third time's a charm

10

Win floated down through a serene, leafy park to the children's play area. There, he saw his five-year-old self, in a sandbox, happily playing alone. Suddenly, a group of slightly older boys approached as he shaped his sand castle. Out of nowhere, they started kicking and jumping on his sand castle and pushed him down the ground. He cried while the kids sniggered at how dirty he looked. Win's face turned red with agitation and mortification, and just when he thought that no one would come to his aid...

"Get off him!" said a seven-year-old boy.

Win watched as this boy started kicking the bullies. Some of them were way bigger than the boy, yet this did not frighten him one bit. When the bullies came running with their tails between their legs, the boy turned to look down on his lonely countenance. Win wanted to thank him but he could only get one syllable between big, wet sobs. "It's okay..." said the boy, wiping the tears off his face. "They won't hurt you again. Here, let me help you rebuild your sand castle..."

It was just a dream...

A foolish dream.

He was young then, but he thought he had finally met the love of his life.

╔══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══╗

Sunlight poured into the pristine white bedroom as the morning came skipping down the triplex penthouse. Bright and Win lie in bed next to each other. But it was Win who opened his eyes first, staring at the ceiling in stunned disbelief. After several beats, he realized that Bright just proposed to him yesterday...

This brought a smile to his face and he couldn't help but gaze at the person next to him.

Gently, as not to wake the other, Win swung his legs off the bed and slipped into a bathrobe. Still smiling to himself, he headed toward the kitchen. Everything in Bright's home was truly magical. Massive windows on every side with exposures in all four directions, and high foot ceilings which made it feel even more spacious. Not to mention the artful floating staircases that connected all three floors, as well as an elevator.

As he continued toward the kitchen, he was greeted with sea-green glass tiles, slate countertops, and hand-blow glass fixtures. This was a kitchen straight out of Architect's Digest.

A beautiful morning. Win's mind was focused on making breakfast when suddenly, the sky that was blue altered into a soft shade of gray...

It was raining.

"Tomorrow morning, it's going to hail..."

No, it can't be...Win rushed to the windows and there he witnessed as the soft pitter patter of the droplets became a downpour. His expression glazed over with apprehension as he gasped, "This can't be real..."

Inside the security of the penthouse, he couldn't hear the sound but he could witness the rain bomb outside that was followed by a variety of shapes, sizes, and coverage of hail stones!

Shocked, Win quickly ran toward the bathroom and locked the door. He let the water run and then...he started to cry.

"I'm going to die..." he whispered to himself.

It wasn't the thought of dying that frightened him the most. After all, human lives weren't endless to begin with, and everyone was destined to die at some point in time. Madame Sukie's horrified words kept ringing to his ears as a reminder that Bright would be the cause of his death...

His third charm.

"If you fall in love a third time, and break your heart...you'll die."

Win clutched his chest, a wrenching cry from his heart...it stopped him cold. How could a man as perfect as Bright could break his heart? He stared in the mirror as if he was watching the end of his life...he shook his head. No way...