It rained again at night.
Sage replied to Jace’s message and headed straight into the shower. When she came out of the
bathroom, the smell of barbecue filled the room.
Sage was starving after swimming for almost half a day. She ran toward the station and grabbed a
chicken wing for herself. She munched on the wing happily even though it was still too hot to eat.
“Careful, hot,” the three men looked at her and said at the same time.
Sage gestured okay in response.
All of them enjoyed the barbecue with a beer in the companion to the sounds of the rain.
Senior Shelby went to bed first. He was starting to feel a little tipsy after some beer. He bid goodnight to
his children and went to sleep.
It was just the three of them now.
“I’m bored.” After a sip of beer, Sage said, “Let me sing you guys a song or two.”
“No, thanks.” Tim said, “I’m happy with our current arrangement.” Seth shook his head and said, “I
agree. The rain sounds infinitely better than your singing voice anyway.”
Sage was speechless.
Her urge to sing was once again discouraged by her brothers. “What about the two of you singing, and
I listen?”
Sage sat on the stool and said, “There’s a piano and guitar here. Tim can play the piano, and Seth can
sing while playing the guitar. Perfect!” Sage snapped her finger satisfyingly. Tim and Shelby exchanged
a knowing gaze. As long as Sage did not sing, they were willing to do anything else. The two brothers
raised their cans and downed the rest of the beer. They both got up, and each walked toward the piano
and the guitar. “Yahoo!” Sage was excited. Tim’s piano and Seth’s vocals and guitar were the best
combinations ever!
Tim tuned the piano and asked, “What are you in the mood for?”
“Yellow,” Sage answered with hesitation.
Seth carried the guitar and sat on the chair. He strummed the strings and turned it around before
looking up at Sage, smiling. “As you wished.” All three of them loved the song, and it was not the first
time they had played that together. A few years ago, they performed that same song for their parents
during a family gathering.
Tim played the piano, Kane played the drums, Seth and Nigel were the main vocal and guitarists, whilst
Luther harmonized. Sage, the only tone-deaf one out of all of them, could only be there as a supporter.
Even though there was only Tim and Seth now, it was still a band. Sage fell into a deep nostalgia as
the familiar tune started playing, and Seth’s magnetic voice started singing. Her nose tingled, and her
eyes reddened in an instant.
How Sage wished she could turn back time. She wanted to pause at that moment, back when her
parents were alive and the whole family was well.
Everyone was content.
However, time waits for no one. All you could do was look ahead and make sure you lived every
second, every minute to the fullest.
Cherish those you love and those who love you.
It was already dawn. The first gleam of sunlight broke the night sky. Jace’s insomnia acted up again,
and he was almost awake for the whole night. He gripped tightly onto the hairpin that he had gotten
from Sage. She had occupied the whole of his mind, and he could think of nothing else but her.
‘Yearning for you, when can I see your longing look? How can I bear this lonely night, this lonely nook?’
He used to think that the poets who write about yearning were exaggerating, but now he finally got a
taste of it himself.
He finally understood the pain of yearning and longing for someone.
Jace decided to get out of bed since there was no chance of him falling asleep. He went to the
bathroom and washed his face. He then turned the night lights on and took out the Rose Stamp that
Sage had given him. Upon observing the base that had ‘Jace Yuriel’ written on it, he got a sudden urge
to write Sage a letter.
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