Teenage love stories
That year, they were both underage. The girl sat next to the boy, her youthful face radiating a touch of sweet charm. That year, the boy’s greatest honor was perhaps having the girl by his side, filling his heart with happiness.
The nights, filled with thoughts of the girl, accompanied the boy through countless evenings. He read a line she wrote in her diary: “If life were as it was at first sight.” The boy inexplicably fell in love with this sentence, and even more so with the feeling of that first encounter. With these thoughts, he remembered every detail about the girl, recalling her smiles and glances, and he eagerly drifted into sleep, waiting for the dawn when she would sit next to him again, allowing him to continue basking in the joy of being near her.
That year, the boy finally understood that going to school could be such a blissful experience. It was all because of her presence in his life!
During the final exams of eighth grade, the boy realized in the exam hall that he had forgotten to bring his pen. The only person he could turn to was her. Perhaps it was a stroke of serendipity, a classmate behind him quietly handed him a pen, saying, “Dude, your beautiful girlfriend asked me to give this to you.” At that moment, a sense of recognized satisfaction warmed the boy’s heart. Many years later, he still cherished that pen, holding on to the memories it represented.
To protect the girl, the boy gradually shed his childish ways, pretending to be mature. He learned to smoke, trying to act tough, all for the sake of protecting her in his own way. The boy told everyone that she was his girlfriend, his woman, and no one was allowed to touch or bully her. He enjoyed waiting like a fool outside the classroom door every day for the girl to appear, loved seeing her shy smile, and adored her pretending to be angry as she scolded him for his recent mistakes. At that age, the boy feared nothing except her frowning face.
In ninth grade, the boy started studying hard, just to spend a few more years with the girl and keep the promise he made to her. He hoped to attend the same high school with her and continue their story.
At that time, the boy read books desperately, gave up his gaming accounts, and stopped hanging out with his buddies. His sole aim was to join the girl at their promised high school. If he could, the boy wished he could turn back time, using all his strength to relive those moments and strive for that high school. But time doesn’t turn back for anyone. The boy didn’t pass the entrance exam, and he watched helplessly as the girl walked alone into the high school campus. Yet, he never forgot his promise, waiting every day at the school gate for a glimpse of her, content with just that distant sight before turning away.
The girl’s natural sensitivity soon made her notice the boy’s daily presence. One day, she mustered the courage to run up to him and said, “Why do you keep coming to our school? You look like a thug. If you’re here to see me, let me tell you, I have a boyfriend.” The boy had thought she would be moved by his persistence and gently inquire about his life. Instead, her blunt rejection left him feeling foolish, realizing he had been living a one-sided love, ending up empty-handed and rebuked.
From then on, the boy’s life turned bleak and desolate. He drank himself into a stupor with friends daily. He knew he should let the girl pursue her happiness and bless her from afar, but forgetting someone is never easy. Love, as described in books, is like a beautiful but thorny rose, its sharp thorns piercing deeply.
The boy started learning to forget her, hiding in his room, savoring the bitterness of lost love. He knew he might never forget the sweetness she left in his heart, the innocent promises they made, but he forced himself to learn to forget and to wish her happiness in love.
On the 67th day after the girl left, the boy still hadn’t forgotten her. He cried silently under the covers, not wanting to seem like a failure by crying out loud. Exhausted from crying, he found his hand and the covers stained with blood. The crimson from his nose reminded him of tragic stories, but he thought it was just an accident, believing such tragedies wouldn’t befall him. However, the nosebleeds became more frequent, and the pain in his throat forced him to get checked at the hospital. When he received the diagnosis, he was utterly disoriented. He had acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with slim chances of recovery. He crouched in the hospital corridor, silently digesting the devastating news.
Soon, news of the boy’s illness spread among classmates. Many went to the hospital to get tested for bone marrow compatibility, but none matched. Lying in bed, the boy stared at the ceiling, clutching the pen tightly, thinking of her smile and waiting for death. He had given up hope for life, wanting only to hold on to his beautiful memories until the end.
Perhaps life is like that, miracles always happen. While waiting for death, the boy received a notice from the hospital: they found a matching bone marrow donor who agreed to the procedure, and he could undergo surgery immediately. Overjoyed, he saw a glimmer of hope in his final moments.
Entering the operating room, the boy saw someone lying quietly on another stretcher, feeling a familiar sensation, but he was too weak to get up and take a look. The surgery lasted from afternoon until early morning, but the results were not as hoped. The boy’s body didn’t adapt well to the transplanted bone marrow. Weak and frail, the doctors sighed, and his family began to prepare for his funeral. His last wish was to see the girl one more time.
The door to the ward slowly opened, and the girl, in a hospital gown, walked in. Seeing the pale, dying boy, tears began to fall. The boy gently stroked her hair with trembling hands and said,
“Why are you crying? When I’m gone, no one will bother you anymore. If your boyfriend bullies you, I’ll come back as a ghost to avenge you.”
The girl shook her head furiously, crying out,
“You’re not allowed to die! Didn’t they say the transplant would save you? Our bone marrow matches, so why are you still leaving me after the surgery? I never had a boyfriend, I just didn’t want to see you wasting your life. Even if you didn’t get into high school with me, I wanted you to listen to your family, find a good vocational school, and not ruin your future for me. That’s why I said I had someone else. But I really can’t live without you. I’ve gotten used to you being by my side, protecting me, giving me a sense of security. If you leave, what will I do? Tell me, what do I do?”
The boy’s frail hands wiped away her tears, and he said softly,
“You gave me the best memories of my life. This time, just like in school exams, you stepped up again. You gave me the continuation of my life, but life is still fragile in the face of death. Even if I die, I’ll always watch over you, seeing you graduate, work, marry, and have children. When I die, put the pen you gave me in my breast pocket. In the next life, I’ll remember you and give you a perfect love story.”
The girl’s sobs filled the ward. Though their love didn’t have a happy ending and perhaps never truly began, those memories would be cherished by everyone who lived, never to be forgotten.
A gravestone, a pen, a love story that ended before it began.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
