Imperfect Desires

Darren stretched out his hand and picked up the thing that caught his attention. His brows knitted up as he continued to stare at it for a while.

"Sweets, why is this with you?"

Xiu looked at the men's suit jacket in his hands and paused before saying, "That... That's the jacket of the dumbest person I've ever come across in my life."

"Oh?" responded Darren as his lips stretched out in a forced smile.

"I'm telling you the truth," she emphasized. "It was raining back then and he offered me a jacket. I mean, he had such a big car, he could have offered me a lift. There is also a possibility that he had an umbrella in that big car, he could have offered that as well. But no! He offered this jacket. You tell me, isn't it dumb?"

Darren nodded at her, "Sure! I must have lost my mind to even offer the jacket."

"Huh?"

"Then why are you keeping it even after all this time?"

Xiu scratched her head, "I don't know. I just liked the gesture even though it didn't mean much. In this world, I've seen people walk away even when they can see you dying. I don't even know why he even offered to put his jacket on me. We were just strangers. Neither he saw my face nor did I saw his. Yet, he was willing to help. I wanted to keep it as a reminder that the world hasn't lost all the good people yet."

Darren smiled at her before he softly started singing...

♫♪I've been holding on too long

I've been holding on too long

But those promises of forever

were never meant to be strong♫♪

Xiu's eyes went round when she heard those lyrics come out of his mouth. 

♫♪I saw a notion in her eyes

I wonder if she saw something

in the wake of my smile

I wrote a story of our love

I wonder if she heard the call

of my yearning heart♫♪

Xiu placed a hand over her mouth and gasped in shock. That song! She sang it outside the cemetery that day when she was offered this jacket. She remembered it clearly. 

♫♪Oh, look I'm dreaming again

With only my wishful thinking

Even when I know,

this is just another sad song♫♪

Xiu was dumbstruck. Not knowing what to say or what to do. At that time, there were only two people at that place. She and the one who gave her the jacket. But if Darren knew the lyrics that meant... She looked into his eyes as he softly continued...

♫♪But I was holding onto it for too long

I wonder if she finally saw me falling apart

I wonder if she heard the melody of my heart

singing just another sad song♫♪

Even though Darren's singing voice wasn't as exceptional as Xiu's. He wasn't trying to be a good singer. He was just refreshing her memory. 

"It was you..." she said out.

"Yeah! That dumbest one was indeed me," replied Darren.

Xiu facepalmed herself, "Baobei, that's not what I meant."

"No, Sweets. That's exactly what you meant. I must be the only one in the world whose wife just called him dumb right after the wedding ceremony."

Xiu shook his arm, "Baobei, I mean it. I didn't know it was you. How did you know it just by looking at the jacket?"

Darren showed her the inside of the collar that had three letters sewn, 'R.D.S.'

"You know that I don't usually wear suits," said Darren. Xiu nodded her head, she obviously knew that he didn't like wearing suits, giving off a stiff look. "So, all my suits are actually gifted by my mother. And she always had my initials sewn on them for some bizarre reason." He picked up the jacket that he took off earlier and added, "Even the suit I was wearing have the same initials."

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe we met there."

"I also never noticed. Even though I heard you singing plenty of times after that, but it never clicked that the girl whose voice evoked so many emotions in my heart was actually you."

"So you gave me the jacket because of the song I sang?" she questioned.

He nodded his head, "Hmm... It reminded me of someone. And yes, I could have offered you a lift but I didn't want to come off as a kidnapper. And I really had no umbrella in the car. So, I could only offer what I had."

Xiu smiled sheepishly at him. Suddenly thinking of something, she asked, "Baobei, what were you doing at the cemetery?"

"One of my business partner's father died. It was his funeral that day and I was there to attend that. However, I was the last one to leave because... Funerals really take a toll on me. Emotionally. I couldn't extract myself from those emotions."

"Oh..." Xiu nodded in understanding. "It's weird. We have missed out on each other so many times."

Darren hugged her waist and said, "But we still ended up finding each other in the end."

"Yes, we did," agreed Xiu as she leaned into his embrace.

"How about you sing that song to me again?" said Darren. "My voice is clearly really bad. But I'd love to hear you sing it again."

"Nah!" refused Xiu.

"Why?" questioned Darren.

Xiu looked up at him and grinned, "I told you, I'm happy today. I don't wanna sing another sad song in my life. If anything, I'll only sing you a happy song."

"Okay. Sing me the happy song then."

"I haven't written it yet," replied Xiu. "But don't worry, I'll write it now. From now on, Xiu will only write happy songs. There is no place for the sad songs in my life."

"I'll be waiting for you to write it," said Darren. "I'd love to hear you sing it to me." He lowered his voice and added, "Or maybe you can write a love song. Just for me."

"Ohh... I like that idea. Maybe I should write one."

"You should!" urged Darren.

Xiu stood on her tippy toes and kissed him on the lips saying, "Baobei, you're my love song. My favorite love song."

Darren chuckled at her and pressed his lips against her forehead, "And my Sweets is my life's sweetest melody."