The whispers of our past《Yizhan version》

Chapter 6 (part 1)

Xiao Zhan's POV

"Zhan!" A voice, it was a boy's voice, he was calling out to me in the darkness surrounding me, I could almost see a hand stretching out to me, but I didn't know where it came from, I wanted to grab on it, I wanted to disappear and dissolve.

But the voice screamed my name with so much pain and so much affection, something inside me just stirred at hearing it, I wanted to hug the person, telling him I was here, waiting for him, but I couldn't, my mouth was shut.

I continued to listen to the boy screaming my name while something wet trickled it's way down my face, unconsciously; a pair of arms gripped me from behind forcefully while I heard the boy screaming now.

I tried to fight off, wanting to run to the boy, but it was all dark, so I saw nothing, depending on all my other senses, the grip on my arms tightening, and just as I heard a heart-piercing voice for the last time screaming my name, I collapsed, tears falling while one particular name appeared inside my mind . . .

Yibo.

It hurt, so much, too much for words, it was burning, tearing me down with the cracks that got made long ago; I was crumbling and falling apart while there was no one to catch me, no one to hold me, no one to be by my side and whisper the lie that everyone told inside my ear; it's all going to be okay.

The night howled as the wind passed me, my wounds hidden inside my long sleeve clothing that was old and too small actually, but who was I to complain?

"You miss him more than you remember him . . ." I turned around, there he was, hidden between the trees, only his aura visible while a shiver ran down my spine.

"Who are you?" my voice was a quivering sound in this endless forest, and for once I wanted to know who this boy or man was, what was his intention, if he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it, but why does he keep finding me?

"To some a friend to others an enemy; to some a dream, to others a nightmare, it depends what you want from me," he said, his voice steady and unwavering.

"I want nothing from you." Even though my voice was steady, I felt my legs shaking and fear running into my veins; he was almost invisible through the trees, hidden away, his camouflage too good to be noticed.

"You want nothing from me, but you want something from someone I take as a close family." What . . . ?

He chuckled lowly, darkly, before he spoke up again, "you're seeking love, the love you've been trying to find in every corner of the world, only to meet your old friend darkness. I guess we both know I won't harm you, you care too much and have a big heart, you've suffered more than your age should ever have faced the first time you came here, even though Yibo tries to ignore it and waits for you to speak up when you feel like it. I am not like Yibo; I know what you're hiding, and I know you can't hide it forever, soon; you'll need to make a choice, either stay here forever or never come back. I know you felt the calling of the forest whispering into your ear, crawling into your skin, running through your veins, and your choice of path will come soon, so enjoy it while you still can because who knows when the last time will be?" His words were like a dagger hitting into my heart because I had felt it just as he said; I knew it was bound to happen, all of this.

"Yibo . . ." He watched me; I felt his eyes burning into my mind before I continued, "Yibo and I, we have met before, didn't we?" I bit my bottom lip, hoping for answers, knowing he probably wouldn't give them, but still, that little bit of hope.

"The taste of blood, which is life, is the same salty taste as that of tears, which is pain" His eyes were dark, stars shining inside them; the hunter looked like the definition of danger.