I didn't speak.

Silence was the answer.

He lowered his head, his voice as soft as the wind.

"Alright, I'll do it."

The next day, Luke was wheeled into the operating room.

Aunt Lu sat on a chair in the hallway, her hands clasped, her lips moving incessantly.

I stood by the window, watching the red light above the operating room.

Four hours later, the light went out.

The doctor stepped out and took off his mask.

"The surgery was successful; the lesions have been removed."

Aunt Lu burst into tears on the spot, her legs giving way; she nearly knelt down.

I stood where I was, my palms covered in sweat.

It wasn't until the third day after surgery that Luke was transferred from the ICU back to a regular ward.

The first thing he did upon waking was to ask the nurse to get his phone.

He sent me a message with only four words.

[I'm still alive.]

I stared at the screen without replying.

On the day Luke was discharged, I didn't go to pick him up.

At the hospital entrance, he sent me a voice message; his voice was still hoarse, but it carried a hint of a smile.

"Ginger, I'm out of the hospital. Could you... come see me?"

"I actually wanted to come find you, but I... I can't even walk anymore."

I turned off the phone screen.

A week later, Aunt Lu called; her voice sounded wrong.

"Ginger, Luke... he suddenly fainted this morning. He's in emergency rescue right now."

When I arrived at the hospital, the light of the emergency room was still on.

Aunt Lu sat on a chair, appearing completely hollowed out.

"The doctor said... the cancer cells have metastasized. It's too fast; it's simply too late."

The light went out.

The doctor walked out, took off his mask, and shook his head.

Aunt Lu's wailing echoed through the corridor, like a dull blade cutting into my heart over and over.

I stood in the corridor without crying.

When Luke was wheeled out, his face was covered with a white sheet.

His fingers were exposed; a ring was on his ring finger.

It was the diamond ring he had ordered the day after we broke up.

Aunt Lu cried as she said, "He went to pick it up the day he was discharged and hasn't taken it off since he put it on. He said in case he left one day, at least he’d leave wearing this."

I stood by the bed and reached out to lift a corner of the white sheet.

Luke's face was very peaceful, so thin he was almost unrecognizable, yet the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, as if smiling.

I looked at him for a long time.

Then I covered him back up with the white sheet and turned to walk away.

When I stepped out of the hospital gate, it was pouring with rain.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

It was the last message Luke had scheduled to be sent to me before he died.

[Ginger, I'm not waiting for you anymore. I couldn't wait for you in this life, so I'll wait for you in the next, okay?]

I stood under the sunlight, reading those lines over and over again.

Then I typed two words and sent them.

[No.]

In the next life, let's not entangle ourselves anymore.

But Luke could no longer receive it.

I put my phone away and walked into the sunlight.

I did not look back.

(The End)