“Long wait?” I asked, smiling.
“Just right.” He hesitated, as if he wanted to
take my hand, then stopped.
“Ethan,” I said, stamping my feet. “Spring in
Beijing is freezing.”
“Are you cold?”
“Yes! My hands are numb.” I held them out to
him, my fingertips red.
He took my hands in his, rubbing them until
they warmed. Then he slipped them into his
pockets. The light turned green. The crowd
moved again. He took my hand, and we joined
the flow. Spring had arrived, and with it, the
promise of new beginnings. A good time for
new love.
(Jason)
Amelia married Ethan. The wedding was packed
with friends, family, colleagues, even more
people than at their wedding. It wasn’t as
extravagant as his had been, but it radiated
warmth and happiness. He watched it all unfold
on social media. His friends told him to let go,
to move on. They were happy; why torture
himself? But he couldn’t stop. He lurked in the
shadows, like a thief, searching for cracks,
pouring salt on his own wounds. He stayed up
all night, scrolling through their photos and
videos. Amelia was radiant. Years of fieldwork,
the harsh conditions, hadn’t diminished her
beauty. She looked healthier, more vibrant than
she ever had as Mrs. Miller.
He’d heard Ethan and Amelia were often apart,
sometimes for months. He’d secretly hoped
Ethan, being a man, would falter, would
complain. He’d even had Ethan followed, hoping
to catch him slipping, to expose him to Amelia.
But years passed, and Ethan remained faultless.
Amelia had refused several proposals, which
had secretly delighted Jason. But the joy was
short–lived. Even though she hadn’t agreed to
marry him, she stayed at Ethan’s house
whenever she was in Beijing. At first, he’d
looked forward to her visits. He could see her
from afar, ease his longing. But later, he
dreaded them. He dreamed of Amelia and Ethan
together, images that haunted him.
<
He remembered seeing them at the grocery
store shortly after she’d moved in. Ethan’s face
glowed with happiness. Amelia, fresh and dewy.
Jason watched them from his car, his heart
breaking.
In their second year of marriage, Amelia
became pregnant.
Jason had become a recluse, pouring all his
anger and frustration on Chloe. At first, she’d
cowered in fear. Later, she’d fought back. He
hadn’t died, not yet. But as Amelia’s belly grew,
he received his own death sentence. Paralyzed
from the waist down, infertile. Ethan’s words
echoed in his mind. He’d betrayed the woman
he loved, destroyed his only chance at a child.
Now he’d lost her forever, would never have
children. His karma had arrived. He would live
with it, trapped in his own making, for the rest
of his empty life.
(The End)
