Every time she came, she dressed in strange and unusual clothes. Her small face was covered in dirt, making it impossible to see her features except for her bold and bright eyes. Kelvin never paid attention to the gifts she brought, including the letter that was thrown away with the rest of them.
"Big brother, will you marry me when I grow up?" She asked him.
How could a young girl know about marriage? Abbie crumpled up the letter and threw it away along with the origami crane that was given as a gift. She had confidence that she wouldn't lose to a ten-year-old girl.
But then Kelvin showed kindness by using his handkerchief to wipe away the little girl's nosebleed. Abbie became jealous of his tenderness towards someone else and called on some school bullies outside to teach her a lesson so that she couldn't climb through dog holes anymore.
The little girl didn't come back for over a month after breaking her leg and being hospitalized for more than thirty days. It was also during this last month before their college entrance exams.
Kelvin graduated without ever receiving the gift promised by the little girl but he didn't think much of it since he assumed that she had found new interests. After all, how much determination could an elementary school student have?
Although he claimed not to care about it too much, before leaving school, he sent someone out to inquire about where this little girl went.
Others had told him that the young girl, because of her poor grades and frequent troublemaking, had broken her leg and been hospitalized a month ago. Upon recovering, her family had arranged her transfer to a school in Yrose.
Meanwhile, Kelvin, with his outstanding grades that ranked him as the top student, had received invitations from prestigious foreign universities. He pursued his higher education abroad, earning dual doctoral degrees in economics and law over four years.
The girl's sudden disappearance had left an indelible mark in his thoughts. He recalled the origami crane she had given him. She had mentioned that origami cranes could make people's wishes come true. There was also a dreamcatcher. Influenced by romance drama, the young girl had stayed up for two nights to craft a gift that resembled the real thing, straining her eyes in the process.
In a drawer, there was always a piece of candy in colorful wrapping, orange-flavored, with a fresh scent. He saw these things but never touched them on his own. It was Abbie who took care of storing them. When he went abroad, these items disappeared without a trace. She explained it was probably due to a previous major cleanup, and the maid might have discarded them.
As compensation, Abbie had given him a book titled "Misty Forest" and signed it with her initials. He had no interest in the literary pain of youthful infatuation, so he never even opened that book. Now, as it lay there on its side, the pages tilted and revealing the black font printed on them. The four words "Kelvin I love you" came to Kelvin's view. Abbie's confession when she was seventeen was only revealed to him when she was twenty-seven years old.
But it was revealed in this way.
Abbie didn't know whether to be grateful that Kelvin had seen this message or nervous that he suddenly had this book in front of him. A bitter and weak smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she squatted down to pick up the book from the ground.
Her fair hand patted off some dust from its cover and flipped open to its first page. The ink had smudged due to being soaked by rainwater, making it look uglier than before but still showing how much emotion went into writing those four words initially.
She thought Kelvin was angry because of her confession written inside this book; with a slightly red face, she asked softly, "... Kelvin, why?"
Kelvin looked at her coldly with disappointment evident in his voice, "I always saw you as my little sister. Even Emelia couldn't compare with you."
At these words, Abbie bit her lip while timidly looking at him, tears glistening within her eyes.
"My feelings for you have never changed," said Abbie quietly while holding back tears. "I liked you earlier than Cheyenne did."
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