Chapter 195
Chapter 195
Where else could I go to hold onto their memories?
“Keira,” a voice called out from the stairwell.
It was Ms. Brown, Hayden’s landlord.
I didn’t even have to ask–I knew she’d heard about the demolition.
“Keira, they’re really going to tear this place down… such a shame,” she sighed.
I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there, my expression reflecting the sadness I felt.
Ms. Brown went on, “I just spent money fixing up my place. It’s barely been rented out a month, and now I have to kick the tenant out. What a waste.”
I stayed quiet.
“Keira, I’ve been trying to reach that young man renting my place, but he’s not picking up. If you see him, can you tell him to call me back? And maybe give him a heads–up about the demolition so he can start looking for a new place and pack up his stuff.”
“Sure,” I agreed.
“Thanks, Keira,” Ms. Brown said politely, but her tone quickly shifted to a more gossipy one. “You’ve met him, right? That guy renting my place–he seems decent, doesn’t he?”
I gave a small smile. “Yeah, he’s alright.”
*Just alright? You’ve got high standards! If I had a daughter, I’d be pushing for her to marry him,” Ms. Brown joked, clearly impressed by Hayden,
“You can always try for another kid,” I teased her.
On any other day, she might’ve taken that as me being disrespectful. But with that story going viral about the sixty–something–year–old woman who had a baby, she just laughed. “I don’t have that kind of energy! Don’t make fun of me.”
I smiled but didn’t say anything, just letting her talk. Ms. Brown kept going, “You should start sorting your things out too. Toss what you don’t need or sell it.
“I know a guy who collects scrap–pays well and is really nice.
“I’ll give you his number, and when you’re ready, you can call him to sell your stuff.”
She seemed so eager to help, I couldn’t say no.
After giving me the number, Ms. Brown finally left, and headed upstairs.
The moment I opened the door to my apartment, the memories came rushing in all at once, and my eyes stung with tears.
Some things… no matter how hard you try, you just can’t hold onto them.
My dad used to tell me that when you can’t hold onto something, you just have to let it go. I knew this
+25 BONUS
Chapter 105
demolition was inevitable, so after a brief moment of sadness, I started really looking around the apartment, figuring out what to do next. I decided to start packing, beginning with the storage room. My parents‘ rooms? I wasn’t ready to touch those yet.
As I sorted through things, I made up my mind: I was going to buy my own place as soon as possible. That way, I could take everything my parents left behind with me.
There were so many old things–the bookshelf from when I was a kid, the tiny tricycle I used to ride, my parents‘ gardening tools, my dad’s fishing gear, my mom’s painting supplies…
I
Everything was old, but none of it was stuff I could just let go of.
The more I packed, the more I realized how important it was to find a place for all of this.
While I was clearing out the clutter, I came across an old wicker trunk. I knew it well–I had a picture of myself as a kid, sitting right on top of it.
My dad once told me it was his “suitcase” when he left the orphanage, basically his version of a travel bag.
1 opened it, and there, on top, was one of my dad’s dark blue vests. Instantly, I thought of Hayden and his
green vest.
Underneath the vest was a notebook, a pen still clipped to the cover. When I flipped it open, my dad’s familiar handwriting stared back at me, and the grief hit so hard it felt like my chest caved in.
Tears welled up before I could stop them, spilling onto the ink and blurring the words.
I quickly tried to wipe them away, but in the process, I knocked the notebook off the bed. Something slipped out from between the pages.
I picked it up–it was a contract. Flipping through it, I skimmed over the contents, but when I reached the last page, I froze, staring at the signature and the company stamp.
