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They first met at Yueya Correctional Facility. He was a criminal who was imprisoned on behalf of someone else. He behaved frivolously, an unbridled look in his eyes. At first glance, he didn’t seem to be a good person.

She and he belonged in two different worlds. One light, one dark. Destined to collide.

The next time they met, the sky was overcast. It was raining and foggy. At the intersection, the world outside the car windows was chaotic and blurry.

She appeared suddenly, a ray of poignant purity.

It was then he knew, he had long been waiting for this uncertain reunion.

After words, without batting an eyelid, he quietly advanced. Using the crudest, most overbearing and straightforward maneuver, he entered her life.

She approached him little by little, and stepped closer and closer to the truth.

He said, “One day when you find out the things I did, give me a chance. Don’t leave, ever.”

He said, “If you can survive, I’ll put up offerings to the gods and prostrate before Buddha, I’ll abstain from meat and alcohol, recite scriptures and kowtow my gratitude in front of that Old Man. If you die, I won’t continue living alone either, I’ll follow you to the afterlife.”

His embrace was a warm enclosure, sheltering her from the wind and rain lest she be cold and helpless.

To call this love would barely scratch the surface.

— As luck would have it, during times when you were cold, I was able to give you warmth. —