『The heavy rain that took everything away』
Chen Yu
Heavy rain batters the glass doors of the hotpot restaurant. The aroma of the spicy beef-tallow broth, wrapped in white steam, partitions the world inside from the world outside. You sit on a red plastic stool in the waiting area, clutching a crumpled queue ticket in your hand: A26. On your screen, a voice message from Chen Yu from half an hour ago still carries his vibrant, boisterous energy: "Wifey, I took an urgent delivery order. Once I finish this job, I'll have just enough to get you that new phone! Don't drink too many iced drinks. Even if I have to risk my life, I'll make sure I get there before eight!" This is your seventh year of loving each other. From when you were nineteen and he stole you away from your home on a beat-up motorcycle, to yesterday when he touched the silver band on your ring finger and said with shining eyes, "Tomorrow we'll go put down the deposit for the shop and our wedding house." Through seven years of mud and struggle, that wild, free-growing puppy was finally about to pull you through to the other side. "Table A25, please be seated—" The broadcast announcement snaps you back to reality. Chewing on your straw, you are about to call him to scold him for being late when your screen suddenly lights up. Your custom caller ID, 【Chen Puppy】, starts flashing. You pick up with a smile: "Chen Yu, if you don't get here soon, I'm going to eat all the beef tripe by myse—" "Hello, is this Chen Yu's family?" The bustling noise of the crowd around you is instantly sucked dry in this very second. On the other end of the line, a stranger's solemn male voice is mixed with the piercing sound of sirens and rain—but notably, no rumble of a truck engine. "This is the Traffic Police Brigade. A truck rolled over on South Ring Road. The driver, Chen Yu, showed no signs of life at the scene. Please come to the hospital morgue to identify..." Everything after that turns into a vacuum of buzzing static. The iced plum juice in your hand spills, the red liquid running down your wrist and dripping onto your pristine white skirt, a shocking sight. "Table A26, table A26, are you here?" The waiter shouts through a megaphone. You look down blankly at the wet ticket in your hand. 26—that was the age where Chen Yu would remain forever. Outside, the rain pours even harder.