One Night, One Day, One Year, One Lifetime

Chapter 10

One Night, One Day, One Year, One Lifetime was to have ended with He Yujin's death, but the author had a dream after and her muse returned. The following extra story, told from Gao Fei's perspective, is a continuation on Gao Fei's life after He Yujin's death.

AFTER STORY:
This Love Transcends Time and Space

Ten

She said, when the sun rose, not to look at her; when the moon rose, not to look at her.

So, I did as she wished.

When the sun rose, I did not look at her.

When the moon rose, still, I did not look at her.

I sat there. She remained in my arms the whole time. Her body was not cold, the hint of warmth remaining, but there were no longer any movements from her. Her head hung low, and I lifted it, yet it bowed low once more. I lifted her head again. I repeated this three times, until I no longer had the willpower to continue.

When the sun rose once again, I carried her, placed her in the seat beside me, and fastened the seat belt for her. I drove the car home, and laid her down on the bed next to me.

Suddenly, I did not know what I was doing.

I paced back and forth within the room. I thought I should make a call, to inform the others that Ah Yu was dead, and begin to make arrangement for her funeral. The first call I made was to my mother, but the person who answered was my father.

I sat by the bedside. Behind me was He Yujin, her face peaceful.

Tonelessly, I said, 'Father, Ah Yu is dead.'

Across the phone, my father was silent. For a long moment, he did not say a word, but the phone was soon transferred to my mother's hands. She had already learned from my father what had happened.

She said, 'Gao Fei, make a trip back home!'

I assented; hung the call.

I thought I needed someone's help in arranging the funeral, so I made a call to my colleagues. All of them were in disbelief, but without exception, they murmured their condolences and expressed their sympathies.

I changed my clothes and prepared to leave the house. As I stood at the foot of the bed and looked at Ah Yu, I saw that her makeup was still intact, but her face was pale, devoid of any colour. I placed the book of poems she had given me by the bedside table. Within the book was the last verse of Tsangyang Gyatso's poem and a photo Ah Yu had taken of herself. In that photo, the breeze had fluttered against her hair, and her eyes shone with happiness as she smiled blissfully.

My fingers traced her photo as I stared at her, my heart silently repeating the words: That moment, I ascended to the Heavens and became immortal, not for an eternal life, but to watch over you for a lifetime of happiness and peace...

I thought that in the end, this was only her wish.

I placed her photo down, and knotted my tie the way she often helped me. I had not slept for a day and night, and no longer had the energy needed to drive the car. I walked out of my estate and called for a cab, then travelled from the east of the city to arrive at the west. Because of the traffic jam, this took me a whole two hours.

I used my keys to unlock the door. My parents were sitting on a couch in the living room, their white hair evidence of their years. Held within my mother's hands was an envelope of documents, and as she glanced at me, her expression was strange. I received the document. It was a property deed as well as a certificate indicating the transfer of the rights to a property. My parents had become the new owner of Ah Yu's ancestral home.