Tomorrow, when the sun began its descent, when day converges into night, I would make my way to the teahouse by the lake. Wenzhi would be waiting for me in the garden, his dark green robe fluttering in the wind as he gazed upon the scenery—as wondrous as he had promised with the scarlet rays of the sun fragmenting upon the silvery waters. As I drew closer, he would turn, his lips stretching into a smile. If a twinge of recognition plucked his heart, he would not know what it meant—and one day, I would tell him. Beneath the darkening violet sky, we would sip osmanthus wine from porcelain cups, speaking as we used to—openly, without hesitation or recrimination. Perhaps I might even laugh again, for I had almost forgotten its sound. In the days and weeks to come, he would show me this city he lived in: its cypress-lined pathways, the arched bridges, the elegant buildings of stone and wood. Perhaps he would open his home to me and introduce me to his sister. In his courtyard, shaded by pine trees, we would read the classics of the realm, of ancient legends and poems of beauty. Some evenings we might even play the qin together, our instruments set side-by-side as our music rippled forth in seamless harmony. And during the festivals when the mortals gathered to light the lanterns they set upon the waters, when they lit incense sticks and prayed to the gods—I would whisper of my own desires, for the day we would be truly reunited whether in this lifetime or his next.

He was not my first love, but he would be my last.

Such were the dreams I wished for. Such were the memories I longed to make with him, the promise of our future brimming with simple yet profound joy. In the past, when I had grappled with Wenzhi’s betrayal, I wondered how things might have turned out had we been two ordinary people, our past and present unencumbered. What lay before us now was a rare chance to start anew. Oh, I was still afraid of the years before us, when he would grow to know me all over again. Would his feelings change after regaining his immortality? Perhaps only heartbreak lay ahead, but I was never one for surrendering while the battle remained unfought. Whatever time we had here I would embrace it. I would grasp this chance and hold it close, because I had known what it was like to have it snatched away. I had lost him once, I would not lose him again.