It's always been you

Aqua blue-tinted gazebo

Reflection of what has been and what will be
Past to reopen and dissect
Closed doors left unattended
Beckoning those in need to take a peek
What's left behind might put an end to the endless entanglement
Or will it destroy the newly minted present?
Only time would tell...

~~~

Trembling fingers slip a key into the huge lock. Rustic chains start to fall down the ground with a thud. If Tian would be honest, there is a sense of fear inside him while he unchains the door that was closed for 27 years. He wanted to tell himself that he shouldn't have disturbed this place and let it be. But there are two things inside this place that needed to come out and be of use to the living.

A creak can be heard as he opens the double door. He was expecting to be welcomed by dust but when his feet first lay on the marble flooring. One... two... three... He paused. Was he doing the right thing? Tian shakes his head while he wanders his eyes around. The place looks exactly the same as he remembers. 

And just like the scenery itself... the emotions, the pain, and the wrecking reality that he felt when he set foot here on that day feel so fresh in his memory. But Tian has to toughen himself. Opening this place is just one thing... learning the truth and finally tell Sam what they all know is another. So Tian takes the series of steps on the dusty marble tiles with vigor until he reaches the white veil covering what was on the other side.

Tian's heart beats like he runs a marathon. He knows in himself why he was still so affected by the entire thing. Because he cares. He cares for the two ill-fated couple that resides here together. And he knows that not even death could make him feel a different way. 

Maybe because he knew that Zi Hong and Yu Teng would have done and feel the same way if they were in his shoes. It was the bond of friendship the three of them share that not any force of nature could break. So he... the one who has no bias between the two has to be the one to do this. Not his husband who will forever have a soft spot for YU and not Evan and Richard who will loyally stand behind Zi Hong.

It's him who trusted them both have to spearhead this long-overdue verification they were so afraid of. So Tian finds the partition between the veil and opens it. A huge mirror behind the raised platform containing one aqua blue and one obsidian urn reflects Tian's old and exhausted features.

He wonders why the mirror wasn't even dusty at all. It was shiny like a newly minted one, reflecting the reality up to the deepest part of his soul. Goosebumps form on his arms... he didn't know why. He doesn't believe in anything paranormal but he knows that what he was afraid of is not YU or Sam's spirit if a person indeed has one... it was the ghost of the past that never once leave his entire family at peace.

Tian's entire body was shaking as he looks at two picture frames beside the urns. Oh, holy mother of all... Sam and Yusuke indeed look exactly like them. 

The four of them had burned any images in which Zi Hong and Yu Teng are part of aside from these two pictures. They wanted to move forward by burying everything related to them... but they haven't realized at that time that people can only be forgotten if their memories are not residing in the minds of the people left behind. So whatever efforts they do by destroying things they could see ends up futile.

Looking at the pictures was like a red flag reminder to Tian on how bizarre this entire present has become. He couldn't do much to prove Yusuke's presence but Sam and his entire parentage are the ones he has the power to verify. So Tian man up and starts approaching his two friends.