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Qi was in his dark and cold walnut room, watching closely as the farmer excitedly prepared in her cabin with her friends from the town for her special day. They all laughed, joked, and ran from one place to another, preparing everything for the big event.
"If you're feeling nervous, we can toast with some champagne," Marnie said, holding a bottle and some glasses for everyone. The farmer nodded with a smile, and Qi, upon seeing the scene, tilted his head slightly.
He remembered that he had saved a bottle of Millennium Fruit Wine that the farmer had once given him for a special occasion; it definitely had to be this. He carefully took the bottle from its hiding place and inspected it closely, seeing it brought back many memories of those days.
"My first bottle of quality iridium, just for you," he said as he handed it to her with a smile.
Qi whistled softly as a gesture of approval while examining the bottle. "It looks good; it deserves to be saved for a special occasion."
"It will be the bottle we drink on our wedding day," the farmer replied in a flirtatious tone, and Qi just chuckled briefly.
"Do you really want to marry me?" he asked, looking skeptical.
"Of course! We'll get married on Ginger Island, with the beach in the background, an arch decorated with many beautiful white flowers, and we'll have our honeymoon on Fern Island."
"Fern Island?" he responded, amused to hear how clearly the farmer had fantasized about that idea enough to have a pretty clear mental image.
"My parents say it's beautiful; I've never been."
"Yes, it's beautiful, but I'll take you to an even better place," the farmer's eyes lit up with excitement, not only because he had said he would take her to a better place, but also because by doing so, he accepted the idea of marrying her.
He took a glass and prepared to open the bottle when the cork began to crumble into pieces. At first, he tried to remove as much as he could without it mixing with the wine, but it was inevitable, so he just sighed and resigned himself to pouring it into the glass that way. He returned leisurely to face the screen and sat on the couch he had arranged there previously, then sniffed his wine and took a sip; it was quite good. Surely in any other situation, he would have enjoyed it a lot, but in this one, he didn't even have the capacity to swallow.
"We should go to the beach, you need a bit of a tan," he remembered the farmer saying once.
"It's not necessary," he responded indifferently.
"It would be fun," she said as she hugged him, resting her head on his lap. "We never go outside together. Don't you want someone to see us?" she exclaimed jokingly, but Qi's careless response was quite cold and disinterested at that moment.
"No, I don't like the idea of the islanders knowing about my private life." The farmer's look said it all; he had broken her heart.
"You're right, you're the mysterious Mr. Qi," she said, hiding her face and hugging him tighter.
He noticed what he had done and, as if it were a somewhat recurring inconvenience, began to stroke her hair and leaned in to whisper, "I love you."
Now, looking back, he had sounded too cruel. He hadn't considered it at that moment, but the farmer probably had. Sometimes, when he realized these situations long after, he wondered how she had been patient with him for so long. They could easily go for a walk without anyone noticing, but he simply couldn't be bothered to find the perfect moment. In hindsight, it was a fairly simple request.
Now Haley was photographing the farmer with the rest of the bridesmaids; she looked beautiful. Qi zoomed in and spent a long time looking at the farmer with her pearl veil, so excited, so full of life.
At that moment, many warm memories began to emerge, and their emergence at that moment was as bittersweet as that wine he now felt he had wasted. He remembered the farmer trying to scare him by hugging him from behind. He was faster; he turned around, caught her, and lifted her high in the air. Her expression, between scared and confused, quickly turned into a smile, which was so funny that even now, in that bitter moment, it made him smile.
He remembered their long nights lying down contemplating the universe, their usual chats where he listened in awe to the farmer's stories of conventional adventures. She always had something new to tell, and how much he loved it when Qi told her things while he rocked her to sleep. Sometimes she asked for scary stories, which then kept her from sleeping, and she asked him to stay with her. On those occasions, they slept embraced, and she wouldn't let go; it was the best feeling, as if the world stopped just for them, and of course, Qi would be able to do it just to make it better. Now, looking back, maybe she asked for stories just to be able to spend more time embraced.
"Wait, girls! I'm forgetting something very important," she said as they were about to leave the house, alarming Qi, who could see something familiar in her expression, something he had only noticed once before.
"I think we should end our relationship," Qi said in front of a cup of coffee in the farmer's kitchen.
"Why?" asked the girl, her expression mirroring the one from before.
"You're not happy."
"I love you. I'm happy when I'm with you. We haven't been at our best, but if we both put in some effort, we could fix it, if you still love me too, of course."
Of course, he loved her, and of course, he agreed to work on things with her. But eventually, he realized it wasn't working, even if it wasn't Qi's intention. The situation just wasn't conducive to a relationship—his cold and eccentric personality, which sometimes gave off wrong or ambiguous messages, the danger that their relationship could represent if it was discovered, and the reason he always kept it so jealously hidden. His bouts of jealousy, which were always unfounded, and how he would behave with her after those episodes. He knew there were many things he could fix to be a better partner, but none of that mattered. The farmer no longer remembered him, or at least not as someone she loved. He had become a stranger who gave curious gifts.
He knew she would never leave him; she loved him. But he also knew that she would be happier with less drama, fewer silent rooms with tasteless air conditioning, and more sun, sand, laughter, and joy. She wouldn't have that if she clung to being with him. There were so many wonderful things she would be missing out on, and that was unfair.
"Where is it? I can't find it," she said, searching among his wines. Qi froze for a moment. It couldn't be that bottle; there was no way she could remember it.
"What are you looking for?" Marnie asked, approaching to help.
"The bottle of millennium Iridium wine, it says year 4 on the label," the farmer quickly explained. Qi turned to the table and saw that indeed, she was looking for that bottle. "It was my first best bottle, I gave it to her, but we promised we would open it today. It even has an important message behind the label for her to read when it was finished." It was impossible; he must have completely forgotten about it.
"Maybe Harvey already took it there," Marnie suggested, and the farmer stood in shock, confused. "Come on, we'll be late; we can look for it again later."
The women started their way to the center of town, and Qi took the bottle, emptying it as much as possible into his glass, spilling some on the table before remembering that the liquid was also valuable and drinking as much as he could until he uncovered the back of the label through the glass.
"From the first time I saw you, I knew I had met my special someone. I know you sometimes feel bad because you think you could do things better; I understand. But it's okay. For me, you're perfect just the way you are, because you're you, because you're Mr. Qi."
He froze upon reading the note. The separation had been painful, but he could bear it knowing she wasn't suffering. Now that he knew that, in a way, she never stopped remembering him, he didn't know how to face things. The note was too specific. Did she really think she had written it to Harvey? Seeing her expression at the altar, he knew she didn't.
It was a heartbreaking scene, and no one seemed to notice it but them. Confusion was evident in her gaze; the wedding went on, and although everything was joyful, he could tell she was searching for someone or something from time to time. To what extent could she remember him?
It wasn't until a few days later, on their honeymoon on Ginger Island, that Qi noticed her sitting alone on the beach, deep in thought. He decided to approach her and chat with her as a casual acquaintance who had heard she got married. After all, that's what he was to her. Additionally, it would indirectly fulfill her dream of going to the beach together.
The sun was quite bothersome, but he went barefoot anyway, without his coat and shoes. It wasn't unpleasant; in fact, it was quite nice to feel the sea breeze in his hair. Once he was in front of the girl, he greeted her kindly and asked if he could sit beside her. She seemed somewhat surprised but agreed.
"I saw you got married, congratulations," he said, but she just stared at him intently. "Is something wrong, farmer?" he asked in a friendly tone.
"I thought you didn't like going to the beach," she almost asked how much he knew, but then remembered that she might think that based on only seeing him indoors.
"Why did you think that?" she said, sounding as if it were absurd.
"You told me, remember? Qi, Rasmodius says that memory can eventually return if you have too much sensitivity, and it may be related to being one with the forest."
"..."
"Okay, just, I don't want you to say you did it because you love me."
"Why?"
"Because, just like I never stopped loving you, that would completely destroy me."