𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 {𝙘𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜/𝙤𝙘} ⚢

vi.

yalong bay welcomed me to its shores; wide and ethereal. lian hadn't arrived just yet, but i was okay with that. i closed my eyes, listening to the ebb and flow of the waves crash against the welcoming shore. i felt so peaceful.

i wanted to trap this joy in a vintage, glass bottle and throw it to the pits of the briny. and then, i wanted to grow a mermaid tail and swim to the water's hollows during the bewitching hour to drink the depths of calmness (of beautiful stillness i'd encased).

one could dream, and here i was dreaming of exile, of becoming one with the sea and the ocean and the fish and the sharks.

"cho?" lian called, exuding me from my dreamed reverie. i turned, wind in my tousled, raven locks.

lian was wearing a flowy lilac dress, and her hair was pinned back with a gold barrette (the one i'd given her for her birthday last march) in a half-up, half-down style. she'd always been very pretty. i wish i was half that stunning.

"你好 (hi)," i smiled, opening my arms to great her with a hug.

lian and i had been friends since i'd first moved to china in 2000. i'd met her at a small café hidden in yasi gardens for witches and wizards. she'd still had her magic, at the time.

my chest pounded against my ribcage. it wasn't the same for wizards here. the high muggle government was in alliance with the chinese department of magic, only few knew of the existence of magical beings, but it was enough.

a treaty had been forged years ago (supposedly to prevent war and ensure our secrecy), stating a wizard or witch who didn't abide by the exact rules the ministry had emplaced could have their magic revoked; wiped clean from their system. before lian, i didn't even know such a thing was even possible. i really wish it wasn't (because if anything was immoral, it was definitely that!).

to this day, i didn't know why lian had lost her magic, but i didn't dare ask. in all honesty, it probably wasn't for much of a reason at all. it seemed like most chinese wizards and witches had lost their magic. selfishly, i was glad i'd studied at hogwarts. my name wasn't on their bloody registry, and so, i wasn't constantly being tracked like all the others were.

still, i would have done anything in my power to give lian her magic back. she'd tried everything (i had to!), but nothing worked.

"i'm so happy to see you!" lian chirped. "i had something to tell you."

"what is it?" i asked curiously.

"let's walk a bit first! i've been stuck at work all night," lian said. after losing her magic and being fired from the wizarding school she'd taught at not so far away from yalong bay, lian had taken a job at the closest bus station nearby.

"you have? you could have cancelled today if you were too tired!"

"安静, 隐秘 (hush-hush!). if i'm here, i want to be here." lian pulled me to the dry sand. she hated getting her sandals dirty. "so, how's that hardworking, handsome bao of yours?"

tears dared to make their way to my eyes, but i pushed them back, biting my tongue. i couldn't tell her. she had enough to deal with as is.

"cho?"

"oh, sorry," i replied, feigning laughter. "i was just remembering last night." i blushed (but not for the lecherously sensual reasons lian thought).

lian laughed, except hers was true.

"you know," she sighed. "we can't be all as lucky as you! you both are as in love as you were when you first met," lian said. "do you ever raise your voice sometimes? i mean, it can't be--"

"we're not perfect, lian. nothing is."