Party (5)

As the number of people coming in lessen, the village's chief finally made his appearance and everyone cheered.

"Everyone, everyone. Quiet down please!" The chief yelled over the voices.

Once everyone was quiet, the chief continued. "Today's feast is in honour of someone very special. Although, he just recently came from the capital. He has already helped us so much."

The chief paused, letting his words sink in.

"Thanks to this benefactor, we now have the funds to renovate, repair and buy anything we need. Everyone, please give your thanks to Sir Jin!" The chief gestured to the masked man sitting behind him.

Everyone clapped and cheered, grateful to the mysterious guest that has helped them for nor reason nor rhyme. Nonetheless, they were all very grateful to him.

"Now that's over. How about we show him how we throw a party over here?" The says, provoking the younger spirits as they cheered at his words. "I say... Let's throw a great party!!"

Everyone cheered loudly as they can, deafening to the ears. Then they all went back to partying as hard as they could, dancing and laughing as the night go on.

The masked man just continued to watch all of this in silence as he absorbed in the festive and exuberant air. enjoying the pure happiness radiating from the people.

Qiu Zhi and Xi Rin joined the fun, partying just as hard, if not harder since they know soon they will have to leave this joy-filled place.

"Xi Rin," One of the older man called out to her in a slurred voice, clearly drunk. "Why don't you sing for us, hm?"

"Yes! Yes!" Another one agreed immediately.

Shy, Xi Rin tried to refuse. "No, no, I can't. I don't have a good voice at all."

"Nonsense! If it's you, I'll enjoy it nonetheless." Another one said.

"Sing! Sing! SIng!" One man shouted, starting a chant. Soon, all the others start to notice this and joined into the chant. "Sing! Sing! Sing!"

Qiu Zhi just laughed his head off in midst of all this.

Red-faced and embarrassed, Xi Rin decided to give in to the crowd. "Okay! Okay! I'll sing!"

"Yeaaaahhh!!!" Everyone cheered.

"But I'm warning you I'm no any good at singing, especially if it's just my voice alone without any beats or instruments."

She made her way, sitting down on the steps of the porch, in front and diagonal to the masked man who sat higher up and behind her. Although this action could be considered rude, the man didn't really care.

Waiting for everyone to settle down as they crowd themselves around her, contemplated on what song to sing before picking a song from her previous life. She then waited for absolute silence before she started with slight humming. The tune first started off soft and it grew louder and more steady. Not before long, Xi Rin took in a breath to sing the first note.

"When we're young, we were the ones

The kings and queen

Oh yeah, we ruled the world."

Xi Rin, whose voice was normally strong and amiable, became soft and sweet as she sang. It pulled on the heartstrings slightly, leaving an itch in people's hearts. The lines of the songs filled all adults and elderly with nostalgia, reminding them of their spirit and ambitions of during the days of their youth. They shook their heads, smiling at the nostalgia and memory of those days. Meanwhile, the younger adolescents were spared the nostalgia, yet the words still somewhat stuck a chord with them.

She continued singing onto the next verse, unknown bittersweetness and nostalgia filling her voice.

"We've taken different paths

And travelled different roads

I know we'll always end up on the same one when we're old."

Xi Rin sang sweetly, her eyes closed in nostalgia as she relived the days from her past life. The days she spent with her best friend doing nothing. Days spent making fun of each other. When they promised to be there for each other until their dying days. A bond stronger than blood.

But it looks like they'll no longer be able to spend those days together anymore.

" If I was dying on my knees

You would be the one to rescue me

And if you were drowned at sea

I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe"

I've got you, brother. "

Hearing the all too familiar song, the masked man felt his breath got stuck in his throat. He stared intently at Xi Rin who had her eyes closed, watching every expression on her face. Aching pain began to spread throughout his heart, throbbing as if there's a hand squeezing his heart tightly.

Trembling, his breath roughly became shorter in length, his hands tightly gripping the chair till his knuckles turned white. The rims of his eyes turned red. His throat felt raw, hot tears threatening to spill out. He stared at her intently with red eyes, drowning in the same nostalgia and memories that possessed Xi Rin.

"And if we hit on troubled water

I'll be the one to keep you warm and safe

And we'll be carrying each other

Until we say goodbye on our dying day

Because I've got you, brother."

The man felt his heart break when he saw Xi Rin smiled sadly. Her head hung low as if to apologize. As if to say-

I'm sorry I left you first.

"If I was dying on my knees

You would be the one to rescue me

And if you were drowned at sea

I would give you my lungs so you could breathe

Because I've got you, brother

Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmmm

Because I've got you, brother

Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmmm"

Xi Rin voice turned soft, drawing the song to an end. The words turned into a soft humming, turning softer with every note, slowly disappearing. Before it vanished completely, Xi Rin stopped to finish it off with one last line.

Strong and steady, "Cause I got you, brother."

Silence overtaken the audience, magnifying the aching pain in their hearts. Xi Rin smiled softly, ending her reverie, and slowly opened her eyes. Yet the reaction that greeted her was the empty, blank stares of the people.

Their faces were slack, eyes glazed over as if stuck in some drunken stupor. Staring ahead yet at the same time nothing, they looked as though they were in a daze. Some were absentmindedly rubbing their chest while some had tears rolling their cheeks.

Feeling self-conscious, Xi Rin lightly touched her nose, a light blush spreading across her cheeks.

Uh... I couldn't possibly be that bad right?

Suddenly, a single clap could be hear, a defending sound against the silence. Like a spell that was being broken, the people flinched out their daze and began to erupted into applause and cheers.

"Blah! And she says she doesn't have a good voice!"

"If anyone says so, I'll fight them!"

Little did they know that this song was her farewell to them. A song to thank them for being her family when she doesn't have any. A song of gratitude. A promise of a debt that will be repaid.

As for the masked man, it was a song of home.

Under the cover of the night, Xi Rin and Qiu Zhi slipped away unnoticeably, nowhere to be found the next morning.