Chapter 318 - Home
After the rather exciting drama that had ensued, the rest of the train ride was rather boring. Nothing else happened (unless you want to count the number of girls that kept coming by the get to know them ... ok, fine: get to know Kyle).
Thank goodness.
Well, other than having to fend off the girls once in a while, that is.
Little Kyle was getting out of his shell slowly, and it was a wonder to see. Without the danger of Cornelius looming over his head, the natural curiosity of a child started to shine through. Xing Han was just amazed at the amount of questions that came out of that little mouth ... and how patient Kyle was in explaining everything.
It wasn't the typical 'why' questions either.
He'd ask how the train moved. How did Kyle train to notice things as detailed as he did when he told the guys on the phone? When did Kyle learn Mandarin? What did he do to be able to be so fluent in it? And so forth, and so forth.
Xing Han was getting dizzy just listening to him.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, Little Kyle stoped with the questions. Well, that's because he was so tired out that he fell asleep. Xing Han watched as Kyle was looking at Little Kyle tenderly, brushing his hair aside and pulling up the blankets.
For the first time, he wondered what it must be like for Kyle. To reincarnate was already mind-boggling. To remember your past and not being able to be a part of that past ... how much pain was he truly under?
Xing Han wanted to ask, but held himself back.
Ever since he knew of Kyle's greatest secret, he noticed the little things that he had either missed or taken for granted as being 'normal'. The way Kyle bonded with Dahlia, for example. Xing Han had just taken it to be Kyle being, well, Kyle. The charming and likable boy that would make anyone become close to.
Yet now, when he looked at how Kyle was treating Little Kyle, Xing Han imagined a little 'mother halo' above him that added on to the charming factor. It was an innate aspect of Kyle that children gravitated towards. The tender looks, the gentle touch: all of that was from him being a mother in his past life.
It was a revelation for Xing Han and he was quiet as he looked at Kyle, who looked lost in thought. Knowing Kyle's secret made him feel even closer to Kyle, something that he never thought possible. He thought he had already reached the 'pinnacle of closeness', so to speak.
Xing Han found that laughable now.
People change, people evolve and no matter what, the bond that they had would only grow stronger. So he envisioned that they'd be even closer than ever. It may not be as close as how Kyle was to Kay, but Xing Han felt it was close enough.
The thing about bonds that is that close is that ... there is a flip side. As happy as you are when together, the grief that assails you when apart is higher. So long as the status quo remains the same, there is not a problem but people grow. People have their own lives and will live their lives differently. If one doesn't learn to adapt to the changes, one can fall.
Of course, at that moment, Xing Han never thought about all of that. Even if he did, he would scoff at it for he truly was confident that nothing could ever happen that would threaten their friendship or bond.
Yet, Xing Han forgot one crucial thing. The only constant thing in life is change - and there are no absolutes. Little did he know, that there was going to be a crisis that happened between them in the near future ... three years to be exact ... that shook the foundation of the entire Elite Five.*
But for now, things were happy. Life was good.
? ? ? ?
Kyle, Little Kyle and Xing Han were waiting for the train to stop. Finally, they have reached their destination.
Home.
Little Kyle watched with interest at Kyle, who was practically brimming with excitement. Little Kyle could imagine seeing these little sparks of energy coming out of Big Brother Kyle. He wondered what was going on.
"Kyle, calm down," Xing Han said with a laugh, "Will be reaching soon. I suppose from now on, you're going to take a flight after all?"
Xing Han thought Kyle's excitement was him being happy at finally reaching his destination and that the train ride had been too long. Whilst he was correct on the former, he wasn't on the latter.
"No, the train ride was fine," Kyle said, peering out the window, his face practically stuck on it like how Little Kyle had been when the drone went out, "If it wasn't for the train ride this time, I wouldn't have met Kai, right?"
Little Kyle was also curious as to what Big Brother Kyle was looking out for, so he imitated Kyle. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he figured it didn't matter.
His little eyes darted left and right at the passing scene, his hands stuck to the window as he concentrated. As the train slowed down, his eyes fell on one particular figure that was getting closer and closer as the train went on.
She stood out amongst the crowd, and in his clear, innocent eyes, she looked like an Angel. Literally. The sun just happened to shine through the clouds just at that moment, and it hit her squarely as if she was in the spotlight.
"Whoooaaaa," Little Kyle breathed out in amazement, mesmerized.
Kyle shot up in the seat, pushing Xing Han aside and lifted Little Kyle that seemed stuck to the window. Little Kyle was feeling a bit sad as he could no longer see the Angel and he pouted.
Why couldn't Big Brother Kyle just wait until the train stopped, at least? Then he could have continued watching until then. Aggrieved, he just sat in Kyle's arm with his little arms crossed against his chest.