Butterflies Beneath the Ice

[Slow-burn romance / mutual rescue / healing each other]

My eternal soul

Gazes into your heart,

Though the night is lonely,

And the daylight burns.

Arthur Rimbaud | A Season in Hell

*The day Su Mudie met Qin Luo, she was determined to die. She thought she could end it all, but Qin Luo looked at her and said, "Some people would do anything to get away from what you keep throwing yourself toward."

When they met for the second time, Qin Luo invited her to the sports field. As he ran sweatily around the red track, he looked at her seriously and said, "From now on, if you're bored, come watch me train."

When they met again, she told Qin Luo, "I'll keep living until I see you win a medal."

A year later, he reclaimed the glory that belonged to him and stood on the winner's podium once more. Speaking to the cameras, he told Su Mudie, thousands of miles away, "I really wish you could see this moment."

*A ballerina with ALS x a sprinter who can no longer return to competition due to the aftereffects of a car accident.

*A short story / tragic ending.

*Su Mudie died during the pandemic, on a snowy day. Qin Luo saw her again at Lunar New Year, a month later.

Theme: Live for hope.