11 years later -- 11 nov, 11:05

~

LEETEUK

The warden comes into the room, and all at once my inmates start to crank the bars really loudly, the horrible screeching sound bouncing off the walls in this enclosed place. The warden doesn't flinch an inch though, and only looks me up and down as he opens my prison door. I step out, feeling my spirits lifting ever so immeasurably. My inmates start to catcall and yell, but I pay no heed to the as I walk down the aisle.

After the stabbing, I was sentenced to 11 years in prison, for attempted murder with my lenient plea being mentally unstable. Sumiko had remained my psychologist, and along the years I had worked with her to make me better. She was, to me, a very precious friend now. I was out of my dark place now. Lizzie could never come back, and I accepted that fact, but somewhere in my heart she lived on, and I could still bring back her smiling face to mind easily.

Today, I am going to be free.

The warden makes me sit at a desk to complete paperwork, and I sit, pen in hand. I begin to go throguh the various documents. I never wrote much when I was in prison, not even when we had our enrichments and were given the chance to pen down our thoughts. I did all that with Sumiko already. So when my handwriting comes out, it is scrawly, but at least I am writing again.

I come to the section marked 'family', and I write down my mother's name and my father's. 

My parents.

I miss them so much, more than anyone will ever know. I wonder if they will ever forgive me, if they will come to receive me today, if they will still be wary of me. They have visited, of course, but with the limited time we had together, I was always left wondering about my future.

Siblings: , read the form.

I look at the heading, and then pen down Lizzie's name.

Because she is, and will always be, my sister.

KIBUM

The train station is packed, all around me people lug luggages, mothers scream at children, couples smooch and cuddle. I sit alone on the bench, waiting for my train to arrive. I have just given a speech about my book, titled Lizzie and Toki. It might sound like a child's book, but is in fact a breakdown of what I have gone through. It is a bestseller, I am proud to say, but the one thing that aches is that Toki never returned, ever, even after so long.

The train on the opposite side of the platform rumbles in, and everyone makes a beeline for it. As the train and its passengers leave the station, there is finally a kind of peaceful silence in the station. There are only a few people taking the same train as I am, and I survey my fellow passengers.

An old man in an old tweed cap, puffing away on his cigaratte. A young man with his hair slicked back, busily murmuring away into his phone. A family of three, the child a sweet little girl of about five, dressed in frills and on a lollipop. And finally, a young lady, wrapped in a brown leather jacket, her ponytail swishy long.

She attracts me, and I stare at her. We are at opposite ends of the station, me at the gates and her all the way to the far end, but the platform is not very long so I can still see as she takes out a book from her bag.

My book.

Lizzie and Toki.

I smiled, pleased to see someone reading my book. I stare at her for a long time, until the loud whistle of the train alerts all of us. She stands, and I stand, and we both prepare to walk towards the train doors. 

In that instant, our eyes connect.

11:11

LEETEUK

The sky is blue.

So very blue.

It is so blue and so near I feel like I can just reach out and touch the fascinating landscape. I stare at it for so long, letting fresh air fill my lungs like it has never filled them before. Eleven years was a long time, and even with the little snippets of sky we managed to see, being free was just hugely relieving. I think of Lizzie, hoping that somewhere in heaven, she too is free of the troubled that once badgered her. I kiss my fingers, and then bring them towards the sky.

Love you, Lizzie.

"Teuk."

I lower my head. My parents stand before me, eyes slightly blurred with tears.

My umma.

My appa.

I smile back, and together we stand at opposite ends of the road, ready to take this second chance into life.

KIBUM

My world is bright.

So very bright.

It is so bright I feel that if I do not close my eyes I will soon be dazzled and go blind. So I close my eyes, but when I re-open them the sight in front of me doesn't change. She is still standing there, and we both stand still, ignoring the porter's calls for us to board the train.

It is Toki.

My Toki.

She has come back to me.

And I smile.

I smile brilliantly, so sick with relief that finally she is front of me. Eleven years is a long time, and to see her right in front of me now is just so hugely relieving. She has aged, as have I, but she has the same kind eyes, the same pink lips, the same high cheekbones.

And then she smiles at me too.

I am dazzled, in that moment, to see her smile. The shadows are gone now, she is once again, my baby Toki. The train rumbles of in the distance, but we do not worry about our missed train.

We only smile at each other, each at opposite ends of the station platform, ready to reach out to each other for a second chance.

- END -

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A/N : & that, my dear friends, marks the closure of 11:11 <3 I hope you guys enjoyed it throughly, because as I said, it is to date the most planned story I have ever worked on here 8D For your pleasure, here are some fun facts about 11:11.

& if you guys want to read some more of my works, here's Soyabean!

I love all of you! <3

JESS OUUUT! 8DD