END OF THE TRACK
How much further will he run?

He runs. Down the clear stretch before him. The end. Further than the eyes can see. How long has he been running? He cannot be sure. How much further will he run? He does not know. When will he finally stop?

Perhaps now... as he catches a glimpse of a familiar scene.

A woman. Standing by a snack stall. Deep in thought. He has seen her before. Spoken to her. Know her name.

Xinling. Or something that sounds like Xinling.

He slows his pace... grateful for the excuse to rest his aching muscles. They ache terribly.

"Xinling! You're here again. It's a nice morning for a jog, isn't it? Want to join me?"

Xinling shakes her head, seemingly disagreeing and refusing. "You don't have to stop for me."

"But I want to stop. I want to stop for you. Weren't you going to tell me something? What was it? Something about this snack stall and why you're always standing here?"

She is hesitant. He can clearly see it. The down turned eyes. The little sighs. "Well... you don't have to tell me. Of course, you don't. It's really none of my business, right? I'm just being extremely nosy."

Xinling shakes her head, seemingly disagreeing. "You're wrong, Jaejoong. I do. I do have to tell."

"It's okay... you don't have to force yourself to tell me, I just—"

"I don't need you to feel sorry for me. I know it." Seeing how hard she is trying, he waits for her. He waits for her to start the 'tell.'

"I always walk pass here on my way to work. The snack stall is always closed. Of course, it's closed. No one is around this early in the morning. Usually."

"So... someone else was here when you passed by?"

"Yeah, a man. Strange... I thought nothing of it. But then... suddenly, he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me off the path. He clamped his hand over my mouth before I could scream. But then again... if I screamed... who would hear me? No one is around this early in the morning. Usually."

"Did you fight back, Xinling? I know got some fight in you, so did you?"

"I know. I know, I do. I know, I can. But I was scared. It's hard to fight back when you're scared. Your muscles just tighten up and you're just really afraid to move..."

"What happened? What happened then? What did you do?"

"He had hurt me... and it made me come to my senses. I kneed him. I kneed him hard. Hard enough to topple him. That didn't really stop him though... it only made him angrier. I saw it... the murder in his eyes when he glared up at me. He got up and attacked me full force. Throwing his entire body. But, I dodged... maybe I shouldn't have."

"What do you mean you shouldn't have? Of course, you should dodge. He was going to hurt you again!"

"He fell forward, Jaejoong. And hit his head right here. Right at this corner. His body jerked and then it was still."

"He had it coming. He really had it coming."

"I stood here for a long while, at this very spot... just staring down at his wide open eyes. I'm sure they were looking at me. They were surely looking at me."

"He deserved it. You did nothing wrong. He fell on his own while trying to attack you. He deserved it."

Xinling shakes her head, seemingly disagreeing. "You don't understand. I killed him. I wanted him dead. And he died."

"He had it coming. It's just the world's way of dishing out justice. You did nothing wrong. He was a bad man."

"That doesn't change anything. I still killed someone. I took a man's life. Jaejoong... I wanted him dead and he died. That's why I can't run with you. I can't walk pass this snack stall... not while knowing that he will never be able to walk pass it... because I killed him."

"Of course, you can. You can pass this whole bad experience. Run with me. Let me show you. You can. You surely can."

"I can't. You don't understand."

"Yes. Yes, you can."

"No, Jaejoong. I can't." Xinling speaks firmly. "Where do you think we are? Where?"

"We're..." Jaejoong looks around. "We're on the tracks. We're..."

Xinling shakes her head, seemingly disagreeing. "No, Jaejoong. This is Purgatory. Tell me. How long have you been running? How much further will you run?"

An eternity.

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