Three People, One Dream

In September of her first year of college, Lin Xia dragged her suitcase into the dorm. The girl across from her turned around, smiled, and said, “Hi! Looks like we're roommates.”

Later, she would often think back to those words. They sounded so harmless that it never occurred to her at the time that they were an opening line.

From linking arms to sharing the same cup of milk tea, from their fingers brushing when they passed things to that light touch after lights-out, she never once said no. She couldn't say when she had started being afraid to refuse. Maybe it was the first time she left the words unsaid. She had a boyfriend, a boy she'd known since high school, and they'd gotten into college together. They'd filled out their applications side by side. She began saying “It's fine” on the phone, and began trimming her messages from three lines down to two words.

Later, her roommate said she wanted to meet her boyfriend.

She could have said no. She thought for ten seconds, then said, “Whatever you want.”

Three people in one bed, her boyfriend in the middle and her on the far edge.

No one objected, so no one agreed.