Imperfect Desires

Jackie coughed a little to break the intense stare between his two sisters. Internally, he was actually rolling his eyes at them. They had been best friends for years and they both had kids but still, they argued like this. There was no end to their bickering. No end for sure!

They were still the closest to each other. And they didn't even need a reason to come and bother the other person. It was like they knew the other person always had their doors and hearts open for them 24/7! They didn't need to think whether the other had the time or not.

However, whenever they met, there would be a war of words.

"Xiuuuu~" Nora dragged her voice. "I really do have a headache!"

Xiu knocked on her head saying, "Maybe you're finally about to grow a brain in this shell."

"Pfft!" Jackie couldn't help himself.

Nora rested her head back and closed her eyes, looking for some peace of mind. Since Nora didn't bother continuing, it showed that she really had a bad headache right now. Xiu placed her finger on her lips, indicating Jackie to stay silent while she went to the kitchen and brewed a cup of herbal tea for Nora.

Although Darren had survived his surgery all those years ago, he still had to suffer from sequela. He'd often get headaches and he wasn't able to do anything else when the headache came. It was because she was too distressed for him that she learned a lot of things to help him ease the pain a little.

Making all sorts of herbal and medicinal teas was a part of that as well. She had full faith in her herbal tea which she brought to Nora and asked her to try some.

Nora drank the hot tea and sighed out. But just like before, she still closed her eyes to rest right there. Xiu stood behind her and massaged her temples with the right pressure. It was so comfortable that Nora almost fell asleep. No, it'd be right to say that she did fall asleep and if it wasn't for the sound of crying that she heard, she'd have continued to sleep some more.

Nora opened her eyes and looked at Ashley who was hugging Xiu and crying hysterically. It was a heartbreaking kind of crying that even shook Nora's heart and woke her up instantly.

"What's going on?" she asked in concern.

Xiu was patting Ashley's back trying to comfort her as she gave a clueless look to Nora in response and told her, "I'm also asking the same question."

Ashley had recently started working and since her company was closer from here, Darren suggested she just stay with them. He also bought her an apartment near her company but he still insisted that she should come over for food when she isn't feeling like eating out. Because of that, Ashley was a frequent visitor here. 𝘧𝚛𝗲𝘦𝚠𝙚𝙗𝙣o𝙫𝗲𝚕.𝐜o𝓂

And just last night, Ashley had been looking so happy like she got the world but now, she was crying her heart out. Xiu was really confused by this turn of events. 𝒇𝘳𝐞𝚎𝓌𝑒𝑏𝒏𝑜𝙫ℯl.c𝚘𝒎

"Ash, if you won't even tell me what's wrong, how will I fix it?"

"You can't fix it," Ashley said through her hiccups.

"But I still need to know what's going on," stated Xiu. "Why don't you just say it to me first? Maybe I really can fix it."

"Yes, you should tell us what's up," Nora also added as she sat up straight. "Crying won't solve anything but talking might help. Trust me, we are very good at talking."

"All you do is talk," Jackie pointed out to his sister.

Nora glared at her brother, "Can't you for once stand on my side?"

"I've always been standing on your side," he replied. "You just never noticed."

"That sounded very romantic," said Nora. "But it doesn't work on me. Save it for your partner." Then she turned to Ashley and asked, "Did something happen at work? Did someone bully you? Or your boss screamed at you?" Seeing that she wasn't reacting, Nora added, "Or did someone break your heart?"

Ashley suddenly stopped crying as she stared at Nora.

"Bingo! It seems I hit the bull's eye," said Nora.

Xiu looked at Ashley as she said, "Is it really a heartbreak? Weren't you and your boyfriend going strong just until yesterday? You even told me you want to bring him home to meet Mama and Uncle Han."

"It's good that I didn't bring him," said Ashley as she rubbed her eyes to wipe her tears.

Jackie thoughtfully poured her a glass of water which she took and gulped down. She had been crying for a while now. She definitely needed that water. Especially when it was brought to her hands.

"Take it slow," said Jackie. "You can take your time explaining. No one is that impatient here."

"I am," said Nora.

Jackie put his hand on his sister's mouth, "No, you aren't." Then he lowered his voice and whispered, "Be a little considerate."

Xiu rubbed Ashley's back to soothe her as she said, "You can take all the time you need. Are you hungry? Dinner is not ready yet but I have some snacks here."

"I'd like to eat some," replied Ashley but she refused to let Xiu move away as she continued to hug her.

"Jackie," Xiu called out to her brother who instantly took the hint and went over to get the snacks.

Nora looked at how Ashley placed her head on Xiu's shoulder looking like a crybaby. She couldn't help smiling to herself at the thought of how Ashley seemed distant and formal when they first met her. And now, she had found her emotional pillar in Xiu. Time was an amusing thing and more so, the way it changed relationships.

Some relationships are broken apart by the tide of time and some end up becoming stronger by surviving that tide together.