The Jade of Ten Years of Reincarnation

The day I quit was exactly the tenth anniversary of the day I fell in love with her.

I was born in 1990. She was born in 1969, twenty-one years older than me. Divorced, she raised her daughter on her own. I often wondered if, had I been a man, I would have found the courage to confess my feelings long ago. But I wasn't, so I could only quietly hide this love, watching her from afar in the office and never daring to cross the line.

Even if I stayed at the workplace, she would retire in two years. One way or another, our parting was already written. As I packed up my things, the ancient jade I had found on the hill behind the office on my first day suddenly grew hot and sent me back to the morning I started the job ten years ago.

Reincarnation gave me the chance to start over, but I didn't want to confess or disrupt her peaceful life. My only wish was to remain in the gap between these ten years, seeing her day after day.

Others use treasures to rewrite their fate. I only wish to trap time. Everyone in the world grows old and moves on, while I repeat this quiet, unrequited love over and over. This is the perfect ending I wholeheartedly desire, and a gentle cage known only to me. I love her too much to ruin the ordinary, peaceful, unblemished life she has.

Theme: Obsession can create a gentle eternity, but sinking into memories of one-sided love is ultimately a form of self-imprisonment. Love knows no bounds, but some affections can only be quietly set aside.