NEW LIFE : A SECOND CHANCE

Xing Han watched as the kids kept hugging her legs until she crouched down. They then hugged her neck, kissing each side of her cheeks. She reciprocated by kissing them as well, starting with the elder son then her younger daughter.

She snuggled her face onto their cheeks and gave rapid kisses, eliciting excited giggles from both of them. The elder boy didn't even look embarrassed at such a public display of affection and he grinned openly.

Even from that distance, Xing Han could see the adoring look on their faces as they looked at their mother.

The boy, Joseph, had this really adorable face, which was beaming with a huge smile that his eyes seem to have almost disappeared. The girl, Lianne, had such a beautiful mass of curly hair framing a cherubic and angelic face that Xing Han wanted to go over and pinch her cheeks.

They were truly very beautiful children.

He continued to watch as Kylie got up, a huge loving smile on her face as she took their bags and carried them. They grabbed her sleeves, one on each side and walked towards their car that was parked nearby.

Xing Han could see how both of them were chatting away happily as they both wanted their mother's attention. She made sure the kids were in the car first, putting on their seatbelts and placing their schoolbags in the car before getting in.

The entire scene was so beautiful, too. The love between the mother and children were so plain to see.

Xing Han's heart clenched at that and he turned slowly to look at Kyle, who had been silent the entire time as well.

From the side, he could see Kyle's Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he seemed to be continuously swallowing. His lips were so pale, probably due to him biting it so hard that the blood had long stopped flowing there.

Tears were streaking down his cheeks, yet he made no noise nor make any move to wipe them away. It was as if he was afraid that if he was to wipe his eyes, he would be missing a second of watching his kids.

Without a word, Xing Han hugged Kyle from behind.

Kyle didn't move at first, as he continued to watch until the car was out of sight. Finally, when he could no longer see them, he turned held onto Xing Han's arms that were around his waist. Xing Han went to the front and hugged him tightly.

Kyle placed his head on Xing Han's shoulder, sobbing silently. Xing Han held him tight, his own eyes also wet with tears as he rubbed Kyle's back until those shoulders stopped heaving.

Finally, when Kyle got himself under control, he sniffed and stood back. Seeing his beloved BFF's face also wet with tears, he shook his head and laughed a bit under his breath. He wiped the tears off Xing Han's face and took a deep breath.

"Feeling better?" Xing Han asked, as he sniffed and used his sleeves to wipe his eyes.

Kyle took a long, deep breath, "I guess."

Kyle looked longingly at the school, the place devoid of anyone now. He could have gone into Zen mode the moment the grief hit him, but he didn't want that. Suppressing his emotions too much couldn't be good.

After all, he had been doing that for the past 15 years, and it just boiled over and erupted at that moment. Seeing their faces just made it all so bittersweet. His heart felt like it was literally breaking, and he actually felt pain right in his chest as he watched his kids.

How he missed them.

His emotions were still in turmoil, but he was handling it.

He had cried most of the grief away, and he wanted nothing more than to just be by himself. However, he knew that was not good as he could get lost in his dark thoughts, so he let Xing Han lead him away.

Xing Han brought him to a mamak store,* one that Kyle had brought him to before. Plopping the zombie-like Kyle, he ordered instant noodle 'special' i.e. a bowl of hot piping instant noodles with vegetables and a raw egg dropped into the hot soup (thus, making it half-cooked).

Comfort food.

Slowly, Kyle became a bit more human as he listened to Xing Han chatting away unreservedly, laughing and joking. Kyle smiled, thinking about how truly lucky he was to have Xing Han in his life.

"I have to ask you this," Xing Han said to Kyle as they were eating, "Your kids ... they look like they're kinda ... "

"Yes," Kyle answered, knowing what Xing Han was getting at, "My husband's surname is Yang."

"Wow. Really?" Xing Han mused, "So is that why you're so proficient in my culture and such?"

Kyle shrugged, "Yeah, though I never learned the language."

Taking a deep breath, Xing Han ventured on, "About your kids ... well, you said you won't initiate any contact until your first death. So what are your plans for them?"

Kyle played with the fork on the table, twirling it around in his hands and flipping it around before answering, "I'll slowly get into their lives. I plan to offer them a scholarship. Use my death as a reason for why a kid like me would do so - that is, I felt pity for two young kids for having lost their mother."

"I want to continue supporting them, and in ways, I couldn't before." Kyle continued, "I've opened up Swiss bank accounts for them, and made some investments in their name. Passive income, which earns them a million a year. It's managed on trust and they'll be given an income when they are of age."

"Wow," Xing Han whistled softly, "So you've basically set them up for life already."

"Yeah," Kyle said, "So they don't really need to work. They have the freedom to do whatever they want."

"Not like us."