Clara sobbed but could not say anything and she never had the chance to say what she wanted to say later.
They officially announced that she had passed away.
The flames in the yard finally attracted Jackie's attention. He hurried over and tried to grab some unburned photos from the brazier, but his hand was severely burned.
“What are you doing? These are all our memories.”
His eyes were full of regret.
“The photos have turned yellow. If I keep them, they will attract bugs. We'll take new ones later.”
Perhaps he felt that what Clara said made sense, so he stopped talking and just kept repeating, “What a pity, every photo has so many memories.”
The fire died out and the two returned to the living room. The only sound in the house was the sound of teacups hitting the table.
Jackie glanced at Clara silently as he said, “Clara, come with me to South Park tomorrow. It's really lively in the morning.”
“Go by yourself. I made breakfast and it's already seven or eight o'clock. You cannot always eat out.”
Jackie was slightly embarrassed after being seen through. Just as he was about to explain, the phone rang. It was Mara's voice on the other end.
“Jackie, my chest hurts a little, can you come over?”
The voice made him almost imagine how pitiful Mara was on the other side.
He frowned, perhaps afraid that Clara would misunderstand him and hurriedly explained, “I'll be back soon. Her daughter is out of town and she cannot be left without someone to take care of her.”
It was unexpected that Jackie could still walk briskly at the age of nearly 70.
As he was not around, Clara simply packed some daily necessities and used her mobile phone to book a ticket for a free tour of Water Village. However, due to her old age, it was quite troublesome to join a group tour.
After dinner the next day, when she was about to leave, Jackie had not come back yet, but it did not matter. She had long stopped caring about him.
She had lived half her life and died once before she realized that true love changes in the blink of an eye.
That time since she had another chance, she must treat herself well in the remaining time.
When the plane landed, she received a message from Jackie, [Clara, where have you been? Why haven't you come back yet?]
In the evening, it buzzed again, [Are you running away from home because you are angry with me? Really? At your age?]
Clara directly set the message to not disturb. Since she came to the beautiful Water Village, she should enjoy this moment and stop thinking about trivial matters.
It was really nice there, with a suitable temperature, bluestone tiles and a light mist in the morning.
It looked like an ink painting, with small bridges, flowing water, people's homes and an ancient road with a thin horse in the west wind.
She found a famous local dress shop and chose a dark green dress for herself. She also held an umbrella in her hand and wore high heels.
Although she was already old, she still had a good figure. Plus, Clara was tall and fair, so she looked gentle and quiet as she walked in the town.
Clara took a very sentimental photo of herself. In the photo, her face was kind and peaceful. The fan in her hand was painted with elegant orchids.
She posted it on her Instagram with the caption, [Even at the end of life, you must try your best to love yourself.]
When they were young, Jackie promised to take her around to travel after retirement. But after he really retired, he was obsessed with taking walks in South Park all day long.
When she mentioned traveling around the country, he always smiled and said that he was too old and should not cause trouble.
So that time she wanted to fulfill her dream and enjoy it to the fullest.
On the second and third days, Jackie sent her messages every day. But she never responded.
On the fourth day, he posted a photo of a garden full of flowers.
[Clara, the flowers in the garden are so bright and beautiful, just like you were when you were young. Come back, I need you and these flowers need you too.]
