You called him once you were back home. You didn’t particularly like telephones, but you felt like doing this was… necessary. You dialed his number, waited for him to pick up the phone.

“Hello?” his voice resounded softly, a bit hoarse.

“Er… hi? Henry Lau?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s me… from the restaurant…”

“I know.”

He sounded sad even through the phone. You started hesitating. “Um… can I… can I help you?”

“Can you?”

“I… I don’t know. I just know you sound sad. So sad…”

“I can’t forget.”

“I’ll help you…”

“Please.”

“Let’s see each other. Okay? We’ll see each other, and I’ll help you. I want to help you.”

“Okay…”

You decided of the date, the time and the place, and hung up after talking a bit more – and telling him your name. You spent the rest of the evening thinking about Henry’s sad voice. I wish I could forget… forget everything…

**************************

“And I’d give up girl if I could

Just tell me how to walk away

Away from loving you

And I would…”

You heard his voice before seeing him. He was singing softly near the river, sitting on the ground, his eyes closed, the wind blowing into his hair, making it look even fluffier than it already did. You walked to him and sat next to him. “Hey.”

He turned to you, his puffy cheeks bouncing a bit. You poked them softly. “You okay?”

He looked down. “… no.”

“At least you’re being honest. So… will you tell me more about you? I can’t help you if you d-”

“We broke up three months ago. We had been together for a year only… but I can’t forget her. I feel like… like she’s the one who knew me the most. The one who understood me the best. Nobody understands me…”

“Is that the reason why you chose me, over all those fangirls?”

“You understood. I know you did. You were looking at me as if you did.”

“You feel abandoned. Sad. Desperate. You want to forget her, and yet you can’t. Sometimes, you wake up in the middle of the night, thinking she’s still there with you. You try to hug her, but when you open your eyes, you see that she’s not there. And you cry. You can’t smile knowing she’s not with you anymore. You wish you had bad memories with her so you could just remember that, and not miss her so much. But you don’t. You also wish you had better memories with someone else so you could replace the ones you have with her. But you don’t.”

He looked at you, his eyes full of tears. “You understood.” Wiping his tears, he leaned a bit against you. “I’m sorry for being such a… a… a loser…”

“You’re not a loser.”

“I’m a man, and I’m crying…”

“Men have feelings too.”

He sighed, pouting, his puffy cheeks getting puffier. “You understood. Again.”

“Isn’t it obvious? I mean, men aren’t machines… they can have feelings, tears, pains… here, come closer. I’ll hug you. You need a hug, don’t you?”

He looked at you with sad puppy eyes, and let himself get hugged by you, hiding his face against your neck. You could feel his tears landing on your skin, but you didn’t mind. You hugged him tight, feeling him grab your shirt, feeling his shoulders jump a bit as he was trying to control his cries.

“Cry, Henry… cry as much as you’d like to… you can cry…” you whispered.

And he cried. He cried, and cried, until he had no tears left. Only then, he moved back softly. “I… I’m sorry for that…”

You smiled softly. “It’s okay. Do you feel a bit better?”

“A bit.”

“That’s good.”

You poked his cheek again. “You’re like a giant squirrel… so cute…”

He tried to force a smile, but didn’t manage to. This time, you were the one leaning against him. “Don’t force yourself. Smile only when you feel like it. It doesn’t matter if it takes time.”

“Okay.”

You stayed silent for a while, closing your eyes, appreciating the sound of the wind blowing softly, until you felt an arm sliding on your shoulders. You opened your eyes to look at Henry. He was looking away, embarrassed. “I-I’m sorry… I just… need that…”

You shrugged and moved a bit closer to him, closing your eyes again. “If it helps, then just do it. I want to help you.”

“To help me forget? To help me forget my love for her?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Because it feels painful to see you so sad.”

“Sorry. Sorry to make you do this for me.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Sorry.”

“I told you, I don’t mind.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to repay you for everything you’re doing.”

“I don’t mind that either.”

Really, you didn’t. He was cuter, and nicer, and gentler than you thought he was. More sensitive, too. And you felt like maybe you weren’t doing this just for him to feel better…

“Plus,” you added, “I’m not doing much. I’m just sitting there, listening to you, talking to you, and hugging you.”

“And getting hugged, and understanding me, and helping me forget.”

“If you really feel like you need to repay me, then maybe you could sing for me?”

“That won’t be enough…”

“Record yourself singing for me then?”

He considered it for a moment, before he nodded softly. “Okay. I’ll do that. And…”

He pressed a kiss on your forehead. “I’ll do that too.”

You smiled. “Good boy. Now, will you sing for me?”

“Now?”

“Yeah, now.”

“Okay.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Nah.”

He cleared his throat a bit, practiced a bit so his voice wouldn’t crack, and started softly:

“I can’t move, why am I getting heavier?

As I’m inside of the corner of your heart, yeah

I want to touch you but I’m in this black darkness

I keep settling down in this same place, in that place, yeah

I’m getting more and more forgotten inside of you

Inside this love that always lingers

Oh I’m trapped, I’m trapped

I’m getting tired, I guess I’m dreaming alone

Will you strongly shake me and wake me up, wake me up?

I’m trapped, I’m trapped

I’m losing myself, I can’t even remember my name without you

Now will you let go of me from inside of you, let go of me?

I’m trapped, I’m trapped”

He kept on singing until the song was finished, and pouted. “It would’ve been better with my piano.”

You couldn’t help but press a kiss on his cheek. It was even puffier than it looked like. Blushing, you looked away. “Sorry. Erm… maybe, but… it was already good. Er… you could add the piano… for the recording, maybe?”

He stayed silent for a few seconds, and you were sure you had messed up everything. But his arm was still on your shoulders. And his lips were on your forehead again. Wait. Eeeh?

“Henry?”

“I’ll do that. But… can I ask you one thing?”

“Sure?”

“Could you stay with me for today?”

You smiled, and closed your eyes again. “Sure.”