My name is :: Syusaki, Ren, Kang Ling Deng
I was referred by :: n/a
This is my Story :: Ren had always been and always will be a romantic at heart. She doesn’t know how to read, but she always begs Lin to tell her stories of a girl and boy who fall in love despite the circumstance. Lin faithfully paints a picture of their hardships, but also their everlasting love. Even when there is only a thin thread of hope left, Ren clings to it like a lifeline until her older sister finally finishes with an ending that makes the child place a hand over her heart and sigh contently. “I love happy endings,” Ren breathes, “I hope I can find someone to love like that someday.”
Lin can only chuckle as she pats the child on the head. Thin fingers worn from farm work slide through Ren’s silky hair. “I’m sure you will. You just need to be a good little girl and be patient.”
The younger girl giggles as she hugs her legs until they are pressed to her chest. “I will!”
She watches her sister live out what appears to be a fairy tale dream as Lin falls in love with a rich boy. Ren is convinced that after all of the hardships, the two will pull through. She has no qualms about scurrying across town in order to carry their letters to each other. The girl suffers a few lashes from the boy’s guards, but she will bear through anything to see a happy ending, especially her sister’s.
One day, Lin assists Ren in bandaging her head after a particularly harsh scolding from the guard. Ren hums as she clings to her ragged doll while Lin brushes tender fingers over her forehead. The child pays little heed to the worried turn of her sister’s lips or the conflicted light in her dark brown eyes. She can only gush, “I know you two will make it through this! You’re going to get married and live in a big house and…” Lin is silent at first, but Ren keeps rambling on and on as she conjures wild stories of the couple’s adventures together. The older girl smiles weakly as she continues to patch up her sibling’s wounds. She barely nods in agreement.
Later that week, Lin tucks in Ren. Ren’s light brown eyes are glowing with anticipation as she whispers so as not to disturb their parents next door, “Are you going to meet Jin tonight? Like in his letter?” The child turns her head toward the pale yellow envelope abandoned on the nightstand.
Pale lips are pressed together as Lin considers her reply and picks her words carefully. “No, not tonight.”
The answer evokes an immediate frown out of the child and she pushes herself up into a sitting position. “Why?”
She can see Lin knit her brows before turning away. Her sister’s voice is soft. “It simply wasn’t meant to be, that’s all.”
“No!” Ren’s voice rises as she pushes away the covers and jumps out of big to wrap her tiny arms around her sister’s waist. “No, you two are perfect together. Jin’s parents will see how kind you are and then you’ll marry him and wear beautiful silk dresses and—“
Lin shushes her by placing a finger to her sister’s lips. “No, Ren. They won’t.” She smiles, a mixture of reassurance and pain. “A farmer’s girl like me was never meant to marry a noble like him. It’ll never happen.” The woman hums a soothing song to quell the tears pooling in Ren’s eyes. “I’ll find another boy who I’ll love just as much. You’ll see.” She can feel her sister shaking her head no as she buries her face in Lin’s dress. Lin’s fingers run through the child’s hair like she always does—slowly, carefully, undoing the tiny knots.
Ren delivers one last letter from Lin to Jin. She can see the disappointment spread across his face as he takes the envelope with apprehension. He murmurs a small ‘thank you,’ different from the usual jovial tone he used to give her when she arrived. The girl wants to reach for the older boy’s hand, but as she spots the familiar helmet of his guard, Ren flees into the safety of the crowd of villagers bustling through the streets.
That same night she notices Lin as slipped out and Ren chooses to follow. Her bare feet brush against the dirt paths before she settles behind an empty street stall. She can clearly see two figures in the moonlight—Jin and Lin.
Jin’s back is to Lin and Ren, but his voice is somber and clear. “So this is it.”
Lin hesitates. “Yes.”
He lifts his head to look at the stars peppering the black sky. “My father is sending me to the city, first thing in the morning. I’m supposed to attend a school there.”
“Yes.” Lin looks down at her twiddling fingers.
“We could elope, you know.”
She laughs quietly. “Your father would hunt us down easily.”
What little fire was in Jin has disappeared, snuffed out by Lin’s cool, cynical reply. “You’re right.” He admits defeat as he turns around, but strides toward Lin. “Just…let me give you one more thing before I leave.”
Ren peeks out from her hiding spot so she can catch a glint of silver as Jin slides a ring onto Lin’s finger. She can even see the tiny flower on the band.
“Forget me not.”
Tears are welling in her eyes when she turns away and runs back home. Yes, this is it. Lin is never getting her happy ending and she is never getting her Prince Charming. She’ll never see her sister smile the way she did with Jin. She’ll only ever see the wistful gleam in Lin’s eyes as she idly twists the ring on her finger.
Lin, Ren thinks,
don’t ever forget. 
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