Sparks Amidst Snow: The Ancient (UNEDITED)

Chapter 35 - The End

Jiyang stared at Ajie's face,  her eyes were close and her lips were still smiling,  it was as though she was just enjoying the melody she was hearing. Unconsciously,  Jiyang's hand loosen his grip on Ajie. It started to slipped and landed on to Ajie's flat stomach.

Jiyang gulped, it was hard... It was like he was swallowing a pain... He was swallowing a hopeless wish... 

A hopeless wish that the scenery he was looking right now wasn't true... "J-Ji'er..? "

He tried to woke up the person lying on his lap but he heard no response

"J-Ji...Er?.... Ji'er!? " but still, no one replied...

It was undoubtedly clear that the wish...

His wish...

Wasn't granted... 

That the one he hoped was a dream, wasn't really a dream but a nightmare...

A real nightmare.

He carefully pulled Ajie's body for a hug and he started to cry...

Quietly.

He hugged her tight, tighter.

He hugged and buried his face
on the lifeless body's shoulder
for a long time, longer time...

Harboring every millisecond he
had with the person he held
dear....

Cradle her until the
warmth slowly turned into
coldness.

"Ji'er... My Ji'er... I love you."

.................

"Mother!, Mother! wait for me! " a loud chuckled was heard and made Jinling distracted on reading his favorite book.
he groaned and facepalmed

"Mother!!  hahaha wait wait!  I'm coming with you hahah don't run fast"

"Ji'er you should run faster,  Yin Xi! " the woman giggled

Eighteen year old Jinling was so aggravated by the woman's voice so he opened the old designed door of the his room

"Hey Shijie!  Don't shout here! Don't you know that someone is studying peacefully then you---"

He stopped by the moment he realized that Ajie didn't even faced him and continued running and chasing the woman

"Shijie! you dare to ignore me!?"

The woman looked at him and slowly gave him a gentle smile.

"Ji'er" she faced Ajie and smile

"Let's go there hm? " she pointed the direction where the heaven's were.

Ajie obidiently nodded and held her precious hand and they walked fast following the direction his mother's told him to

Jinling was flabbergasted, he could took it that Ajie ignored him but who's that woman?

He wasn't entirely ignored by her though, but she didn't even invite him to follow them

Jinling was annoyed,  of course he could not be annoyed just for nothing. He was making himself believe that he should be annoyed by Ajie so he quickly came after them.
At this moment,  Jinling saw his sister on the boat.

"Shijie?! Where are you going?

When he noticed that Ajie was about to ride on it too, he pulled her arms and made her look at him. 
Ajie on the other hand, was forced to turned around and face him.
Her head was bent down.

"Shijie!  Where are you going!?  And who is she?!"

Ajie remained silent which for Jinling was odd

Jinling immediately stopped and widened his eyes on the view he was looking right now.

Ajie's tears was falling.

"Shi....jie.... what the hell?!"

Ajie looked at him. She sighed and then smile widely while tears were still running on her red-tinted jade cheek.

"Take care of yourself Jinling"

"Shijie! what are you talking about?! "

"I think I need to say this even if it meant your hard slap on my face." she chuckled

"I missed you brother.  And will probably miss you!
You and I....we will meet again... We will gonna be the best twins again..."

"Shijie why---"

"Goodbye Jinling. " Ajie smiled brightly. "

"Wait!!!  Wait!!  Shijie! ! Ajie Yin Xi! What is this Shijie! Shijie! wait for me---"

"Ajie Yin Xi! " an approximately eighteen looking Jinling gasped.

He panted heavily. Sitting on his bed while catching for a breath,  he realized that he was just dreaming-- no he experienced a nightmare.

Sweats dripped down on his forehead to his bare pale cheeks, he was digesting all the scenes he saw in his very bad dream.

One by one, picture by picture, he studied about it. He then now ascertain of what was its interpretation. He slowly place his hand on his abdomen. He curled up his body, his head was resting on his knee.

"So this is a goodbye?" his voice was in pain, his tears were falling together with his sweats

In his mind, he was again left off by his family... By a person who was precious to him...His twin sister

...........................

After what happened, Jiyang undergone seclusion for how many years. What he felt was more damaging than thirty whip scars and being bedridden for three years from before. 

His hair was always messy again, his face was still looked in pain, he looked so empty.

At the large trunk of tree near the healing river, Jiyang carved a characters. After a phrase in Hanzi, were symbols "♡."

What Jiyang wrote could be read as
"This is where Jiyang's ♡. "
For him, it denoted that the place, particularly that tree was where Jiyang, his heart stopped or ended

Jiyang was also fond of these symbols, considering the first time he saw Ajie, his heart was as if halted for a while and then suddenly beat faster. Similarly on what happened when Ajie told him that he talked too much about something he liked

And of course he'll never forget the first time these symbols were implied on him. It was when he found the letter wrote by Ajie before he died

Once in a while, he went under that tree that was now his favorite place.
He would sit there with his zither and will play a song.
He started to play those long, thin pieces of thread of the seven-stringed instrument. As the interlude ended Jiyang started to sing

"Fluttering blossoms caressed jade, a dreamy memory of a young girl...." he closed his eyes and reminisced every moment

"Peach Pier Sect once again bathes in youthful glow....
Hidden behind the clouds are distant mountain peaks...."

"Relentlessly pining for the truth
Of a lover long gone, a frozen heart keeps hoping..." his heart suddenly ached while he was singing those phrases.

"Rain passed, the loquat flourished
With the bamboo pole I playfully disturbed the water; who should I tease?"

"Now I look back on these bittersweet memories with a smile..."

He then looked up at the clear sky, tear was in the corner of his golden eye. He continued "So this first love was all for you....
How can I deny this burning desire?
For you, I play a song of joy and regret...." he smiled.

_________
Thanks for reading!

~slnt_scrms