The rain at three o'clock in the morning fell on my face, as cold as my pulse that no longer beats.
I stood in front of the convenience store, watching the water droplets falling from the eaves forming a line in mid-air, then smashing to the ground and breaking into tiny flowers. I have watched this street 999 times, and every time the raindrops follow the same path, as if someone pressed the repeat button but forgot to press stop.
The phone vibrated.
I know what's on the screen without even looking. But I still lowered my head and used my eyes to confirm the text message that I could write silently with my eyes closed.
"See you at the same place around the corner."
Sender: Zhou Ye.
My hand holding the phone didn't shake. It has been a thousand years, and the time to tremble has long passed. The phone would vibrate at exactly 2:58 in the morning, and the text message would be delivered at 2:58:07. Zhou would turn the corner at 2:59:31, and when he reached the seventeenth step, he would be hit by the out-of-control truck and fall under the seventh street light pole.
The blood would smear on the ground in the shape of a rose in the window of his favorite flower shop.
I watched it 999 times. The first time I screamed and rushed over, hugging his warm body and crying like a madman. By the 100th time, I had learned to squat down and wait quietly for him to die, then stand up and wipe the tears from my face with my sleeves. For the 500th time, I just stood there and watched, watching his eyes change from bright to gray, and his lips change from trembling to still.
For the 900th time, I was able to finish listening to a song next to me.
It's like standing under water, you're obviously out of breath, but you can only see a circle of ripples on the surface.
