Tuesday had passed in the blink of an eye. He could barely remember anything that happened, but He was sure that He enjoyed it. He didn’t remember where Liu had gone after the air gun stand, he didn’t remember if she had come with Him or went home on her own, but He knew that they had fun.

  Getting up, He noticed that He was still dressed with the clothes from the day before. He slowly got up, ran His hands through His hair to somewhat straighten it and as He finally got up from His bed, He could hear the wind passing through the apartment. The birds chirping outside and the clock ticking in the kitchen. The smell of freshly cooked food and washed clothes filled up the apartment and it gave Him an unfamiliar familiar sense of peace.

  “Thank God!” He exclaimed to Himself, thankful for not forgetting to wash His clothes the day before, even though He did not remember it.

  The third day’s outfit was similar to the second day’s. An embroidered shirt, only this one had streaks of white embroidered into it, the wind that helps the willows sing, that carries the birds away, it was meant to show the need of help, both to receive and to give it and the beauty that bloomed from it. The pants were white, as were the shoes that He wore with them.

  After getting dressed, He took his old clothes and put them in the clothing basket in the bathroom.

  Turning back to the kitchen, He was surprised to find Liu. Startled, He jumped back.

  “Oh my…!” He exclaimed as He hit the bathroom door.

  “Hey you!” Liu greeted Him with a smile from ear to ear.

  “You scared me! How did you get in here?!”

  “That’s a secret, come let’s eat!”

  And as soon as he saw and smelt the food, He forgot about it. It was the same meal from the day before, but somehow it seemed more tasteful, more fragrant. Just as the day before, after eating, the two headed out.

  They passed by the same shops, stared at the same clothes and walked the same path towards the fare. They didn’t talk as much as the day before, but they still enjoyed spending time together. For Him, talking was not a necessity, just being in the presence of someone He held dear to His heart was more than enough.

  Liu on the other hand, loved talking, she would talk with every opportunity she had, often scolding Him for not being as talkative or as interactive, or react as lively as her.

  It didn’t bother Him, it showed she cared and that was more than enough. He made efforts to behave in a more pleasant way for Liu, but they both knew that He would never be quite the same and that was okay, that was fine, He did not have to be.

  They continued walking in silence towards the fare.

  As they drew closer and closer, He broke the silence.

  “I never understood why roses were so appealing to you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They’re very pretty flowers, I’m not disagreeing, but I never could understand why they are your favorite.” He said in a perplexed tone, as if that was the greatest mystery in His life.

  “They’re very life-like, you know? What I mean to say is that they resemble life a lot, they hurt, yes, they prick and stab, but isn’t that what makes them so uniquely beautiful, the fact that in order to hold one and truly appreciate its beauty in your own hands, you have to get over the hurt.”

  “Wow… very philosophical, but you’re right, I’ve never thought about it that way.”

  “There’s one more thing though, an even more important thing than this.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Roses aren’t my favorite.”

  He got stuck in place, baffled by what she had just said. Liu seemingly did not pay it any mind, continuing on her way without looking back, but He was at a loss of words. He stood still for a few good minutes until Liu noticed His absence.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” She asked, beckoning Him on.

  “Sorry… I was just… It slipped my mind.”

  “Don’t worry, you don’t have to apologize, flowers are small things, it’s okay to forget.” She said, but even though she said that, He did not feel the same way, after all, Liu always wore a daisy in her straw hat, a straw hat that was never missing from her outfits, even now, as they walked on, He could not help but stare at it, at the big daisy that occupied such a significant part of the hat.

  The third day of the fare was even busier than before. People brought their kids, lovers, grandparents, friends. They would all walk around, eat, laugh, talk, and admire the willows. Some were dressed in the fare-themed clothing, like He was, others were dressed casually, like Liu, and even fewer were dressed in their own traditional clothing.

  There was no shortage of people or cultures. Hanbok, hanfu, cheongsam, fot?, huipil. It seemed as if the whole world had gathered.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  A smile creeped on His face as He looked at Liu, for Him, the fare was centered around her.

  “Can you believe how many people gather here every year?” Liu asked, surprising Him and catching Him staring.

  “Y-Yeah, it’s really incredible, it really seems like the whole world is here.”

  “It really does… I wish the rest were here as well.”

  “Me too, but after… you know… they all left.”

  “I miss them.”

  “...”

  “Do you miss them?” Liu asked in an out of character tone. He felt as if He was being questioned not by Liu, but by someone else.

  “Yes… I do.” He answered, his tone changing, as if he realized something, something he did not want to.

  “Well… let’s go celebrate for them as well, look, go catch me that fish.” Liu ordered in a joking tone.

  “Sure.”

  “Hello Miss Kwan, I have come to catch my fish!”

  “Ha Ha, I’ve been waiting for you kid, here.” Miss Kwan said as she handed him a small racket with a stiff net that made it easier for the fish to escape. “Do you want to grow it?” Miss Kwan continued.

  “No, not me at least, it’s for Liu.”

  “Ah… that young girl I always used to see you with.”

  “Yeah, she’s around here somewhere.” And as soon as he replied, he noticed that Liu was not with him anymore. How did he not notice it before?

  “Do you miss her when you feel her absence?”

  “Yeah, I do, I really do.” It was the first time he had acknowledged that he misses her when she is not around. Tears welled up in his eyes.

  One hour and countless tries later, he still did not manage to catch the fish. Perhaps because of what Miss Kwan had said, who knows. Defeated, he started searching for Liu.

  As last time, she would probably be at the strange hot dog stand waiting for him, so that’s where he went and to nobody's surprise, she was waiting for him in the same place they had sat last time.

  Despite getting there earlier, she did not order anything so before sitting down next to her, he went to order.

  “Can I please have two special hot dogs?”

  “Of course… anything else?”

  “Two cans of soda please.”

  “Two?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, no problem. We’ll bring everything to you once they’re ready.”

  “Thank you.” Always polite, he would never leave without thanking somebody for something they had done for him or when interacting with service people.

  Liu was just as careless as ever, swaying her feet without a care in the world, waiting for him and the food, as if she already knew he would always order.

  “No dice?” She asked as she saw him approaching empty handed.

  “No dice.”

  She laughed.

  “It’s harder than it looks, you know?”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”

  Silence fell as they waited for their order. It wasn’t awkward, nor did either of them feel force to talk, to break the silence that had taken over.

  After a few more minutes, their orders finally came, breaking the silence. Liu started eating while he thanked the person who had brought their order.

  “So…” Said Liu, “Do you have any regrets?”

  “Only one.”

  “Really?”

  As he took a bite of the strange hot dogs, he replied, much somber, much more sorrowful. “Yep, only one, but it kills me every day.”

  “I see…”

  “Do you?”

  “Hmm… No, I don’t think I do.” Liu said, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Say…” She continued, catching him by surprise. “Do you still regret that day?”

  “Yeah, I do, I really do.”

  After he answered, silence fell over the two once again, this time it was a sad silence, full of regret.

  By the time they had finished eating, the sun had started to set. The mood was once again the serenity from the day before, the sky was a beautiful orange, the lovers around them were holding hands, walking solemnly alongside one another.

  “What should we do?”

  “Hmm…Let’s go somewhere, I have a secret place.” Liu replied, grabbing him by the hand and walking towards the back end of the fare.

  As they got closer, he could see a path. It was another exit or entrance for the fare, but it led to a dirt road that continued to a civilized part of a forest. Once they had gotten onto the path, the people coming in mostly disappeared, most of them used the entrance connected to the city to enter the fare.

  The deeper they went, the brighter the sky, until Liu stopped.

  “Now we go up that road!” She exclaimed, pointing to a social-path that was disappearing.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?”

  “Of course!” She replied confidently as she started walking towards and up the path, but he was uneasy, he had a bad feeling about where the path was leading.

  The more they continued, the more uneasy he became, until they could see the ending. The path opened to a vast grassfield sprinkled with flowers, the sky on that side was clear, and by the time they had arrived, the stars were illuminating the sky.

  Letting go of her hand, he stopped. “I’m not going.”

  “Why not?” She asked, but before she realized, he had already turned back, running towards the fare.