Leaving At The Start Of Spring

Jude sat in the living room by himself for a really long time. He only wheeled himself to the study and knocked on the door when night fell. Summer quickly ended the call and came out. “Jude, I remembered the wrong date for your birthday. Soon, it’ll be our third-year anniversary. Let’s celebrate your birthday with that, alright? I’ll go wherever you want to go.” Jude glanced at her and said softly, “Let’s head north then, I want to see the first snow.” Upon hearing that, a hint of surprise flashed in Summer’s eyes. “First snow? We’ll have snow here in a month’s time. Let’s celebrate at home instead. It’s hard for you to travel, so let’s not go that far, alright?”Jude shook his head and rejected her suggestion, which was out of character for him. He only had fifteen days left to live. One month was too far away for him. When he remained stubborn, Summer no longer said anything else. Instead, she booked flight tickets to spend Christmas in the north. Jude knew that she

Over the next few days, Summer did not come home. Instead, she sent Jude a message claiming that she was on a business trip. However, Finn had exposed her whereabouts. Jude did not respond to any of the text messages. Instead, he printed them out again and stored them in the drawer. Whenever he was free, he cleared items on his bucket list. When he reached item ten, he saw that he had written that he wanted to look at some beautiful flowers. After searching online, he decided to go to a popular park to view some freshly bloomed plum blossoms. It was a weekday, so there were not many people in the park. He wheeled himself slowly on the pavement. At around three in the afternoon, there were a lot of buskers showing up in the park. They were playing the piano and singing some ballads. Jude looked over and saw Summer and Finn. They were sharing a snack while they chatted. Finn fed a piece to Summer, and she ate it naturally. Jude was stunned when he saw the smile on her

Jude watched as they took photos together like a couple and remained silent. Seeing that they were not stopping anytime soon, he asked a photographer standing nearby.“Can you help me take a solo shot? I want it to be in black-and-white.” The photographer, Scot Duncan, wheeled him to another studio and tried to persuade him, saying that black-and-white photos did not look as good. However, Jude did not give in. He wanted to have a portrait taken for his funeral. Scot had no choice but to follow Jude’s wishes and took the photo for him. After the photo was developed, Summer and Finn also finished taking their photos. Finn walked out with the newly developed photos and looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Jude. Summer and I were engrossed in taking the photos, so we accidentally forgot about you. Would you like to take some photos with Summer now?”Jude looked at Summer, who stood behind Finn with guilty eyes, and smiled. Then, he gently shook his head. “It’s fine.” Summe

Jude waited for three whole hours. No one returned. In the afternoon, it started drizzling, and he lost his patience. Hence, he started to wheel himself as he prepared to descend the hill. Although the cemetery had an accessible path, the slope was steep. He lost control of his wheelchair and crashed into the railing, causing it to overturn.He rolled down the hill, and there were cuts on his face and hands. There was a huge cut on his forehead, and blood kept oozing out and mixing with the rainwater. He started to shake uncontrollably from the cold rain. He clenched his teeth and endured the pain coming from all over his body. However, time passed excruciatingly slowly. It was a long time before Summer finally stumbled over with an umbrella. Just when he thought he would freeze to death there, he hugged him and apologized profusely. Jude stared at her with a vacant gaze. “If my legs still worked, I might have been able to get out of here on my own.” That lively versio

After she landed, Summer quickly turned on her phone. Then, she saw a dozen missed calls and hundreds of messages from her mother, Eleanor Blossom. Her heart sank when she saw the notifications. Just when she was about to call Eleanor, she saw her at the arrival gate. Eleanor looked like she had not slept for the entire night. She looked tired and haggard, and her eyes were filled with dread and anxiety. “Summer, Jude’s not home! Where could he go? Don’t you know?”After hearing that, Summer immediately lost her cool. She did not even care about her luggage as she ran out of the arrivals hall with her eyes filled with disbelief. “Is he not at home? That’s impossible!” Hearing Summer’s tone of voice, Eleanor also realized that it was serious. She quickly asked all the questions she had buried within her. “I went to your house but I did not see Jude. I flipped through everything, but all his belongings were gone.“There isn’t even one single clothing item left in the clos