Prologue

    The July sun shimmered in the afternoon sky, bright as it can be; along with it, the heat of the summer. The asphalt of the empty highway blazed with heat, and a warm breeze wafted along the greenery of its surroundings. The leaves on the trees whispered the sound of goodbye. No wind blew, silence bestowed along the empty highway, only to be broken by the thundering of wheels of a bus driving by. The lonely bus drove, its wheels roaring along the soundless road; it had just left the Bifengxia Panda Resort and was now heading back for the Chengdu main city. Within the bus, people rested in their seats. There were children of all ages, some happy and excited to be back home, and some not so eager.

         A little girl sat in her seat, expressionlessly looking out the window at the fast passing mountains and trees outside, her mind restless and her stomach churning with unease. This was it, the seven-day summer camp trip in Ya’an was over, she would have to part ways with her friends and be back home in an hour. She didn’t know whether to feel happy to be back home, or to be sad that she would have to part ways with them, particularly a boy named Yuan Mingyu. Arystia turned her head to look at him, he was sitting beside her, crunching on a bag of tomato flavored chips he had bought at the resort, watching the movie that was playing on the small TV hanging from the roof. She sighed, her heart shuddered, it was making her increasingly sad thinking of how she has to say goodbye to Mingyu, likely to never see him again, in less than an hour. 

         “What’s wrong?” Mingyu suddenly asked. She turned and saw him looking at her curiously.

        “Oh, it’s nothing. Can I have some of your chips?” She asked, grabbing a handful from the tiny bag after Mingyu said yes.

         “Hey! Give some back, I barely have any left!” He complained, playfully nudging her shoulder.

         “In your dreams Yuan Mingyu! You told me to grab some, so I’m not returning a crumb!” She teased, looking up at the small TV above them that was playing a silent movie with Chinese subtitles. She sulked a little, having been raised in England since she was an infant, she never had the chance to learn to read and to write Chinese, despite her half Chinese heritage. The movie seemed to be interesting, but she could only understand what was going on with the help of others. Arystia rested her head on Mingyu’s shoulder, it flinched a little at the sudden contact.

         “Say, can you help me translate what they’re saying? You know how bad my Chinese it.” She said.

         “Gosh, every time, you’re so difficult.” Mingyu sighed, his cheeks becoming a light tint of pink. He began translating the subtitles quietly so it wouldn’t disturb the rest of the bus while also handing her his bag of chips to share. It wasn’t too long until Arystia fell silent on Mingyu’s shoulder; he looked down to find her already asleep, her mouth slightly parted and moving according to her breathing.

         “Woah, Mingyu and Arystia sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” The chanting of a little boy sounded behind Mingyu. He turned to look at the person behind him and saw his friend Zhuo Jin standing on his chair towering over them, with a wide smirk on his face that showed his gossipy thoughts.

         “Oh come on, stop it. Arystia and I are just friends.” Mingyu retorted, his cheeks slightly red.

         “Bruh, it’s not just me, literally everybody ships you two, and you know that. I can’t help it, I mean, she literally kissed you in front of everybody, and your face was red like a tomato, how can I not?” Zhuo Jin replied, his smirk growing wider as he sees Mingyu’s face grow red at the mention of the event.

         “Hey! Stop smiling, she’s the youngest member in the summer camp, she doesn’t know any better!” He retorted, turning his back against Zhuo Jin, refusing to listen to anything else that he said.

         “Ha, whatever you say, brother. I still ship you.” Came the reply from behind Mingyu’s seat, before falling silent once again.

 

         The silence on the bus was broken at some point, though Arystia was not sure when. The sounds of chattering and cheering were sounding around her, for what felt like ten minutes. She squinted her eyes, fidgeting around and turned to her other side, nudging the cushion beneath her face. The cushion flinched at her movement, and she could ever so slightly feel it shivering as well. A roar of cheering and chattering sounded, with no sign of dying down. Annoyed by the commotion and puzzled by the shivering cushion beneath her face that she suddenly realized shouldn’t be there, she opened her eyes, only to be faced by a block of green cloth. Puzzled, she looks up and meets the eyes of Mingyu, whose cheeks were a bright tone of red, and lips were slightly parted and quivering. As soon as they made eye contact, Minyu turns looks away, his lips shut tightly and his face becoming as red as a tomato.

         Huh? That’s weird, did I fall asleep? She thought to herself.

         Wait, why am I looking at Yuan Mingyu from this angl- She paused mid-thought, coming to a realization. She hurriedly sat up, and looking around, she saw that she and Mingyu had become the center of attention. They were looking at them with smirks and glinting eyes, many of them were also teasing them as well. She blinked, processing the situation. She must’ve fallen asleep at some point and collapsed onto Yuan Mingyu’s legs, which caught the attention of someone near them and soon caught the attention of everyone.

        For some reason, everyone in the summer camp shipped her and Yuan Mingyu as a couple, ever since day one, be it the older kids or some young teachers or her friends. She never truly understood why; to her, Mingyu was the dependable older brother that she stayed with whenever possible, due to being a six-year-old girl with absolutely no independence skills to say. Some told her that is was because she followed him wherever he went; because he always took care of her; because they looked good together; because she said that she liked Yuan Mingyu; the most common reason she heard though, was because she kissed him in front of everyone. She didn’t understand what was so special about the kiss, it was just a peck on the cheek; she kissed her parents all the time as well and no one ever said anything about it.

         She looked around empty-mindedly due to having just woken up, she opened her mouth to ask Yuan Mingyu something when the imperative voice of a teacher spoke. As soon the teacher spoke, silence fell upon the kids on the bus, and they quickly turned around to face him.

         “Be quiet everyone! The bus is arriving in five minutes, check around and prepare yourself, don’t lose anything.” He announced.

         For the rest of the five minutes, the bus drove in relative silence, the topic earlier having been forgotten. Arystia watched as the bus passed by some buildings until it finally reached the gate of the parking lot, where there were lots of cars and people stationed there. It drove into an empty spot and parked there, opening the doors for the passengers to exit and grab their luggage in it. Due to being the youngest member, a young teacher’s assistant helped her down the bus’s stairs and helped grab Arystia’s luggage. After confirming that Arystia was accompanied by Yuan Mingyu, she left and helped the other kids get their luggage. Mingyu stayed by Arystia’s side, helping her pull her luggage; his eyes were searching around the mass crowd behind the gates in front of them for his parents, wondering if they were going to be late again due to work.

        He glanced at the little girl walking beside him. A sense of discomfort started growing in his chest at the thought of leaving her, possibly to never see her again. She had told him that she would only come back to visit China on summer vacations, else she would be staying in Venezuela all year long due to her father’s work. Not only so, but due to their young age, they’re not permitted to have a phone yet. They might just never be able to see each other again. The discomfort in his chest grew his thoughts developed, he started feeling a tingle in his eyes. Arystia was the first person that he had met in the summer camp; she was introduced to everyone on the first day as the youngest member in this summer camp that was full of kids that were 12 on average and was demanded by the teachers that everyone took care of her. Arystia had a particular liking for him, due to him also being the first person that she met as well. After spending much of their time together, he realized that he had grown to care for her a lot, making the thought of separation all the more excruciating for him. Mingyu felt an urge to cry; his eyes were already building up moisture. Even though he was considered very mature for a boy seven and a half years of age, he was still a child nonetheless. He fought back his tears, refraining himself from any more sad thoughts before he actually started crying. He glanced at Arystia once again, she was grinning excitedly, looking forward.

        Does she feel any sadness at all? It’s nice to see her happy but………. maybe she doesn’t care as much as I imagined. He thought disappointedly. He watched the direction she was looking at to see what she was so happy about. There, standing about ten meters from them, was a tall foreigner man and a pretty woman. He recognized them; they were Arystia’s parents. The discomfort in his chest turned to pain at the sight, and he felt a sense of dread. This was it, a few seconds from now and he’d have to say goodbye. Suddenly, he felt a small hand grab his.

        “Yuan Mingyu, look! It’s my parents!” Arystia said excitedly, her eyes sparkling with joy.

        “Oh, uh….cool. You can go ahead and go home with them, then. I’ll just wait here for my parents, haha.”

        “What are you saying, come one! Let’s go together! I’ll introduce you to them and we can wait for your parents together!” She said, sprinting forward and pulling Mingyu with her before he could say another word. He complied, relieved that she didn’t just leave for her parents without a second thought. They sprinted towards the gate and reached the two adults. Arystia eagerly hugged both of them and kissed them on the cheek, then turned and enthusiastically introduced them to Yuan Mingyu. He politely greeted them, handing Arystia’s luggage to her father when he asked for it. She quickly explained to them that Yuan Mingyu’s parents weren’t here yet, and asked them if they could stay a while longer to wait for them with him, to which they happily said yes.

        The two children chatted for a while, occasionally playing around and chasing each other while waiting. After a long time, Mingyu saw a car driving towards them; he recognized it as his mother’s car. She had finally come, but he didn’t feel particularly happy about it, as he knew that this meant really meant goodbye. He turned around and told Arystia, whose smile faded as she heard the news, only to be replaced by a frown. The car parked close to them, and a tall, beautiful woman dressed in a business suit emerged from it. She turned her head and looked around the crowd, searching for her son, finding him after a few seconds. Elegantly, she walked towards the direction the kids were standing. She politely greeted Arystia and her parents and then turned to face her son, imperatively declaring that they are leaving.

        “W-wait! Miss, I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Yuan Mingyu! Can you give us just a few minutes, please?” Arystia exclaimed, watery eyes looking pleadingly at Yuan Mingyu’s mother. The woman raised an eyebrow; she eyed the little girl before her and then looked at her son, who shared the same expression as the little girl before her. She smirked.

        “Sure, just don’t take too long.” She replied.

        “Thank you so much, mother!”

        “Thanks so much, miss!”

        Arystia immediately turned to Yuan Mingyu and hugged him tightly, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. She felt his arms wrap around her as well, embracing her tightly. She could feel that he was holding back his tears, but still felt warm drops on falling on her shoulder nonetheless. She pressed her face against his shoulder, her body quivering as she sobbed. She had tried to mentally prepare herself while on the bus and thought that she had succeeded, but when it came to actually say goodbye, all of it was put to waste in an instant. She knew that she would be leaving in a month for Venezuela, and would not be coming back until next year. Not only so, but she also didn’t have a phone, and she knew for a fact that Yuan Mingyu didn’t either. She sobbed, tightening her grip on him; this was really it, a permanent goodbye. She would miss him terribly; he was one of the only friends that she had in China, and he was so kind to her.  He always took care of her when he needed help and cheered her up when she felt sad or homesick; he was like the big brother she never had.  She really liked him, and now all of that will become part of history, and they never see each other again.

        The two children sobbed, hugging each other tightly, refusing to let go, holding on the little fraction of Tim that they could still share together. While Arystia’s parents sympathetically looked at the two, Mingyu’s mother wasn’t as happy.  She looked at her watch, and then back at the kids, slight impatience on her face.  She kindly told the children she was busy, and signaled to Mingyu that it was time to go.  Mingyu’s heart shuddered at his mother’s words; he slowly pulled away from Arystia’s embrace and looked at her face. She was grimacing, her eyes red and full of tears, just like his. He desperately tried to think of any idea that would prevent a permanent goodbye, and gasped when an idea came to him.  He sprinted to his mother, who was looking at him coolly with her arms crossed. He told her his idea, to which she took out a small notebook and a pen from her purse. She scribbled something down in it and ripped the page off and handed it to Mingyu. He jubilantly ran back to Arystia, who was now standing with her parents, having cooled off slightly. She noticed that he was back and quickly walked forward to join him.  He handed her the piece of paper, a teary grin on his face. Arystia looked at the little paper, there was a line of numbers written on it.

        “What’s this?” She asked

        “It’s my mother’s phone number. I don’t have my own phone yet, so you can call her to talk to me whenever you want! This was we won’t have to say goodbye forever!” He enthusiastically said.

        Arystia looked at him, speechless. She immediately jumped and tightly hugged him, delighted with the idea. They jumped up and down and cheered happily for a few moments, until Mingyu pulled away and took a step back from Arystia.  He looked at her eyes for a moment, then looked away, a sad smile on his face. 

        “Well then,” he said softly, looking up once again, “Goodbye, Arystia.” He said, his voice almost coming off as a whisper.

        He turned around and started walking away, not daring to look back at Arystia, in fear that he would break in tears once again. He bit his lower lip, trying to suppress himself, when Arystia spoke from behind him, her voice just as soft.

        “Goodbye, Mingyu. I’ll miss you.”

        Immediately, tears started trickling down his cheeks. How ironic that first time Arystia had ever called him without his full name was at their last time seeing each other. A dreadful feeling in his chest told him that this would be the last time they see each other, and though denying it, deep down he believes it to be true. He silently followed his mother and entered the car, his head lowered as the car drove away.

        Arystia stood there, watching as the car drove further and further away until it was out of sight.  She felt the urge to cry once again, but told herself not to. She droopily followed her parents into the car, where they consoled her. She looked at the small piece of paper in front of her, then sighed and placed it on the seat beside her. She opened the window to breath some fresh air, and then started talking to her parents.  They were very curious about Yuan Mingyu, and asked many questions about him, all of which Arystia eagerly answered, her sadness of the departure slowly being forgotten as she held more joyful conversations with her parents. In no time, they arrived at the front of the house and parked the car.  Arystia exited the car, but suddenly remembered that she had not taken the small piece of paper with her.  She quickly ran back to the car, and ransacked the back row in search of it. Dread and despair filled in her, as she dropped down to the ground, tears starting to form again. She couldn’t find it.

        She desperately stood up again and started searching around the car, calling for help from her parents. They searched until the sun started setting, but still found nothing. Her parents started consoling her and told her the paper had probably been blown out by the wind of the window, to which Arystia responded with more sobbing.

        “What will I do! I lost it! It was the only way I had to contact him and I lost it, right after I got it! What do I do, tell me! Mommy, Daddy, tell me!” She shouted in frustration. For a moment, she didn’t receive any reply. Her parents looked at each other, unsure of what to do. After a long silence between the three, her father finally stepped forward. He bent down to meet Arystia’s eyes, which were red now due to the excess amount of crying. He gently stroked her hair. Softly, he said:

        "If you are destined, God will make you meet him again."