Remembrance

Chapter 7

The next morning, Trina was the earliest bird to get up. She walked around the house quietly until she remembered that there was a stranger on her couch. She tiptoed carefully as to not wake him up. She placed her little body on the floor and wrapped her tiny arms around her knees as she stared at the stranger in awe.

The stranger must have felt a pair of eyes staring at him as he slowly opened them. He found the comforter laid over his body as a smile came on to his face. He looked down at the cute girl and greeted her “Good morning.” His voice was a mere whisper afraid to wake up the lady of the house.

“Morning!” Trina said brightly.

“Shhh..” he whispered and pointed down the hall “Don’t wake up mommy.”

She covered her mouth with both hands and nodded “What’s your name?” she whispered softly.

His smile faded “I don’t know.” He sat up on the couch and patted on the seat next to him indicating for her to sit with him. “Do you want to name me?”

She seemed to be intrigued as she tapped her little finger on her chin “Hmmm….Uh…how about Jason?” she remembered her mother and Nancy talking one time about someone named Jason. The name was imbedded in her memory from that moment.

“Jason…that’s very interesting. Is that you’re friend’s name?” he asked.

“No…I heard mommy talking about someone name Jason. I like that name.” Her innocence was adoring to the new stranger.

He nodded “Okay, Jason it is!” he smiled happily as he picked her up. “Come on, let’s make breakfast for mommy.”

Trina clapped her hands excitedly “Yipee! I want eggs and sausage and toast and hash browns….”

He chuckled hoarsely and shook his head “You’re going to be a chubby little girl, Trina.” She giggled as he tickled her tummy. The two were getting along easily as he cooked with his new ‘assistant’. While he prepared the food he thought about asking her a question that he was wondering. “Trina, where’s your daddy?”

Trina pouted her lips as she wiggled her way to the floor “I don’t know. Mommy says daddy works really far. He doesn’t have time to see me.” She said it sadly and then prepared herself to pull one of the chairs next to the newly named Jason to watch him cook.

“So you’ve never seen your daddy?” he asked sympathetically.

“No…” she shook her head. “What are you making first?” she quickly changed the subject innocently.

“Eggs.” He smiled as he reached in the fridge to get the eggs.

“Goody! My favorite!” she clapped her hands loudly.

The smell of the food traveled into Liz’s room as she opened her eyes slowly. She heard voices talking from outside as she got up and covered herself with a robe. She passed by Trina’s room and found it empty. When she reached closer to the voices, she found Liz and the stranger cooking breakfast.

“Well, hi there!” the young guy greeted Liz happily.

She wrinkled her forehead “You’re cooking?”

He nodded while Trina jumped down from the chair that was pulled up next to Jason on the stove. She rushed to Liz with a huge grin “Mommy! He’s making eggs!!”

Liz smiled at her little girl “Yes sweetie, that’s your favorite.”

“Really? Well, I’ll make more for you then.” He said to Trina with a grin and a wink of the eye.

“This is really kind of you.”

“I don’t mind doing it since you let me stay here one night.” He smiled warmly at her “Have a seat, the food will be ready soon.”

“Thank you.” Liz sat down comfortably with her little girl on her lap.

“Can I ask you something?” Liz looked up with her eyebrows raised as she nodded for him to ask “Where is Trina’s father?”

Liz’s face reddened as she turned away and after a moment she looked at her little girl “Trina, can you go make your bed, you didn’t do it.”

Trina plopped herself down on the ground as she nodded “Yes Mommy.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but your little girl told me a little bit about her father. Apparently, she’s never met him.”

Liz sighed as she thought about the day she left the airport hoping that Jason would show up but he never did. He haunted her dreams for so long and talking about him made it even more real. “Yes. That’s true.”

“Did he really leave you?”

“Yes.” She said curtly.

“But why? Didn’t he know you were pregnant?” he was appalled at his fellow male and he couldn’t imagine someone being so irresponsible.

Liz shrugged it off loosely but she was tearing up inside “I guess he wasn’t ready to be a father.” She snickered “It’s no use in making him do something he didn’t want to do.” Her eyes could burn through the walls.

He was sensitive in sensing her bitter voice and hurt expression. Although she looked angry, he knew she was more hurt than anything. “I wouldn’t have done that.” He spoke without knowing.

She turned to him with a strange expression “You remember something?”

He shook his head “No…I guess I would never know what I would do in that situation since I don’t remember. But I know if it happened now, I will stay with her no matter what happens.”

Listening to him say that, Liz began to pity herself as the tears welled up in her eyes “Sometimes its too late…”

He looked at her curiously “What do you mean?”

She didn’t have time to explain as Trina rushed outside and climbed onto Liz’s lap “Okay, I’m all done!” she said out of breath.

Liz smiled as she hid the tears that were ready to come out “Good sweetie.” She smoothed down the hair of her little girl.

“Breakfast is ready too!” he smiled down at the little girl.

She giggled happily “We have to eat fast.” She nodded seriously suddenly remembering something.

“Why?” Liz asked as she got up to get the food with him right by her side to help her.

“Jason said he would help me play in the snow today!” Trina exclaimed happily.

Liz nearly dropped the plate she was holding at the sound of his name “What?” he grabbed the plate from her hands when he realized she was shaking. “What did you call him?”

“Oh, little Trina here gave me a new name because I don’t know my own.” He wrinkled his forehead when he saw that she was still in shock “What’s wrong?”

Liz snapped herself out of the daze as she shook her head “Nothing. I guess it’s just easier for you to have a name. After breakfast, I’ll take you to the police department to see if they can help.”

Jason nodded “Thanks. Come on, I’m hungry!” he looked at Trina with a grin as they dug into the food.

After breakfast, just as promised Jason took Trina outside to play in the snow. Lucky for them the storm was over and now small snowflakes were coming down instead. Liz bundled up Trina as she watched from the door. Jason was trying hard to build a big ball to make the snowman but every time he got it rounded, Trina would use a stick she found lying around to poke at the snow making it shatter in billions of pieces.

Liz smiled at the sight before her, it made her laugh inside to see her little befriend the stranger like that. She has never seen her got along with anyone besides Chris and they have not seen him for months. She suddenly remembered that she had to call her friend. She was about to turn around to go inside when she felt a pang of pain from the snow shattering on her back. She spun around with a shock expression “Who did that?” she asked teasingly.

Jason and Trina had two snow balls in each hand as they pointed to each other “She threw it!” Jason laughed.

Trina shook her head innocently “No…I would never do that.” She swung her body from side to side looking like a little angel.

Liz narrowed her eyes suspicious as she walked outside and leaned down to the ground as she made two snow balls “Snow ball fight!!” she cried out as she threw it at Jason and aimed at Trina’s foot, trying not to hit her. It made the little girl cry out in giggles as she tried hard to get away from the splashing snow.

Jason was careful not to throw too hard as he aimed at Liz. They played around for about another hour until everyone was exhausted from running. The numbness in their hands from the snow was also another sign to stop. “Sweetie, go inside and clean up!” she called to her little girl.

“Yes mommy!” Trina replied.

“Yes, mommy!” Jason copied her reply as he jogged into the house after the giggling Trina. Liz shook her head as they both looked like little kids caked in snow.

Liz changed into dry clothes and then went to help her little girl but to her surprise, Jason was helping her button up her paprika. “Thank you, Jason.” Trina said respectfully.

Jason smiled as he got up and turned when he saw Liz looking at him intently, he smiled at her broadly “Are you ready?”

She nodded without responding as they all walked to the car together. The drive was about thirty miles into the city and little Trina had fallen asleep due to the snow fight earlier. Liz looked at the rear view mirror and saw Jason cradling Trina as his eyes were glued to the outside life. “What are you thinking of?” she asked quietly. She still felt uncomfortable calling him Jason due to her past.

He looked up at her with a slow smile “Jason is his name isn’t it?”

His response caught her by surprise as she turned away “How did you guess?”

“When you almost dropped the plate of food this morning.” He teased and then turned serious “Why didn’t you tell Trina that it was her father’s name?”

Liz was uncomfortable as she shifted in her seat “She’s too young, she wouldn’t understand.”

“Should I come with another name?” he was thinking about her now.

Liz shook her head “No, it’s not necessary. Trina named you that and it’s easier for her to remember. Give me a few months, I’ll get use to it.” She joked.

Jason smiled “Do we have a few months? What if they find out the person with the name on my necklace today?” he was a bit sad to think that he would not see little Trina again, he was quickly getting attached to the little girl.

“Then you will have to do what you have to do.” She sounded bitter again.

He decided to quiet down since she was getting more uncomfortable by each minute that they talked about the guy that left her.

***********

They pulled up to the Police station as Jason shook gently at Trina to wake her up. She opened her sleepy eye and looked up “We’re here?” she asked with a yawn.

“Come on sweetie.” Liz opened the back door for them as she pulled Trina into her arms with ease. “Boy, you’re getting heavy!” she teased.

Jason chuckled “From eating eggs every morning I bet.”

Trina giggled “I like eggs.” She defended herself.

Chapter 8

Inside the station, everyone greeted Liz like she was part of the family. And for a while she was part of them when she was closer to Chris. After he and Nancy got together, he almost lost contact with Liz, but every once in a while he would call her to catch up with her life. So he was surprised when she brought a complete stranger into the station.

“Hi Chris.” Liz smiled as she walked over to him. They hugged briefly and Jason noticed that they lingered for a while before pulling apart. He guessed that the two probably had a history of their own. “This is Jason, he actually amnesia. Trina gave him a name so we wouldn’t have to keep calling him Mister.”

“Hi Jason.” Chris was friendly as can be as they chatted about anything that he remembered. In the end it was useless because Jason didn’t remember a thing. “Come in my office, I’ll look up in the system for the name on your necklace. Do you mind if I look at it again?”

Jason shook his head “Not at all.” He leaned in for Chris to look at it.

Chris spun the charm around and found another name besides Wong Siu Yu, it read Cheung Yiu Wai. “What…” his eyes caught Liz’s who gave him a shake of the head. “Wong Siu Yu. I guess we can start with that name. Come in my office so I can look in the system.” He led the group into the tiny box office.

“Thanks Chris.” Liz said when they were seated.

“Actually, I should be thanking you.” Jason spoke up as he leaned into the desk as he watched Chris find the name on his computer.

“You’re welcome, I don’t mind helping an old friend.” He had a twinkle in his eye when he looked at Liz. At that very moment, Jason knew they had some kind of a past. After a few minutes, Chris shook his head “No, there is no one by that name here. Unfortunately you don’t remember where you came from, it’s too hard to find someone like that. I am only guessing that this Wong Siu Yu person does not live in Shanghai since this is the only system I can look in. One thing certain, you are not from Shanghai.”

Jason nodded sadly as he slumped back in the chair “I guess it’s just fate.”

Trina wiggled her way off of Liz’s lap as she climbed onto Jason’s lap “That’s good. You can stay with us.” She said innocently.

Jason smiled at the little girl “I don’t think it is very appropriate since I am not related to you.”

“I can’t just let you out on your own. It’s too dangerous, what would you do?” Liz asked with genuine concern.

“I don’t know. Find a job, start my life over? Maybe I will see someone that knows me?” he shrugged it off lightly.

Liz’s heart went out to him suddenly as she couldn’t bear to let him out into the world he does not recognize. “No, I insist that you stay with me until you find your family. I would feel very guilty if anything happened to you.”

“But…” he started to argue.

“No buts! I won’t accept it. Anyways, I have an extra room and plus maybe I can pay you for watching Trina? She’s quite fond of you and plus-”

“Lizzie, can I talk to you?” Chris cut her off immediately. “Excuse us.” He took her hand as he led her outside, the door closed behind them. “How could you let him stay with you like that? It’s not a good idea.”

Liz shook her head “He’s a stranger.”

“Exactly. You don’t know his motives.” Chris was quick to jump to her safety as well as Trina’s “I can see that Trina likes him but can you guarantee that nothing will happen to her with him around? What if…”

She snapped her head up to him “I trust my instincts Chris, can we leave at that?” her harsh tone hurt him as she quickly regret it “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you…”

He sighed “I know it’s useless to convince you of anything. But just promise me you’ll be careful?”

Liz nodded “I will.” She walked past him and opened the office door “Come one guys, we’re going home. Let’s give Chris his office back. Sweetie, say bye to Chris.”

“Bye Uncle Chris!” Trina waved sweetly at the officer in uniform.

He couldn’t help but pick her up “Bye Trina.” He kissed her on the cheek before handing her over to Jason who Trina was reaching for.

On the drive back, it was extra awkward. Trina was asleep again, maybe because she didn’t have enough sleep. The tension in the car was so thick, you could slice it with a knife. “Is he the father?” Jason was straightforward.

Liz snickered loudly “Of course not!”

“Don’t lie Liz, I can tell by the way you two look at each other. There is something in the past between you two.”

Liz sighed “There was something in the past, but it never progressed into anything. We are just good friends.” She insisted.

“Trina has the right to see her father. I assume you know where he is.” He was touching a sensitive subject way too soon.

Liz snapped “Yes and she has a right to have a father 24 hours a day but what happened? He didn’t want the job! Even if I know where he is, I wouldn’t want him near my daughter!”

She didn’t realize that she was yelling until Trina stirred in Jason’s lap. He patted her head lightly for her to go back to sleep “I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t be so nosy.”

She tried to calm herself down as she drove back home. When they got to the front door, she reached over and took her sleeping daughter “I’ll put her to bed.” She mumbled as she walked inside, leaving him by the door.

After she was done, she walked outside to the living room but didn’t see him. She saw the front door open and thought maybe he had left? Liz walked outside to see him staring at the sky. It was gray and cold, just like her heart.

Despite that last argument, they remained good friends. Soon it was almost three months from the first day that Jason walked into their lives. Liz was grateful that he had come knocking on their door, but his presence only reminded her of the real Jason.

He was a lot more gentle and much more affectionate towards Trina. Liz would not admit it but with his presence there the days seem to go by faster and they both got a chance to get to know each other even more. Christmas was special for the three of them, it was the first year Liz spent it with someone else. Even when she and Chris use to see each other, he use to go to his home town to see his parents while Liz stayed home. For five years, it was just her and Trina.

Spring was coming closer as the weather began to get a little warmer. Lately she’s been haunted by her dreams of Jason. She dreamt that he came to look for her and how she forgave him for what he did in the past. Everything seemed too perfect in her dreams yet in reality, it was the total opposite.

One morning as she got ready for work, she saw Jason sitting on the couch, his hands touching the necklace that he forgot about so many months ago. “Jason?” she called out to him for the first time since she’s met him.

“Yes?” he turned to her, his eyes with a distant look “You called me Jason.” A slow smile appeared on his face.

She looked at the ground and then back at him, she didn’t realized that it came out so naturally “Is anything wrong? Did you want to search for the person again?” she was talking about the name on his necklace.

He sighed as he got up and walked over to her “I told you Lizzie, I don’t want to find out who I was. Honestly, since I’ve met you and Trina, it has been nonstop happiness for me. What if I was a miserable person before? I don’t want that kind of a past. I like my home here.” He patted her shoulder affectionately but she jerked away unconsciously. “Sorry, I didn’t…”

Liz shook her head “No, I should apologize. I’m just not use to the affection…that’s all.” She looked at him solemnly “What if your family misses you? What will they think if they saw you with me? What if you were married? I don’t want to be the cause of anything.”

Jason smiled “Don’t worry, Chris said that I probably didn’t live here in Shanghai.”

“But don’t you wonder why you showed up in this city? Maybe you came here to find someone? Or something? Don’t you want to know at all?” she had a sudden urge for him to remember everything. Maybe he would move on with his life.

His smile faded slowly “Do you want me to leave that bad? You’re the only family I have now.”

Liz’s eyes were teary as she turned away “No, I didn’t mean that. Its just…I don’t want to get hurt again.”

Jason nodded, finally understanding her problem. He dared reached out to her as he spun her around with his hands as he pushed her head onto his shoulder slowly “I’m sorry. I understand why you are feeling this way.”

She tensed up from his touch but allowed him to hug her “You do?” she asked softly.

“Of course. You don’t want to be hurt again by another man. You’re afraid if I learn my past, I will go back to it and leave you and Trina. But I’ll tell you now, I will never ever do that to you. These past few months have been the only life that I know. I wished it would stay like this forever, I really do.”

She smiled at his words as she pulled away shyly “I don’t want Trina to see us like this. She’ll ask a hundred questions.”

He laughed “She is a very curious girl. The other day, she asked where babies came from.”

Liz’s eyes widened in fear “What did you tell her?” she always wondered how she would approach the subject when Trina go older. It was hard for her parents and now it’s hard for her.

Jason grinned “Nothing.” He shook his head “Don’t worry. I told her when she was old enough I would tell her everything. She seemed to take it okay.”

Liz nodded “Well, I’m glad I don’t have to tell her.” She said with much relief. “So what are you two up to today?”

“I’m taking her to school and then we’re going to have some fun making pictures out of tissue paper.” He sounded as excited as Trina would.

“Good luck. You know Trina and glue.” She made an icky face and left for the door “I’ll see you two later.”

**************

The dreams were recurring for him again. He dreamed of a place that looked really busy and he saw a girl, a pregnant girl. She was dressed all in black as she boarded the plane. He wanted to come out and call her to stop but no sound came out. He struggled to make himself walk over to her. But it was like he was cemented.

He suddenly snapped upright, his breathing heavy as he wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. It seemed so real. But who was the girl? Maybe she was the same girl on his necklace?

In Lizzie’s room, she was awake eventhough it was the middle of the night. Her thoughts wandered to Jason as she smiled to herself. Getting up from her bed as she walked over to her jewelry box. She reached for the tiny necklace with the carved name on the charm. Her eyes filled up with tears as she let it out. She was sobbing after a moment as she slipped to the ground and leaned onto the wooden drawers. She had held onto her feelings for too long, it finally hit her. She wanted him back more than anything.

Chapter 9

For months Liz hid his true identity from him, half of her hoped that he will remember for their little girl’s sake. The other half hoped he’d stay like that forever, because he will remain the more caring and sweet Jason that she always wanted. She knew it was unfair to treat him like a stranger when his face told her she knew him all too well.

She debated with herself for months but she didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth after six months. Maybe it was for the better, they finally had their happy family. During the spring, she suggested that they go on a family trip together. “I’ve never seen the Great Wall in Beijing.” Liz sighed.

Jason smiled while he peeled the potatoes for dinner “We should go.”

Liz looked at him like a little girl “Really?! You would go?” he nodded casually “Great!! I can’t wait. I have two weeks of vacation.”

He laughed comfortably “Honey, we’re not staying there for two weeks. Trina has school. But she does have one week off in the spring. We’ll go then okay?”

Liz nodded happily as she planned the vacation in her mind. When the day finally came, she rushed the two slowpokes out the door “Come on, we’re going to be late for our tour bus!” she screamed into the hallway.

“Wait!!” Trina cried out as she poked her head out her room door “I’m not done.”

“Sweetie, what do you need help with?” Liz walked over to the room, only to be beaten by Jason. He was quicker as he came to her rescue.

“Her zipper is stuck. I got it Liz, go start the car.” He concentrated on Trina’s zipper while Liz smiled at them. He was such a good father. He seemed to notice her stare “What’s wrong?” he looked up at her with concern.

She grinned wider “Nothing.” She spun around and rushed outside to start the engine.

The drive was pleasant as can be as they sang songs to kill the thirty mile drive to the city where they met with the Tour Bus and about 40 other people that were going with them. There were about 10 different tour buses, so it took them a while to find theirs.

It never occurred to Liz that she would see anyone she knew until the familiar female voice called to her “Lizzie!!” it was Nancy.

Liz turned around before she got on the bus, her faced brightened naturally seeing her friend after almost a year. “Nancy!” the girls hugged each other dearly like high school girls. “What are you doing here?”

Nancy smiled “Vacation.” A twinkle in her eye as she answered shortly.

“With Chris?” Liz asked.

Nancy smiled as she nodded, “He’s getting a drink for me. Our bus is over there.” She pointed to three buses from Liz’s.

“Lizzie, come on, they’re going to leave without us.” Jason carried Trina in his arms as he rushed over to her. “It’s almost….” He stopped when he saw Nancy “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you two were talking. I’m Jason.” He brought out a hand to her.

Nancy’s face clouded over as she looked at him closely “I know who-”

Liz quickly cut off her sentence “Well, I’ll see you later…” she quickly hugged her friend as she whispered to her ear “He has amnesia.” It was all she had to say.

Nancy understood slowly as she nodded “Nice to meet you Jason, I’m Nancy, Liz’s old high school friend.” She winked at Trina who smiled at her goofily in Jason’s arms.

Jason smiled politely “Nice to meet you too.” He turned his head anxiously “I don’t want to rush you guys but we have to go.”

Liz nodded “Bye Nancy.” She waved to her friend goodbye as they rushed to the bus. Her heart was still beating fast after they had settled in their seats and the driver began the trip. It was too close, she didn’t want him to be suspicious.

“What’s wrong Liz? You seem a bit tense.” Jason asked with genuine concern.

She smiled showing him that she was okay “Nothing. I just miss my friend that’s all.”

He nodded understandingly “I guess, since you just saw each other after a long time. Why don’t you invite her over?”

Liz shook her head “She’s busy. She’s always traveling, there’s no time for a boyfriend let alone a visit to me. Chris is her boyfriend.”

“Oh, I remember you mentioning it sometime ago.”

She smiled “You have a good memory, I told you months ago.”

His faced frowned at the thought of his memory. After those dreams began to haunt him each night, he began to grow curious about his past. “Too bad I still can’t remember the past.” He never spoke to Liz about his dreams for fear that she will know he saw something that could be his past.

“Do you want to continue searching?” she offered, still hoping that he would just settle with her.

He seemed to be thinking about it for awhile before he answered a slow “Yes…Don’t worry, I won’t ever abandon you two.” He said quickly reassuring her “You two are my life. But there is a nagging feeling inside of me and I know it’s about my past.”

Liz nodded, she understood and it was bound to happen one day. “I’ll help you do another search.” She was serious this time. She owed that much to him, of course she knew where to look, Hong Kong. Even if he would hate her forever she knew it was the right thing to do. She couldn’t hold onto his past forever.

Their vacation was sweet eventhough it felt too short for the three of them. The Great Wall of China was magnificent and it was endless. Little Trina could not withstand one mile as Jason offered to give her a piggy back ride. When Liz noticed that he was tired, she offered to take over but he always declined, not wanting her to be tired. They stopped at every mile to rest and little Trina snacked until she was full. The adults crossing by would smile at the little girl with pig tails. Some envied the happy family, the couple looked so affectionate and the father was as sweet as can be. Liz tried hard to push the thought of their family being broken apart after he found out the truth, she wanted to enjoy the trip as long as possible.

When they got back to their little home, everyone was exhausted. Liz went straight for the phone while Trina was put to bed by Jason. “Hi, Hong Kong Police Department.” She spoke into the phone.

“Please hold.” The operator answered before transferring the call to Hong Kong.

Liz spoke softly into the phone trying to find a ‘missing’ person. She wanted to have the information on Cheung Yiu Wai sent to her home. The officer was kind enough after 21 questions and realizing that Liz was indeed a friend of Cheung Yiu Wai since she knew his information. The information was going to be sent to her home in another week.

She sat back on the couch after the long conversation. She sighed to herself, it was as if the weight was lifted from her shoulders. “You tired?” he asked her from the hallway.

Liz pushed her head back to find him leaning down to her face. He stroked her hair affectionately “Just a little.” She smiled up at him “Come over here.” She patted on the seat next to him.

He nodded as he took a seat next to her. She leaned on his chest comfortably, trying to remember the moment, she knew it would not last forever. “Is something wrong Lizzie?” he sensed her nagging feelings.

She shook her head “Nothing.” She lied. “I just want to stay like this forever.”

He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer “It will.”

****************

A month later, still no sign of the information that was suppose to be sent by the police department in Hong Kong. It began to worry Liz as she wondered where it could have gone? Maybe Jason found it and hid it from her? She had no idea. He seemed nonchalant about it when she told him and it made her even more curious. He insisted that he didn’t get any package nor did he care. He began to lose interest in finding his past again.

One Saturday morning, while Liz went to the market with Trina, Jason decided to stay home and do some cleaning around the house. Liz was understanding since she knew everyone needed a time to themselves.

He cleaned from the bedrooms to the living room. He never invaded her privacy nor did he ever enter her room without her consent. It was the most respect he had for her. Until he found her door open and decided to vacuum the floors. While he did this, his eye caught something sparkling at her vanity desk. Jason turned off the vacuum as he walked over. He picked up the charm and the chain followed it. What he saw almost made him gasp. It was the exact replica of his own necklace.

His fingers crawled up to his own charm, he continued to look closer at the charm and found the name Cheung Yiu Wai on one side and Wong Siu Yu on the other. The female name was the same name that was on his. He quickly untied his own necklace and there he saw, two identical necklaces. His heart thumped as he felt faint and had to sit down on the bed. “How could that be?” he whispered to himself, now more confused than ever.

His thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang, he was like a zombie when he picked it up “Hello?” he answered.

“Is this the home of Wong Siu Yu?” the operator asked. Jason nearly dropped the phone out of his hands as the name snapped back in his mind “Hello?” the operator asked endlessly.

Jason came back to reality “Uh…I….”

“Miss Wong requested information on a Mr. Cheung Yiu Wai.” It was the name again, his head began to ache as he took a seat on the couch afraid that he might faint from shock. “The information was sent to the wrong address. The owner that had it just gave us back today. I just wanted to confirm the address.” She read out the address. “Is that correct?”

Jason looked dazed as ever “Yes…”

“Okay, I will send it through the mail again, hopefully it will be at your home in the next few days.”

“Thank you…” he said as he placed the phone back into the receiver. His thoughts began to wander as he asked himself questions. Why did she lie to him? Liz Wong as in Wong Siu Yu? She knew him all this time but never told him? Suddenly a stab of pain crossed his head, he winced in pain as he grabbed his head. Surges of memory began to overfill his mind. He remembered why he came, how he came…to look for her. He remember the crash that caused him the memory laspe, he remembered climbing up the cliff to get to safety. He remembered the determination of finding her even when he was in pain. Slow tears began to fall down his face when he finally remembered the airport. He tried to look for her but it was useless, she was already gone.

His memory slowly came back to him as he sat there for a long moment, the shock was finally over. Instead it was filled with pain. He was lost in his own thoughts until Liz opened the door. “Oh my gosh! You could not believe the supermarket, it is so busy! I had to fight with this lady to get the last head of lettuce.” She talked on and on about her little trip while Trina helped her carry some groceries.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Liz?” Jason asked solemnly.

Liz immediately sensed something wrong in his voice. She turned to her little girl “Trina, you have some homework to do.”

Trina pouted “But it’s Saturday.”

“Would you rather do it tomorrow?” Liz asked and Trina shook her head “Well, go inside and do it now.” She pushed at her little girl lightly. She made sure Trina closed her door before turning back to Jason. “You know everything?”

“I remember everything.” He said sadly, tears began to fill his eyes as he looked at her, remembering every feature on her face. She saw the necklaces in his hands.

She looked away guiltily “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie. Half of me wished that you would remember so you can leave us alone. But the longer you stayed with me, the more I saw something in the Jason that I once loved. You’re a great father and a loyal husband. You were respectful of my boundaries and never pushed me to do anything I didn’t want to do.” She paused to wipe the tears that began to stream down her face “The day you walked back into my life, I wanted to kick you out. But when I realized that you didn’t remember anything it began to hurt me, to know that you don’t remember me, you don’t remember that we had a child together. Then time flew by and I came to realize maybe it was better that you didn’t remember anything from the past. You’re like a white piece of paper ready to be drawn on.”

He was more hurt than angry “I know I hurt you when I told you I wasn’t ready to be a father, but I never said I would not do it.” He walked closer to her as he reached for her hands “It’s not a job to me, being a lawyer was a job. I want to be a good father and husband. You have no idea how long it took me to look for you. There was never a day that I didn’t think about you or wanted to see you so bad it ate me up inside. I hated the thought of never seeing you again. I tried to ask Nancy but she was loyal to your request, she wouldn’t tell me.”

“What made you come here?” her eyes brimming with fresh tears after hearing his words.

“I searched all the cities in Hong Kong, but you were no longer here, I knew that much. Then I had a dream one night about a conversation we had years back when you told me that you were going to be working in Shanghai for a while. I remembered feeling a bit sad but I didn’t tell you. Instead I said okay, have fun. I knew it must have hurt you. I began doing a search in Shanghai after that. Maybe it was fate that led me to you after five years of searching for you. Maybe God finally felt sorry for me and showed me the way.”

Liz sniffed back the tears as she reach up and touched the scar across his forehead “How did you lose your memory?”

His eyes began to fade as he recalled the treacherous situation “I remembered driving out here, there was this cliff that I didn’t see. The snow was too strong and my wipers were not fast enough for them. My car tipped of the edge and it crashed at the bottom of the cliff.” Liz gasp as he told the story, no wonder he had all those cuts and bruises! “I don’t know what happened but managed to crawl out of the car and climb up the rocks. My determination to see you was too strong, but at that time, I didn’t know that. I just wanted to get to safety. I walked on the road for another mile and came upon your house. I saw shadows moving inside so I tried to ask for help.”

Liz was horrified by what he went through, it was more or less her fault “I’m so sorry…” she gulped back the tears “I didn’t mean to lie to you…I really didn’t. I was just confused and didn’t know what to do…” she shook her head over and over.

Jason smiled through his own tears “I understand.”

She looked up slowly “You do? You’re not mad?”

He shook his head “Why should I be mad. I was lucky enough to find you and Trina. I found my little girl finally.”

“Maybe I should have told you sooner?” she looked sadly at him.

He smiled as he pulled her into a warm hug. They swayed back and forth “Everything happens for a reason. Had you not told me that you were pregnant, I wouldn’t have realized how important you were to me when you left. If you never went to Shanghai, I wouldn’t have gotten amnesia and you end up taking me in.”

She smiled at his optimistic attitude “If I had not left, we wouldn’t have wasted five and a half years of our lives.”

He pulled her away lightly “If we never got together, we wouldn’t have such a beautiful child.” She couldn’t argue with that. She wiped her happy tears away as they hugged once more.

“Mommy?” Trina called from the hallway, she saw the two of them hugging and her mother was crying.

Liz pulled away with a smile as she bent down to her knees, she put out her arms “Come here Trina.”

Her little girl happily obliged as she ran to her mother’s arms. “Why are you crying mommy?”

Liz smile “I’m just happy.” She turned to Jason, they seemed to be exchanging knowing glances. She didn’t want to confuse her little daughter by telling her that Jason was really her father.

As if reading her mind, he kept the subject out of the way “Trina, how would you like for me to be your daddy?” Jason asked grinning at the little angel and then back at Liz.

“Yipee!!” Trina exclaimed as she reached for Jason naturally.

*************

Their wedding was short and plain, only the closest of friends were allowed there. Nancy and Chris stood by their sides as they gave their own vows. Trina was their little flower girl, she was happy to see Liz and Jason getting married. She finally have a father like the other kids.

Liz was dressed in a beautiful lace white gown with the veil covering her beautiful face. Her tears were starting to come out as she said her personal vows “I never believed that you were given only one chance to love. When I met you, I really believed it and everything that we went through. The five missing years just reminded me how much I missed you. I’m glad we had our second chance. I promised to love you forever.”

Nancy stood next to her friend sniffing away the tears. Liz turned to her friend with a smile while Nancy shook her head “Don’t look at me.” She said through tears and a huge grin. She was happy for her friend.

The minister cleared his throat for the distracted couple to get back to the ceremony. “My turn.” Jason said as he took a hold of Liz’s hand and placed it on his heart “You don’t know what you have until you lose it. I have literally lived through that saying. I don’t remember ever loving someone so much that it hurt. But I would rather have that kind of pain then never to see you again. I regret losing the five years, but I think about the next 40 years or 60 years that I will get to see you and our children and it makes it all worth while. I promise to spend each day, each minute loving only you.”

“How about me?” Trina interrupted their vows.

The group and little guests laughed at the darling question. Jason smiled as he stroked her chubby cheek “I will always love you!” little Trina smiled as she swung her body side by side happily.

“I pronounce you husband and wife.” The minister announced as the group got up and clapped happily at the newlywed.

Jason smiled as he leaned into kiss his wife, the crowd went wild as they were happy for this couple. Little of them knew of the couple’s past and those that knew had tears in their eyes. They walked down the aisle while everyone threw confetti and rice into the sky making beautifully colorful rain.

THE END

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