One Shot Collection #2

45 - A Love Across Lifetimes

The air was thick with incense and the soft hum of voices chanting prayers. The grand temple stood at the heart of the city, its towering spires a testament to the gods of old. It was a place where the past and the present met—a place where souls found solace, and where Li Wei, three years later, found herself seeking answers.

The years since she had met Zhang Min had passed like fleeting moments, but their love had grown deeper with every breath they shared. Against all odds, against her father's will, against the whispers of society, they had carved out a life together. But something had changed—something neither of them could explain.

The dreams, once occasional glimpses into another life, had grown more frequent, more vivid. Zhang Min often woke in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, his heart racing as the images of past lives flashed before him. And now, Li Wei had begun to dream too—of different worlds, different versions of themselves, always reaching for one another, yet always torn apart.

It was as though the universe was reminding them that their love was fragile, constantly at the mercy of forces beyond their control.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with a kaleidoscope of colors, Zhang Min found Li Wei standing by the river where they had spent so many peaceful nights. Her gaze was fixed on the horizon, but her thoughts were miles away.

"Li Wei," he called gently, approaching her.

She turned to him, her eyes filled with a sadness he hadn't seen before.

"Min," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Do you ever wonder if we're meant to live like this forever? If this—if we—are nothing but a test of time?"

Zhang Min's heart tightened. He had asked himself the same question many times, but hearing it from her lips made the weight of it unbearable.

"I've thought about it," he admitted, taking her hand in his. "But I don't believe the universe is cruel enough to bring us together only to tear us apart. Not again."

Li Wei shook her head, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "But what if it is? What if this love—this connection we have—is something we're doomed to lose in every life? I feel it, Min. I feel like we've lost each other before."

He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her as if holding her would somehow keep the fates at bay.

"Then we'll fight," he said softly, pressing his lips to her temple. "We'll fight for this life, for us. I don't care what came before or what might come after. Right now, in this life, I'm choosing you. Over and over again."

She clung to him, the warmth of his embrace calming the storm in her heart. They stood like that for what felt like an eternity, neither speaking, neither willing to let go of the other. But the doubts lingered, hovering like a shadow over their love.

The Visit to the Mystic

Li Wei knew what she had to do. The dreams were no longer just figments of her imagination; they were too real, too persistent. And so, she found herself at the temple, seeking the guidance of the ancient mystic who was said to possess knowledge of the soul's journey through time.

The old woman sat cross-legged on a cushion, her silver hair flowing down her back like a river of moonlight. Her eyes, though cloudy with age, sparkled with a wisdom Li Wei could barely comprehend.

"You have come seeking answers," the mystic said, her voice low and steady. "You wish to understand the dreams."

Li Wei nodded, her heart pounding in her chest. "They feel like memories... of another life. But more than that, they feel like warnings."