Me After Meeting You

Coincidentally, Calvin returned just then, as he had gathered the supplies they needed. When he saw Melody rush off angrily, he asked Amber, “Did she get angry again?”

Amber smiled and affixed the properly baited pole by the water. After she was finished, she said, “Look after my pole, and I’ll go bring her back.”

“Amber,” Calvin said as he pulled her aside. “Just give her a simple diagnosis. If she really needs treatment, then I’ll talk with Director Lee on Monday and have him send her to the hospital to receive regular treatment. But it’s the weekend right now. I brought her here because you wanted me to, but I don’t want you to spend too much time on her. Furthermore ….” He looked at her, and softly whispered into her ear, “You’re the only one in my eyes.”

After saying those sweet words, he double checked that no one was paying attention to them before quickly pecking her on her face and letting her go.

***

Amber went over to find Melody. She hadn’t gone far just next to a willow tree near the reservoir. She was squatting down and digging near the ground with a random wooden stick she had picked up.

“Do you find this boring?” Amber asked as she stooped down next to her.

“Yes.”

“I also find it quite boring, fishing and all that. it’s the most boring thing in the world. I’d rather stay at home and read my books than come and fish.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because there are other things that I like here.” Amber smiled, as she breathed in deeply and looked around, appreciating the brilliant sunlight and verdant scenery. “Things like interacting with my friends, this lovely sunlight, and the fresh country air. They’re all very nice.”

Melody remained unmoved. “I don’t find these things interesting at all. Before this, I also had the thought that I should come out and walk around, and my uncle also persuaded me to not just stay at home. However, after coming out here, I realized that everything is boring here.”

She looked at her intently. “Do you understand how I feel?”

“I do.”

Melody laughed, a sharp, sneering laugh. Clearly, she didn’t believe her.

Amber ignored her scorn and went on to say, “When my grandmother died, I also felt the same way you do now, thinking that nothing I did was meaningful. If I picked up a book, the only thought I’d have is that I’d forget the knowledge after reading it what’s the point? If I played a game that I liked, I would get tired of it minutes after starting. It was annoying to talk to everyone because they were never on the same page as me ….”

Amber went on for a while, and Melody finally quieted down. When Amber finished, Melody asked her, “Then, how did you … escape?”

Amber smiled. “I was lucky. When I was at my lowest, my teacher forced me to enter a math competition. In that competition, I met a boy. He was very handsome, and his tone very gentle. During the exam, my nose started bleeding, and he gave me a napkin.

The proctor accused us of cheating, so I crumpled up my test and said that I wasn’t going to take it anymore, and he followed suit. We escaped the testing area together and played games outside for a whole afternoon. Afterwards, I told myself, ‘I should really live well. If I don’t, then such a handsome boy would belong to someone else'”

***

Amber, her colleagues, Calvin and Melody all stayed at the reservoir until the late afternoon. Afterwards, they went over to Amber parents’ home.

Calvin was within a crowd of Amber’s colleagues, so Amber’s mother actually didn’t recognize him at first. Only after Amber introduced him did her mother say, amazed, “Ah, are you really Calvin? You’ve changed so much!” She looked him up and down. “You’re even more handsome than you were before!”

The head nurse made beef jerky with Amber’s mother, and even helped prepare a sumptuous dinner for everyone. Everyone kept eating and eating, only going home late into the night.

Amber didn’t leave. It was rare for her to be able to return home, so she had to stay with her parents for at least another day. When she sent them off, Calvin was one of the last to leave. He was aggrieved that the first weekend of his official relationship with Amber had been filled with so many third wheels.

Amber consoled him, “It’s alright, there are so many days ahead of us.” Glancing at Melody sitting quietly in the car, she then said softly, “It’s probably depression. It’d be somewhat hard to treat all on my own, so it’s best if she goes to the hospital to get official mental help.”

“Alright.” He looked at her deeply as he continued, “I’ll come back to see you tomorrow.”

His meaning was clear, only he would be back here tomorrow.

Amber smiled, pushed him into the car, and waved goodbye to Melody.

Melody also waved back at her.

***

Amber turned around to go inside, only to see her parents sitting upright on the sofa. As she entered, her mother waved at her amiably. “Come, come. Sit here.”

Amber was wary of their ostensibly congenial attitude. “What are the two of you up to?”

Her mother, now impatient, hit the sofa fiercely. “Sit down! Why do you keep asking questions?”

Cowed, Amber obediently sat down next to her. Her father felt sorry for her, and tried to mollify her mother by saying, “Be more gentle.”

She only stared back at him in response.

Amber’s father didn’t say anything else, feeling somewhat sorry for his daughter.

Amber didn’t mind much as she prepared herself for a lecture. She was sure that the contents would include the classics like, “even if you’re busy, remember to come home,” “eat regularly,” “you’re even thinner now, don’t go on a diet arbitrarily,” and other similar refrains. She listened intently, satisfying her mother’s desire of thoroughly instructing her daughter. She and her mother used to be somewhat estranged, and her mother’s mode of getting close to her seemed to involve lecturing her.

At least it didn’t last too long. Once her mother had said everything that she wanted to say, she coughed lightly and changed her tone as she asked, “That Calvin, when did he get back?”

“About two months ago.”

“Oh, have the two of you been in touch?”

“Yes, but only quite recently.”

“Did he look for you as soon as he came home?” Amber’s mother was trying to be subtle, but she soon dropped the pretense and shot out a round of questions. “Is he married? No? Does he have a girlfriend? Where is he staying? Where’s he working? How’s his salary and his prospects at the company? Is his mom doing alright? Have you met her?”

Every mother was a detective. During the day, Amber hadn’t interacted much with Calvin, but her mother had still somehow caught onto the fact that something seemed to be going on between them. Now, she was indirectly probing the situation by asking questions nonstop.

Honestly, Amber was very impressed by her antics.

She hadn’t intended on telling her family the truth so early because of Calvin’s mother attitude. She wasn’t particularly pessimistic about the future, but neither was she optimistic.