Mizpah《Yizhan version》

Chapter 2

Present time . . .

"Zhan ge, do you remember what the weather was at our second meeting?" Yibo looked into Zhan's eyes, the eyes that were deep like the galaxies though they didn't care as many secrets as he did, yet Yibo fell in love with those two sweet pair of eyes, his first and only lo-

"It was snowing," Zhan's bitter voice shook Yibo out of my thoughts, and he nodded, continuing my story while taking a sip of my long cold gone coffee.

***

Eighteen years ago . . .

It was snowing.

It was to be precise the twenty-fifth of December, so Christmas night, and it was snowing as it would never stop, the cold freezing air trying to come through the small ajars of the house just like a year ago, yet this time there was something different from the last time.

The clock didn't strike twelve yet like the last time, but the small boy named Zhan was already sitting fully awake on his bed, staring out of his window with the tiny light of a candle emitting a soft aura throughout the quiet room, only the howling of the wind got heard through the cold winter night.

Zhan was extremely tired after the long day of spending his time with his loveable family, but he resisted the urge to yawn for sleep, he just needed to wait a bit longer, that's at least what Zhan kept been telling himself since the moment his parents put him into the bed, and Zhan had continued chanting the words like a spell, 'he will come, he will come . . .'

When he thought he was not able to hold a yawn back anymore he heard it, the soft flutter of knocking against a window, a kid from his age in his place would think it was a just a branch from the big tree ticking against the window, but Zhan was not considered a 'normal' child, so Zhan waited in total silence.

Until he was sure to hear the second soft knock, this time slightly harder than the time before, and slowly he turned his head towards his window, and there he sat, just like a year ago, the event felt like a deja vu.

The same boy in and outside the house, the same eyes interlocked into an endless starting battle, and the very same soft crying of the winter wind outside.

It was just the same picture.

Zhan took a deep breath before slipping out of the warm bed that gave him comfort, his bare feet once again touching the wooden ground while a cold shiver ran down his spine, his eyes the whole time not letting go of the ones from outside the window.

Every step felt like an eternality in which he bit his blood red lips when he reached the window he slowly leaned forwards, laying his hand on the window, and the boy outside the window placed his hand on the same place, and for a single second, it was as if a sparkle ran down the spine of both boys while they watched each other.

Slowly Zhan detached while his fingers went to open the window, the cold air of the outside world came in, together with the same boy from one year ago; Yibo.

"Where you waiting for someone?" Zhan scratched his nape with a small blush appearing on his pale face that got lightened by the tiny flame of the candle mixed with the stray of moonlight that fell through his window while listening to Yibo's deep and enchanting voice.

"Actually, I was waiting for you," Zhan didn't dare to look up when he felt the burning gaze watching him until Yibo's hand lifted his chin, and they looked into each other's eye, both forgetting to breathe through the everlasting stare.

Yibo was the one ending the stare by closing the window that brought fresh yet cold air with it, and when he was done closing the window he sat down on the windowsill, his face lit by the tiny candle and a small smile was visible playing around his lips.