Sweeter than Fiction

They sat to one of the benches.

Wan Li tried offering a cigarette to Liu Yang but she refused.

She shook her head, "You know my allergies will kill me if I do."

"Damn your allergies! You really need this right now, for your psychological health, anyway," Wan Li insisted.

Liu Yang just pursed her lips and crossed her arms on her chest. Wan Li looked at her and continued, "So, what is it?"

"What is?" Liu Yang feigned innocence about the question.

Wan Li rolled his eyes. "Come on, girl! We're the only people up here. No one can hear us. Spill!" He took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled it sharply, puffing a big cloud of smoke.

Liu Yang looked back at him. Her eyes telling him something that her mouth can't. She looked away, and he thought she's not going to answer him. He opened his mouth but her words stopped him. "I dreamt about it. Last night."

Wan Li's hand, that is holding the cigarette, trembled. He knows what she's talking about. "Is it the time when you got….ahem," he could not continue the words he's going to say. She knows that the topic is a taboo for Liu Yang.

Liu Yang looked at the tall buildings from afar. The heat wave of summer, blazing. "Why do I keep on having dreams about it?" she scoffed, "Nightmares, even."

Wan Li gaped at her. "Yang, I think, you have to forget about it. It's been 18 years or so."

Liu Yang turn to face him. The corners of her eyes starting to sting. "Easy for you to say. You know, I'm envious of you. How you can forget it that easily."

Wan Li did utter a word. Yes, they share the same past. Though with a different timeline, plot, and characters.

She continued, "We share the same past. But somehow I find it different. Far too different."

Wan Li lit another cigarette. In frustration, he took a hard drag and let it all out. "Don't you know that sometimes, I consider this tragedy a blessing in disguise. The Wan Li today, is because of that incident that day." He chuckled, "A strong person."

Liu Yang breathed the warm air and closed her eyes. Summer is really a nice weather, she thought, but her mood is damp. Why is that? "Why does is have to be us?" she said with her eyes closed.

Wan Li, who finished his second cigarette, smiled. "You know we better head back." He said, changing the subject. "Let's just drown all this with work."

Liu Yang nodded. "Yeah. We better be."