dying.

“Sabrina! Sabrina!”

People all around looked at me as if I was crazy. I slowly walked home, gone to my mother and cried. People say that when a man cries it shows that he’s weak, but then I wasn’t weak. I was being my man by letting out my feelings and I wanted to preserve my love for Sabrina. When I said that I would love her eternally, I meant it. Though she may not realize it now, but I would still always love her, even if she moves on.

Months later I heard that she was married to a rich doctor.  His name was Oh Sehun. They were going to Paris for their honeymoon. He was well known by many people, as if he was  the president or something. I saw a picture. I’ll admit, he was handsome, but did he really love her? Or was he merely using her? I clenched my fist but said nothing. I couldn’t say anything. I lost my voice, tears blurred  my eyesight, and I couldn’t hear anything around me. It felt degrading, to lose her for good. To lose her to another man. It was from that moment on though, that I chose to fight harder to get her and show her that our love was real love.

Within weeks my mother sent me away from home, the country,. It was far, far away. I lived with my uncle, Zhang Yixing, who was the owner of a big trading company. I become his personal assistant and head clerk. I wasn’t too good at the job though. He would always reprimand me about Writing  business letters as ‘love letters’ . For in all truth, I needed love. I wrote for what I craved for. I can still remember all of those people who needed help in writing love letters for their lover and I was the person they went to. It was like I was a magician. Their lovers would also come back to e asking for help. It was quite fun, in all truth.  Seeing all these people in love and becoming one together. My heart would being to hurt more as those people reminded me of my love with Sabrina. Sometimes I would go to the bathroom and cry without anyone seeing me.

I remembered that day when The Oh Sehun confronted me. He began to tell me about a contest for love poems. It made me tempted to enter, in which I did, but there was something else he began to talk about which slaughtered me inside.  He began to talk about Sabrina. How wonderful of a woman she was, about their child, her love for him. It was a miracle that my uncle came in time to see the man. He then smirked at me before going into my uncle’s office, but I only wonder how knew about  me and Sabrina.

I never did win that contest, though people said I should’ve won, instead another man won it and there was no feeling in it. There was really no love or passion. IT was like the only reason it was written was just to write it. How dare he? Poems about love must have feeling in it. How can someone  write something without having any feeling for it. I remembered seeing her there. She looked….sad. She was as beautiful as ever, wearing a floral pink dress and holding a small baby girl.  She was smiling at everyone, even to her husband, but her eyes showed sadness. When she had noticed me, I felt my heart stop beating. Was she going to come back to me and tell me she realized that she loved me? I was going to walk up to her, but then I saw Dr.Oh. He gave me dangerous eyes that were saying , ‘come near my wife and I will not hesitate to kill you’. I then took a step back, walking out of the place, thinking that I had enough.

From then on, I never did look for her. Not once did I ask or cry for her. I yearned for love, I really did, but I forced myself to push it aside and think of other things. I tried to find anything else to distract me from her. I did better at my job, which made me the  CEO of the company when my uncle died. I became cold, but not heartless. I just didn’t let anyone get to me. I stayed alone for many years. I was interviewed many times by people and they would always ask if I wanted to be in a relationship. I would always give the same answer, “I was once in a relationship and I still am. Though the person may not realize it, we both are still in love with each other, no matter how much she wants to deny it.”

People would always wonder what I meant by that. They would even try to find out all the women I would talk to since childhood. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself about it. It would always amuse me how everyone wanted to know so badly about who is this girl I’m in love with. That soon made me begin to think about her again. I would always go to my office and breakdown.

Now, here I am. 45 years after we first met. Her husband died years ago, from a heart attack. I remembered hearing about her crying for him. I don’t think it was because she lost him though, but rather the fact he never did love her. She knew that he would never love her. Since then, her daughter had taken care of her, before she too, left her. She had gotten married and left her to be all by herself. Now there was only Sabrina, all by herself. I wanted to laugh so hard seeing her fall, that she had lost everyone. I then stopped, realizing that wasn’t true, since I was still one person she had.

I was reading a letter she wrote to me the first time we met. I would always cry reading it. My hands went back into the envelope,feeling something thin. I looked in it and saw her hair. I picked it up and began to smell it again. It brought back memories, unwanted memories. Suddenly, I dropped everything and I in a loud breath. The earth was moving slowly around me and I felt myself falling to the ground.

When I had woke up again, I was on a bed. I could barely move my hands. I tried to speak, but my voice was too weak  to even say one word. My eyes looked around the room. I saw many of my  maids around me. It looked like they were taking care of me. I then saw another figure. It was a woman, but she wasn’t one of my maids. The figure then came closer. My eyes opened wide and my heart began to beat faster knowing who it was.

 “S-Sabrina”

My voice was weak but I made an effort to say the name of my lover. She looked like she was crying, but her eyes showed happiness. “We’re back together…at last.” I felt my heart beating slower. I know now that I am near my end. I have finally come to have peace within myself  now that I have seen her again. She rushed back to me, hugging me tightly. I let out a little groan, but slowly hugged her back.

“Please! Don’t leave me. After all these years I’’ve realized that it was truly you I loved. My father made me believe that our love wasn’t real and I soon turned into believing that. Please forgive me! I  thought  Sehun loved me, but instead he only used me.”

She looked at me and her face was running with tears. I wiped away her tears and gave her a kiss. “Shh. Don’t cry. I knew that through everything you still loved me. I knew what your father did and what was really going on. I’m just happy now that I’m with you again.”

Sabrina then smiled at me. Kissing my forehead before looking at me.

“Huang Zitao , I love you.”

I smiled hearing that, and closed my eyes. Finally, I’ve heard the words that I’ve waited to hear my whole life from her. I closed my eyes and smiled, finally letting my life go knowing that it was whole.