Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



"Of course!"

This... didn't sound like Murray at all.

"I feel obliged to remind you, we've only got six hours till sunset, and then today's pretty much done."

"Yeah. As much as I'd love to hang out with you every second, I know you need your midday nap in winter, or you'll be cranky all afternoon." Samantha paused for a moment, "Then I want my own room."

Murray laughed, but his eyes were filled with a bittersweet look, "That was the plan all along. I'm not that shameless."

Samantha remained non-committal.

The bitterness in his eyes spread, "That time at the cabin... watching you pack your books to leave, I was so mad, I don't know what got into me, I just..."

"Later, I kept wondering why I lost my senses, did what I did... first, you were gone for days, no word, I missed you like crazy; second, I guess I wanted to scare you a bit, hoping you'd come back on your own..."

Samantha's gaze at him was truly indescribable.

There was disbelief at the absurdity, but also, sympathy.

Yes, sympathy.

A person who couldn't even express love properly was bound to take many detours in life before they could grow.

And she was just the starting point of that journey.

Thankfully, just the starting point.

Samantha was led upstairs by the housekeeper.

"Ms. Watson, this is your room, please—"

The familiar setup greeted her, even the vase she'd picked up on a whim was still on the windowsill.

Yes, this was the room Samantha stayed in during her junior year summer break.

The housekeeper said, "Rest well, call me if you need anything."

"Thank you," Samantha replied.

The housekeeper left, gently closing the door behind her.

Samantha napped for forty minutes.

When she came downstairs, she found Murray sitting on the living room couch, a cup of untouched coffee in front of him, lost in thought.

et

Hearing footsteps from the spiral staircase, he snapped back to reality, standing up a bit nervously-

"Anne, you're up? Is... something wrong with the room? I'll get the housekeeper-"

"No need," Samantha interrupted, "I'm well-rested. Do you have any other plans?"

"Uh?" He seemed taken aback.

He hadn't expected her to cooperate so willingly.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Murray had braced himself for her to sleep straight through to the evening.

Meeting his puzzled gaze, Samantha smiled, "I'm not that unreasonable."

Murray smiled back.

"Shall we... head out?"

Samantha gave a light nod.

Murray drove her to their old

haunts the malls they used to shop at, the bars they frequented, the clubs they partied at, and... her favorite sunset lookout.

The lookout was in the northern outskirts, atop a hill.

Getting there meant driving 20 miles of winding mountain roads.

The roads were narrow, the bends sharp.

Whenever Samantha felt down, she'd escape to this place.

Standing at the lookout, overlooking the entire city, always gave her

f being a mere speck in e Wontent

vastness of the universe.

belongs to

If one's own existence was so insignificant, weren't bad moods even more so?

Being so trivial, what's there to fuss about?

After they broke up, this place also became a regular spot for Murray.

He'd been here before, always to pick up a sulking Samantha and take her home.

Every time she came here, spending a few hours would brighten her mood.

Murray never thought he'd end up being a regular visitor too.