𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 ||| 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐯 (𝟑)

[ 𝟏 ]

"Don't forget to take Pearl with you," a deep and familiar voice spoke.

I glanced at my best friend Sicheng who held out a small white teddy bear in his hand. Pearl was gifted to me a week ago as a New Year and graduation gift.

Oh yeah, I finally graduated college. Now I have a bachelor's degree in fashion design, yay!

Speaking of the topic, Sicheng graduated a couple of years ago and was hired in New Zealand for a couple of years. He lived with his younger sister who has a year left to finish her bachelor's degree. Recently, he moved back to his hometown Wenzhou and now he is traveling to the States. After I graduated, I returned home to Fujian and celebrated Lunar New Year with my mom. Sicheng and I decided to meet up before we went on our separate paths. Right before final exams, I was accepted as a fashion design intern at Valentin Mortel in Paris, France. I zipped up my suitcase and set it beside my other suitcase.

"Did you get everything?" Sicheng asked as I nodded in response. "Okay, let's go."

We carried my suitcases down to my mom's car. Sicheng had already loaded his stuff in the back of the car. We planned to travel to the airport together because his flight was not too long after mine. I placed mine in the backseat and ran upstairs to check if I had left anything.

"Where are you going?"

"Wait, I'll be right back!"

I swung open the door to my room. For a moment, I felt like I had traveled in time, back to junior high.

The walls were porcelain white with a window on the wall directly opposite the door. On the left was an unmade bed, a pastel pink blanket almost falling off the edge, and pastel blue pillows out of place. A couple of teddy bears were hidden in the mess. On the right was a desk with a neat and minimal surface. Cup holders filled with pencils and pens sat on one corner of the desk and in the other corner was a stack of comic books and notebooks. The chair paired with the desk was tucked in and a lightweight hoodie hung from its back. The drawers on the side of the desk were closed and covered with small colorful stickers.

It amazed me how fast time can fly by

In reality, this room had a different structure compared to my childhood home. This room had white walls too, but in a cooler shade, and two windows on either side of the wall across the door. There was no bed—the frame was sold while the mattress was packed away. My mom had given my desk to a friend of hers while I was studying in South Korea. Only a couple of brown cardboard boxes covered in transparent tape remained at the center of the room.

I knew I had more space in my carry-on bag so I could get something else that would remind me of my childhood. Quickly, I opened the box closest to me and grabbed a notebook decorated with light blue glitter paper. I was in my early twenties now and it would be amusing to read what my teenage self wrote about. I stuffed it in my backpack and was about to close the box when a hot pink plastic box caught my eye. It was hidden in the corner of the box and after a couple of tries of opening, it slightly broke. My hands retreated, unsure whether to retrieve it from the box or not, but I decided to keep trying until the box completely broke and revealed a bracelet. I grasped it and noticed the cornflower blue beads and a white panda charm in the middle. I blinked once and then remembered the story behind it. With a smile, I placed the bracelet in my pocket and hurried back to the car.

In an hour, Sicheng and I unloaded our luggage out of the car and said our goodbyes–with the addition of my mom threatening me to call the moment I landed in France.

"Well, I guess we have to go separate ways now," Sicheng looked at me. "You better call me too once you reach."

"Can't, you'll be in airplane mode. How about you call me instead?"