Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Sicheng paced around nervously, he knew he shouldn't have felt so nervous about Xuxi leaving, but he couldn't help it. Thoughts raced through his mind, what if Xuxi wasn't able to see him after he came back? What if something happened to him and Sicheng was stuck on earth, wandering as his lover ascended to another plane? All these superfluous 'what-ifs.'
He needed to get his mind off of this, needed to focus on something to make himself stop overthinking. He remembered they had a VCR here, Xuxi's uncle was kind enough to give it to him when he inherited the cabin. It was a couple years older than their one at home, but it worked well and that's all that mattered. He checked in their TV stand's cabinet to see what movies they had at this place.
He figured it couldn't have been many, because they'd usually just rent a movie if they were wanting to see something when they stayed here. Luckily, there was one movie, it was one of Sicheng's favorites when he was alive. The movie 'Ghost' starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, ironically enough. He remembered going to see it in the theater with Xuxi for the first time, how much he cried at the ending.
Xuxi never understood why Patrick Swayze's character couldn't have just stayed with her as a ghost, Sicheng urged him to know that the fact that the ending was bittersweet reinforced the beauty of it, that you can't have your cake and eat it too, that life is short and that's what makes it so special. These conversations would go on for a while, but he could never convince Xuxi to agree. How ironic his sentiments grew to be.
It'd been so long since he'd sat down and watched a movie, it was nice. Just relaxing and zoning off on a flic is a human luxury that he'd never realized how much he'd taken for granted. It made him kind of sad to think about, the movie came out to VHS right before he died. He remembered his family at the hospital with him on Christmas, Xuxi got him this movie on VHS the day it'd came out. Along with a plethora of other gifts which stacked way too high.
He knew Xuxi bought more that year because, even as optimistic as he'd wanted to be, he knew that would be his last Christmas with a mortal Sicheng. He shouldn't think too much about this too much, it made him feel things he didn't quite understand. It was nice to be able to get comfortable without nodding out and falling asleep, he hated that about mortality.
The thing about this day that was also nerve wracking was that Xuxi was moving out of their old apartment, it was a bit of a mourning period for him. All of the memories they'd had in that place, all the late night snacks, the laughter, the excessive kissing. It was the last place he lived in, truly lived in. Unfortunately, Xuxi's finances took a big hit when Sicheng passed away.
Sicheng's income was very helpful to stay afloat, and with his medical bills and the cost of the funeral on top of that, Xuxi fell deeper and deeper into financial hardship. There's no way that he could keep up with rent at their old place and taxes here, but the taxes at the cabin his grandfather passed down to him were a smaller amount, and added with the fact that they rented at the other place. It made the most sense to stay here.
