Being Orion's girlfriend is a very happy thing.
He is always gentle, always emotionally stable.
No matter how many frictions occur between us, the first one to apologize is always him.
"Ah, my dear, I was wrong."
"Please, please talk to me."
When I received this text message asking for reconciliation, I was standing right outside the police station, bringing him medicine.
Orion has a bad stomach and often gets stomachaches every now and then.
When he came out from work with his colleagues and saw me, his eyes lit up:
"Elara—"
But before he could reach me, a female colleague grabbed the corner of his clothes.
"Orion, my car broke down, can you give me a ride?"
I stood there, watching them with interest.
Orion frowned, pulling his clothes back from her hand and waved back.
"Charlie, you take her."
"She's in the opposite direction of my home."
The female colleague bit her lip, looking pitifully and asked, "Are you afraid that Elara will misunderstand? I can help you explain to her..."
Orion raised an eyebrow, showing impatience in his expression:
"Sorry, I don't have a preference for celebrating anniversaries with three people."
I couldn't help it and laughed out loud.
The female colleague was embarrassed and quickly left.
Orion opened his arms, walked towards me, and spun me around where I stood.
"My time is precious, I can only use it to be with my girlfriend."
I'm ticklish, so I gently dodged away.
"Weren't you saying you had a stomachache? Shouldn't you take your medicine first?"
He opened the car door, protected my head, and carried me into the passenger seat, smiling softly.
"When I see you, it doesn't hurt anymore."
Orion started the car, looking straight ahead. At the traffic lights, he stopped and suddenly handed me a bouquet of champagne roses.
"I bought them during lunch break."
"I thought since I made you angry, I should make it up to you."
After handing them to me, he rubbed his nose, as if he wanted to sneeze, but held it back.
I sensed something was off.
I lifted his collar and indeed saw a large patch of red rash.
"Dumbass, you're allergic to pollen, are you trying to kill yourself?"
I urged him to go to the hospital, where the young doctor who saw him chuckled and looked at him twice:
"Allergic to love, impressive."
I blushed and looked away, but I heard Orion speak frankly:
"That's right."
"As for her—"
"She is my whole world."
Between Orion and me, things were going too smoothly.
So smoothly that it felt unreal.
Our innocent first love, without any melodramatic mistress, misunderstandings, or infidelities, led us all the way to engagement.
Orion took his honeymoon leave early to accompany me to abroad.
For some reason, my heart had been aching recently, as if I was about to lose something important.
I was very uneasy.
When I went to church to pray for the Lord's blessing, I knelt in front of crucifix, bowed three times, clasped my hands together, and closed my eyes in prayer.
I hoped that Orion would have a peaceful and happy life free of worries.
As if there was a telepathic connection, I turned around and met his gaze.
Orion stood under the tree draped with golden silk, smiling at me with a warm expression.
At that moment, I thought that if there were really gods, they would surely hear how much I loved Orion.
Hand in hand, we stepped out of the church. A little girl politely stopped us and handed us a photo of us together:
"Just now, I thought the way you were looking at each other was so perfect, so I took a picture and wanted to give it to you."
Orion thanked her with a smile and put the photo in the pocket closest to his heart.
On the second day of his honeymoon leave, Orion received a phone call and prepared to leave in a hurry.
He hugged me tightly and said, "Elara, once the mission is completed, I'll marry you."
Before I could say anything, the door was shut.
The late summer evening breeze flooded into the room, but I shivered inexplicably.
Over the next six months, Orion went missing again.
Time flew by, and it was Christmas Eve again. Like a few years ago, I huddled in the big room watching the program.
My phone rang.
I picked up.
Chants echoed outside the window, and the noise on the other side was loud.
Crackling explosion, curses, screams, and even gunshots mixed together.
There was a pause, then a soft voice called my name, "Elara."
My tears instantly fell. "Where are you?"
"How are you?"
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
He avoided answering, his breathing heavy.
"Are the fireworks this year beautiful?"
"Yes, unfortunately, they're not as beautiful as the ones you gave me that year—"
When I was twenty, Orion set off fireworks for me.
The wall clock ticked, the hour hand pointing to midnight.
He interrupted me:
"Elara."
"Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas—"
One after another, each one lower than the last.
I covered my face and bit my lip hard, not letting myself make any sound.
Tears struggled to overflow from my eyes, dripping onto the dark blanket, spreading out in large patches.
I knew.
He wanted to say all the blessings for the rest of his life.
Bang!
Gunshots erupted, deafening.
Almost instantly, the call was disconnected.
Only the fireworks outside the window reflected on the cold glass.
Flashing on and off, endlessly.
I knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Orion, you lied."
You clearly said you would be with me forever.
You clearly said you would marry me when the mission was over.
You lied.
You liar.
Liar.
