Chapter 20 Chapter 19

Tristan emerged from the water again.He held Dylan, her head out of the water, against his shoulder.Her eyes were closed tightly, and her face was ashen.He felt a little comforted but also anxious. He was lucky this time, and his fingers just touched the leg of Dylan's jeans, so he found her in the dark water.Before he could straighten her body in time, he hugged her tightly and swam back to the surface.But he fears it will be too late.Is she really gone? The opposite bank was in sight, and he began to swim towards it.After swimming for a while, his feet touched the shallow bottom of the shore.Tristan staggered out onto the cobbled water's edge, Dylan, pale, in his arms.He only walked a few meters before his knees slumped and he fell to the ground.He carefully placed Dylan on the ground, held her shoulders, and shook her gently, trying to wake her up.

"Dylan! Dylan, can you hear me? Open your eyes." She was unresponsive, lying there motionless.Her hair was wet against her face, and he carefully brushed each strand of her hair behind her ears. The tiny purple gemstone studs on her earlobe shimmered in a way he hadn't noticed before.He bent down and brought his face close to her mouth. Although he couldn't hear her breathing, he could feel her faint breath, and she could still be saved. "What should I do?" Tristan was in a turmoil. "Don't panic," Tristan told himself sternly, "she choked on a lot of water." He gripped Dylan's right shoulder so that she was face down, chest against his knee.He spread his hands and patted her back, trying to make her cough up the water.

It worked, and she started spitting water, then coughed, vomited, and finally spit out a big puddle of black, stale water.There was a gasp in her throat like a file grinding something, and Tristan finally let out a breath. Dylan finally woke up with a sense of dread in his heart.Her limbs were spread out awkwardly, her breasts resting on Tristan's lap.She struggled to get her arms under her body, realizing what she wanted to do, and Tristan helped her sit up.He supported her on the ground with his hands, and knelt on the ground with his knees.Panting heavily, she spat out the last bit of dirty water in her mouth.The taste in the mouth is disgusting, as if the lake water has been polluted with filth, dead people, and rotting things.In fact, it was true. She recalled the scene when one hand was holding her tightly, and the rows of sharp teeth were biting her, trying to drag her down.She was suddenly shocked and cold all over her body, and she began to tremble violently.

"Tri—Tristan," she said tremblingly, her lips were blue. "I'm here!" he replied, the anxiety in his voice palpable. Dylan's hand reached out to him, and Tristan's strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her toward him.He let her snuggle into his arms, stroking her upper arms and back, trying to keep her as warm as possible.She buried her head in his chest, trying to get a little more warmth from him. "It's over, little angel," he said softly.Such intimate words of love would come out of his own mouth, even he himself was surprised. Dylan felt a warm feeling in her heart when she heard these words, and her heart was ups and downs. Coupled with the painful experience just now, she had mixed feelings for a while, and she couldn't control herself.Hot tears welled up in her eyes, slid down her cheeks, and stinged as they fell on her cold skin.Her breathing became more and more rapid, and suddenly she couldn't control herself and began to cry loudly.She cried so much that her whole body was trembling, she took in big mouthfuls of air, and when she exhaled, she was sobbing.The cry was tearing at Tristan's heart, and he couldn't help holding her tighter, shaking her slightly.

"It's okay, it's okay." He repeated over and over.Dylan knew it in his heart, but he didn't want to show that he had cheered up.She wanted to be still for a while, to lie safely in Tristan's arms.But somehow she started whimpering again, and she had no strength left to stop crying. By the end, Dylan was crying his heart out, and Tristan remained motionless, just holding her in his arms, afraid that if he moved, he might irritate her.However, the increasingly gloomy sky forced him to speak. "We've got to get out of here, Dylan," he whispered softly in her ear. "Don't worry, we can't get very far."

As soon as his arm let go of her, Dylan felt the heat of being close to him disappear in an instant.She started shaking again, but luckily she didn't cry this time.She struggled to get up, but her legs gave way and her arms gave way.All the energy she had accumulated had been exhausted when she was on the brink of death just now, and she didn't want to work on her tired limbs anymore.All she could think about now was that she would lose him tomorrow.For her, it would be better to lie here and let those demons come and catch them. The pain in the body can relieve the pain in the heart.

Tristan had already got up, and he stretched out his hand to hook Dylan's armpit, and she was pulled up easily as if she was in a weightless state. Tristan put her right arm around his shoulder, his left around her waist, and half-pulled, half-backed her and led her away from the small lake and onto the narrow dirt road that led to the safehouse. Seeing that Dylan was so cold that his teeth were chattering, Tristan hurriedly said, "I'll make a fire to warm you up later." Dylan could only nod numbly, but the cold is now just an insignificant, insignificant little thing. Trouble, she hardly cared.

The door of the hut was old, and the wood had swollen and warped from being next to the wet lake, and it fit tightly into the straight wood on either side of the door frame.Tristan couldn't let go, so he let her open the door.Dylan collapsed against the wall, eyes fixed on the ground.Tristan twisted the doorknob and slammed his shoulder against it.The wooden door began to creak and creak, and finally managed to open a crack, and Tristan stumbled into the room.Dylan sat still, and going in would mark the beginning of their last night together, the prelude to parting.At this time, she vaguely heard a high-pitched howl coming from her left side, but this time she was not afraid at all.

Tristan was lighting a fire in the house when he heard the cry too.He turned around to check on Dylan, and found that she hadn't followed him through the door for the first time. "Dylan?" he called, but she didn't answer.The dead silence really made the hairs on Tristan's arms stand on end.He strode to the door of the house, and she was still leaning against the stone wall, her deep eyes staring at the nothingness in front of her. "Come on," he said, bending his knees a little, looking directly into her eyes.The focus of Dylan's eyes remained the same, and Dylan didn't notice him until he reached out and took her hand.She stared at Tristan's face, and he could see the sadness written all over Dylan's face.He tried to put on a reassuring smile, but the muscles in his face seemed to have forgotten how to smile, and the mouth moved in a forced way.

He took her hand gently, and she followed silently into the house. After Tristan led her into the house, he seated her in the only chair that had been set before the fire.As soon as he closed the door, the cabin warmed up immediately.He glanced back at the fire and stared in amazement at Dylan's petite figure.Her legs are close together, her hands are slightly crossed on her knees, and her head is hanging down, as if she is sleeping or praying.Watching her was like looking at those empty skins in nursing homes waiting to die.He didn't want to see her so lonely, so he came to accompany her.There were no more seats, so he sat cross-legged on a ragged rug in front of the fireplace.He looked at her, wanting to say something to break the dullness, make her laugh again.What can I say?

"I can't." She murmured to herself, looking up at him with warm and terrified eyes. "What do you mean?" His voice was only slightly over the crackle of the fire.He was shouting in his heart, stop talking like this, just perfunctory her.He could neither cope with her pain nor his own.But she had to speak out about her pain, so he still listened. "I-I can't do it by myself. I'd be terrified if it was me doing this journey or anything else. I...I need you." That last line is the hardest to say , but it is absolutely true.Dylan had accepted her own death with such peace that even she was surprised.Thinking of her relatives and friends who are still in the world, she is only slightly sad.Since she was going to go on this road, naturally they would come one day, and she would meet them again.But Tristan will leave her tomorrow and disappear from her life.He would meet the next soul again, and even if he could still think of her, she would soon become his distant memory.She'd made him tell stories of other souls, and she'd seen his face twitch slightly as he tried to recall events so long past they were all but forgotten.He had guided so many souls, and no face impressed him more than any other.She couldn't bear that her face would eventually become blurred in his memory, absolutely not, he had become the most important person in her life. No, she didn't want to make the final journey.She would not and could not leave him alone. "Can't I just stay here with you?" she asked timidly, not having much hope in her voice. He shook his head, and Dylan's eyes drooped, trying to hold back more tears.She had to figure out, was it impossible, or did he not want him?But what if she doesn't get the answers she wants? "No!" He struggled to get the words out of his mouth, "If you stay here, the demons will eventually catch you as prey." He pointed out the window and said, " Too dangerous." "Is this the only reason?" If he hadn't seen the movement of her lips, he wouldn't be sure if she said anything, her voice was very soft.However, although it was only whispered, it poured into his ears like a flood, condensed in his mind, and made his heart freeze.Now was the time to tell her he didn't care about her and make sure she understood what he meant.It would have been easier for her to embark on that final journey if she knew she would leave without regret. His hesitation made Dylan look up at him, blue eyes ready to take the pain, and she clenched her teeth to keep her jaw from trembling.She looked so vulnerable, as if a harsh word could knock her down.His determination just now was shaken again, he couldn't hurt her like this. "Yes." he replied.He put his arms around her waist and let her sit on the broken carpet with him.He folded his palms and lightly brushed the smooth skin of her cheeks with his thumbs.Under his touch, her cheeks became warm and flushed slightly. "You can't stay here, though I'd like you to stay." "Do you want me to stay?" Hope began to grow back, and her face showed joy.What the hell is he doing?He shouldn't have given her hope now, and he knew he'd have to take it away again eventually.He shouldn't, but there's nothing he can do about it.Tristan recalled the faces she had shown him—the feeling of lingering fear and relief when she walked out of the tunnel entrance, the disgust and distaste on her face when she was forced to walk the mountain road for a day during the day, and sleeping in the dilapidated house every night. Complaining, the anger when he was ridiculed, the embarrassment when he got stuck in the mud, the joy and relief when he came back after waking up.He smiled at every remembrance, and he kept them all in his mind, to comfort himself when she was gone and there would be no more joy. "Let's put it this way, I like you more and more now." He said with a smile, still immersed in the memories just now.But she couldn't laugh, she still had something to do, and she was in a mess, "But tomorrow you have to go on, that's where you belong. Dylan, that's where you should be." "Tristan, I can't, I can't do it alone," she begged. He sighed. "Then... I'll be with you, all the way." He said. "You promise?" she asked immediately, eager to trap him with words.He looked directly into her eyes and nodded.For a moment she looked confused. "You seem to have said that you can't go together." "I shouldn't, but for you, I would." Dylan looked at him, reached out to hold his hand, and pressed it to his face. "You swear? You swear you won't leave me?" she begged. "I swear." Dylan smiled tentatively at Tristan.Her hand was still holding Tristan's, and a heat came from her hand, and he felt it in his bones.As soon as she let go, the warmth disappeared in an instant. But she stretched out her hand again, her fingers lingering just a few centimeters from his cheek.While waiting for her to touch him, the skin on his chin felt numb.But she still had a look of hesitation, as if she didn't dare to go one step further.He tilted the corner of his mouth to the right, showing an encouraging smile. Dylan's heart was beating wildly in his chest, coming and going, then stopping completely for a split second.Her raised arm was sore and painful, but even more uncomfortable than this dull pain was the tingling sensation from her fingertips that was close to pain.The only way to relieve it was to stroke Tristan's cheeks, his forehead and his lips.But she was still uneasy. She had never touched him like this before. She saw him smile, and her fingers moved involuntarily as if they were attracted by a magnet.She moved her hand against his, feeling the changes in the muscles on his face when he clenched his teeth and relaxed them. His lake-blue eyes were too bright compared to the soft light in the room, but they were reassuring.That gaze seemed to have a hypnotic effect on Dylan. Her gaze was like a moth to a flame, and there was no way to leave him.Tristan reached out and clasped her hand, letting it rest on his cheek... Four seconds, five seconds, six seconds, Dylan suddenly took a quick breath, completely unaware that he had been holding his breath just now. The spell seemed to be broken.Tristan stepped back only a centimeter or so, still holding Dylan's hand.His eyes were still warm, and instead of letting go of Dylan, he led her hand to his mouth, leaving a light kiss on the soft skin of her knuckles.After that, neither of them said anything more, and both of them were intoxicated in the atmosphere of being silent but affectionately dependent on each other.Dylan wanted to slow down time and savor every moment of the present moment. However, even if she tried her best, hiding time was like using a tissue to resist a hurricane, and time still passed at an alarming speed.She could hardly believe it when the twilight of morning light began to filter in through the windows.The fire had been out for a long time, but it had done its job, drying Dylan's clothes and warming her frozen body.They continued to stare at the fireplace, at the dark gray logs smoking. After a whole night, Tristan seemed to be a different person, with his arms around her shoulders, cuddling tightly with her, caring for her carefully.Their backs were to the window, and the morning light was falling on their shoulders and illuminating the back wall.Cracked yellow paint on the walls and an old painting, dusty and illegible, gradually emerged.Although the two saw all this in their eyes, they remained motionless. Finally, the sunlight came in through the window, and the dust flying in the air shone golden in the sunlight.Tristan moved first.He is unwilling to face today. Thinking of the promise he made to Dylan last night, his stomach couldn't help churning.At this moment, in his mind, possible situations, rational choices, and personal emotions are competing with each other.At this time, Dylan was surprisingly calm.She had spent most of the night yesterday anticipating all kinds of situations that might arise today, and finally she found that she had no better way than to take the last step and live with the situation.Tristan would be with her, and that was enough.As long as he is by her side, she can bear everything.He would be by his side, he had promised her.