True Love
Chapter 1
My name is Yang Xiao Long. I am 18 years old and recently graduated from high school. All throughout my life, I've never been the so-called: Decisive type. Everything in my life has always been a struggle of should I or should I not? So knowing this, one can figure out that school was very difficult for me. Looking back, I'm surprised I even made it through all 10 years of school. Now, I'm moving around looking for something to do. Right now, I've settled in a small town pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully, there's something here for me.
...
Yang arrived by bus at the town. She got out and breathed in the fresh air. She noticed that the town was right in the valley of mountains. Looking back at the bus station, her uncle was waiting for her.
"Hello Yang, long time no see."
"Hi uncle." Her greeting wasn't very happy. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked to his car.
"So how have you been lately? It's been like what, 6 years since I've seen you."
"I've been fine. School wasn't very exciting."
"Well, I was more asking about you as a person." Yang was looking out the window which made her half focused.
"Oh me? I've been sound. I haven't been very involved in anything. If you haven't heard, I've been diagnosed with some 'thing' that means where I have difficulty deciding things."
"Ah." Her uncle grew silent the rest of the drive to his house. When they pulled up to his house, Yang got out in shock. The house was much bigger than she expected. The house was an older design, but looked massive from the outside and it was a two-story house.
"So this is your house?"
"Yep. All of it. Come on in, don't be shy." He opened the front door and Yang was surprised again. She was introduced to an open hallway that seemed to go on forever. A guest bedroom was immediately to the right of the front door. A dining room was on the left side of the hallway and a staircase hugged the right side wall. In the back of the hallway on the left was the living room that had a giant TV. Across from that room was the kitchen. Upstairs were two more bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a game room. Her uncle showed her to her room. "So, what do you think?"
"It's incredible. I didn't know anyone in our family was this rich."
"Trust me, I'm not rich. Since this place isn't a desired location, these properties go for pretty cheap. I got lucky, pretty much."
"Wow, thank you for taking me in."
"No problem. This place gets really boring sometimes so company is needed." Yang looked at him and smiled. "Now, unfortunately, there's not really much to do here so if you want to walk around the town, feel free. I have some things to do."
"Alright. How's the weather today?"
"You'll be fine. You're not going to need me?"
"I'll be fine. I can manage."
"Alright, have fun." Her uncle left the room and she walked to the front door. The house was located on the outskirts of the town so she had to walk a ways. She came upon a bridge that overlooked a calm river. She stopped to take in the scenery. She leaned against the wall of the bridge, but was quickly knocked to the ground by a passerby.
"Hey, what's your problem?" She looked up, but the person didn't respond. They just kept running. She got up and wiped the dirt from her clothes. "So I'm guessing people here aren't very polite," she said under her breath. She regained herself and continued towards the town. As she neared the town, her stomach started to growl and she went to the nearest restaurant. She stopped by at a ramen house and had lunch. While she was eating, she was overhearing distant conversations and couldn't help, but realize that this town didn't have much to offer. People were talking about walking through the park and hanging out with their friends. She wasn't against these ideas; it was just that nature wasn't her bowl of soup and she wasn't good at making friends. She also considered the fact that she just got here and doesn't know anybody here.
She finished her food and left to discover more new things. While she was walking through town, she was busy in the mind. She was contemplating on if she made the best decision on coming here. Another thing that was driving her nuts was that she wasn't even sure if she was thinking clearly. She didn't know if this was her really thinking or if it was just the symptoms of her problem. She dug her face into her hands and dropped to her knees. It only seemed to get harder for her. What am I doing here? This question was constantly running through her head ever since she first arrived. After a couple of minutes, she finally picked herself up from the ground and found that she came across an old temple. She grew curious and walked into the courtyard. The ground was covered in leaves and the statues were all cracked. She made her way up the steps into the prayer room. She grabbed a stick and lit it on fire. With the stick in hand, she closed her hands together, closed her eyes, and dropped to her knees.
"Um, I don't know who I'm talking to, but I need your help. I need direction in my life. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of a train wreck. I barely made it out of high school and now, I've hit a brick wall. Nothing I see gives me hope of what I was meant to do. Nothing I hear tells me what I should do. Everything inside only confuses me. So please, whoever is up there, I need some guidance." She opened her eyes and put the stick into the ashtray below. She sighed for she heard nothing that caught her attention. A tear fell from her eye and she wiped it away. She stood up and continued to look at the blank wall.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Yang turned around as fast as she could to see a girl about her age in a Japanese-style gown.
"I'm sorry. I just needed someone to talk to. I'll leave if you want."
"No, you're fine. I was just surprised that someone was here. No one visits this place anymore."
"Really? Why?"
"It's been closed for years now. I don't really know why, but now, I care for this place on my own." The strange girl walked by her and grabbed the ashtray from the ground. She placed it on the mantle place and bowed her head.
"So how long have you been coming here?"
"Ever since I was a little girl. This place has always been able to speak to me unlike people in the real world." Yang chuckled.
"I have to agree with you on that. I'm not much of a talker. Actually, this is the longest conversation I've had with another person." The girl smiled and stuck out her hand.
"Well, I'm Blake."
"Yang." Yang looked behind Blake and saw that the sun was starting to set. "I think I'm going to head home. My uncle is probably worried about me."
"Okay. Will you come tomorrow?"
"If I don't have anything, sure. However, I'll probably be free."
"Okay, see you tomorrow then."
"Bye." The smiled and waved at each other as they separated.
On the way home, Yang was constantly thinking about that girl. She was interesting. Why was she still here if the temple is closed? In her head, something was telling her that that girl wasn't normal. It seems really bad to judge someone she doesn't even know, but she couldn't shake that thought. She tried not to worry about it too much because in the past, she wasn't known for being much of a people person.
Meanwhile, at the temple, Blake was cleaning the prayer room. She grabbed a broom and sweeped out the stray dirt that Yang tracked inside. When that was finished, she put the broom away and returned to the room. She grabbed a stick and proceeded with her prayer.
"Thank you so much for answering me. I don't care if it wasn't your plan, but this will do. All I ask now is that you protect that girl. A gift from you must be cherished and loved. Thank you again." She dipped the stick into the ashtray and stood up. With her eyes still closed, she started to cry. No one has come to the temple in over 4 years and today was definitely the best day of her life. She walked out and shut the door behind her. As she locked the door, a small pain came from her chest and she pressed her fist against it. She slowed her breathing and took large breaths in and out. After a couple of seconds, the pain went away and she walked back to her room. She shut the door and changed into her night clothes. As she was changing, she looked into the mirror and stared at her scar that was right in the middle of her chest. She sighed and pulled her clothes over it. She blew out the candle in her room and went to sleep.
At Yang's house, her uncle was in the living room watching TV when she came in to tell him she had returned. He asked her about her day, but she didn't respond. She simply walked upstairs and to get ready for bed. When she got to the bathroom, she turned on the bath. Her hand felt the warm water and it reminded her of when she and Blake shook hands. The warmness of her touch brought a smile to her face. The tub filled up and she got in. again, her thoughts were about Blake. This time, it was different. Why am I so interested in this girl? We only said a few words to each other. That shouldn't mean I'm intrigued by her. Does it?
After her finished getting ready for bed, she finally plopped onto her bed. It was comfortable. The bed creaked a lot as she moved around and the cushions seemed like she was sleeping on dirt. However, the day was long so she didn't care. She tried her best to fall asleep, but Blake was still in her thoughts. Every time she tried to think of something else, her face would appear and Yang's face would blush. She shook her head and stared out the window. Outside, it was a full moon. At that moment, both Blake and Yang looked to the moon, hoping for another good day tomorrow.
End of Chapter 1
