lights out, jake sim.

22.

For in the realm of heartbreak, where love and pain intertwined, there exists a glimmer of hope. The hope that someday, they'll have a chance to rewrite their tale. In the aftermath of their heartbreak, the two embarked on their separate journeys of healing and self-discovery. There will be days when the weight of their shared past would cascade down their cheeks, and yet there will be days when the unscathed scars would serve as a testament to the depth of their capacity to love and to endure. Then perhaps someday, when it rains, their overbearing hearts, carrying the burden of their pain would dance along the delicate balance between redemption and possibility.

Days of misery transitioned into the healing season, like a gentle breeze after a storm, that assails the wounded souls. The juvenile impetuousness blossoms into newfound resilience as they fight their own demons and confront their capacity to love. It's like finding solace in the blooming flowers and the serenity of sunsets after a prolonged rain.

Since their last encounter, they hadn't spoken. Yet, despite the reprimandation, she would find herself occasionally looking for that familiar presence. And she would find him lonely in the bustling crowd, detached from the pursuits around him. Everything about him changed in that short span of time. There was a certain desolation that cloaked him, which was a stark contrast to the vibrant person he once was. The scars of their shared past had etched lines on his face and left him wearied.

And as their eyes met, a fleeting moment of recognition, unspoken emotions danced behind the aloof semblance. Though separated by distance and the wounds that had been inflicted, their hearts remain entangled, bound by the threads of the past. With every stolen glance, there flickered a spark for rekindling the estranged threads of fate. As their paths continued to cross, each encounter nudge further toward the possibility of redeeming a broken promise.

Immersed in her thoughts, Lily failed to notice a figure standing in front of her dorm room. It was Jake, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Lily's heart raced in surprise and apprehension.

With his dreary demeanour, he looked up, his expressions sombre before a subtle bittersweet smile played at the corner of his lips.

Startled, Lily hastened her steps when he called out with a tone of urgency, "Lily." 

Something about the way her name rolls out of his lips made her stop in her tracks. She looked up and met his gaze. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't ignore.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, her tone a mix of confusion and curiosity as indignation contoured her strained face.

"Can we talk?" Jake uttered softly, his voice carrying a hint of vulnerability and longing.

"What's left there to talk about? Please leave." Lily retorted as she took a step back, refusing to entertain his silly games anymore. 

"I know I've hurt you deeply, Lily," Jake begin, his voice gentle as he stopped her by holding her hand tenderly. "And I don't expect you to forgive me but I need you to hear me out. Please."

Lily contemplated her heart and mind at war. She wasn't sure if she could bear to listen to his words, sceptical of what might come out of his mouth may deepen her wounds before they even get a chance to rejuvenate. But, where the heart stings from the past, a flicker of hope always remains—that maybe, just maybe the history won't repeat itself.