Us. (HIStory2 越界 - Crossing the Line: Zhen Wen x Zhen Wu)

The Healing (Zhen Wen)

First and foremost, please accept my sincere apologies for the (suuuuuper) late update. Work has gotten the best of me these past few weeks :(

Secondly... I regret to say that I can't say for sure when the next update is, but I'll try my best to write in my spare time. After all, Zhen Wen and Zhen Wu's story is not finished yet, and I love to write about them. Please be patient with me :')

For now, please enjoy a slightly longer chapter :)

***

I blink once. I blink twice.

I close my eyes.

And I open them again.

Blink.

The sun is now high up in the sky and its strong ray shines through my thin curtain, illuminating my room fully. I look at the clock on the wall; it's almost one in the afternoon. The only sound I hear is the air conditioner above me and my own breathing. I hold my breath, thinking this way perhaps I can listen to the whole house better. I expect to hear something, but it's totally silent. I'm alone, it seems.

I lie on my back and can't help but notice the weight on my eyelids. It's a pain to open them and I know they are swollen. I don't know how long I cried last night. I don't know when the tears stopped. I don't know when I fell asleep.

I sit up and white covers my vision that instant. Shutting my eyes tight, I wait until the lightheadedness fades away. It feels like I'm floating, like the room is spinning. When it's over, I open my eyes and notice something on my table.

It's a tray of breakfast. Either Mom or Zhen Wu must have brought it up this morning. There's a bowl of vegetable porridge and a glass of water. I stand up slowly so the dizziness doesn't get worse and then approach my table. I pull the chair and plop myself down

Letting out a sigh, I lift up the spoon to take a little bit of the porridge. My hand stops midair just inches before my lips. No matter how hard I try, something always keeps me from eating the food. At the sight of the plain porridge, my stomach churns and something inside me threatens to escape through my throat. The spoon lingers in front of me and after a while, I just put it back to the bowl. I'll just drink the water.

It's been there for quite some time so it's cold because my room is cold. It actually feels nice and refreshing when it trickles down my throat to my stomach. I take in big gulps and then put the empty glass down. I hope everyone won't make a big deal out of me not eating...

I stand by my chair like a statue, not knowing what to do. My mind is completely blank—no, my brain refuses to function. Because if it does, the memory will resurface. Bits and pieces of memories are always there, tucked in so deeply in the littlest and most remote corner, an inescapable evidence of forced suppression.

Snapping out of my trance, I look around my table which shows traces of my studying last night. I remember feeling terribly lazy and just went to bed straight away. And then it happened. I prevent my mind from going there.

But Zhen Wu's there. Zhen Wu is always there. He always has been.

My eyes then land on a framed photograph on the shelves. It's us on our parents' wedding day.

I hold it in my scrawny hands and take a good look at us. At the sight of how happy we were, the corners of my mouth begin to lift unconsciously. Little Zhen Wu is showing his signature lopsided smile that I know too well. His eyes sparkle, and never once have I seen them lose their shine. I can feel a tiny circle of warmth in my gut, and it's beginning to grow bigger and bigger. It begins to spread, filling my heart and then my whole body. My tired eyes start to water again, but it's the kind of tears that clears my vision, which enable me to see the good behind all this. I still have him.