When we both fell into the water, Arthur chose to save me first. Because my sister was forever lost to that summer river. Afterward, both our families were drowning in grief and guilt. To repay the debt, my family took care of Arthur. And naturally, he and I ended up getting married. When we were fifty-eight, we went back to our hometown to pay respects to my sister. We stood by the very river that had swallowed her. Arthur suddenly pushed me away and jumped in. His dying words to me were: “Summer, if there is a next life, I will never save you.” It turned out that for all those years, he had never let go of the past. 1 Arthur violently shoved me away. My head slammed against the concrete bridge pier with a sickening crack. As my vision blurred, his last words echoed relentlessly in my mind. “Summer, if there is a next life, I will never save you...” Before I closed my eyes, I thought, If there is a next life, that would be for the best. When I opened my eyes again, the agonizing pain in my body had suddenly morphed into the suffocating panic of drowning. I kicked hard toward the surface, and immediately saw the silhouette of eighteen-year-old Arthur swimming desperately toward my sister. I froze for a split second, then swam after him. After the accident in my past life, I had taken swimming lessons and learned how to swim like a pro. Through hundreds of midnight nightmares, I wanted to save my sister more than anyone else. This time, I finally had the chance. Together, Arthur and I dragged my sister onto the riverbank. Water dripped relentlessly from our bodies. Arthur gasped for air and looked up. The moment his eyes locked onto mine, he completely froze. He instantly realized that I had come back, too. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he ultimately remained silent. He just crouched down, instinctively preparing to give my sister CPR. "Don't touch her!" I shoved him away forcefully, my voice hoarse but incredibly resolute. I remembered it all too clearly. In our past life, Arthur had saved me exactly like this. In a small, rural town in the 90s, gossip could drown a person faster than any river. Soon enough, rumors spread through the entire town. Eventually, pressured by both sets of parents, I dropped out of high school before even taking the SATs and married Arthur. This time, I absolutely would not let my sister be touched by him, causing her to walk the same doomed path I did. Besides, my sister didn't even like him. I dropped to my knees beside her and pressed my hands firmly against her chest. "Wake up! Autumn! Please... wake up!" Large, hot tears splashed onto her pale face. Finally, she coughed violently, expelling the river water, and opened her eyes. I hugged her tight, my entire body shaking with sobs. My sister, slowly regaining her strength, wrapped her arms around me. This wasn't a dream! I had actually saved her! The forty-year nightmare had finally ended in this very moment. We sat in the sun, waiting for our clothes to dry. Arthur sat silently a short distance away, his eyes fixed intensely on my sister. It wasn't until late afternoon that we finally headed home. When we reached our front porch, Arthur stopped. He avoided my gaze and spoke quietly to my sister: "Go inside and change quickly. Don't catch a cold." With that, he turned and walked away, never sparing me a single glance. When we got inside, Mom and Dad were terrified by my sister's pale face. "What happened? Why is Autumn so pale?" "It's nothing, Old Man Miller's dog jumped out and startled her," I lied quickly, forcing a light tone. "But I chased it away, it didn't bite her!" My parents shook their heads and sighed. "You! Always running wild! Hurry up, wash up, and go to bed!" Relieved, they turned and went back to their room. After they had gone to sleep, a soft knock came at the front door. 2 I opened the door. It was Arthur. He was holding a thermos of ginger tea. Seeing me, he looked a bit uncomfortable: "Ginger tea... give some to Autumn... to warm her up." He paused, then reluctantly added, "You should have some, too." I took it and thanked him. Just as I was about to close the door, he reached out and stopped it. "Summer," Arthur's voice was tight, his Adam's apple bobbing. "You came back too, didn't you?" As if he had made up his mind, he spoke faster: "Summer, you know I’ve always liked Autumn. What happened in our past life was a mistake! I only saved you because you were closer!" "Forget it ever happened. Don't come bothering me, okay?" Arthur rushed through the words, as if pausing for even a second would mean I’d latch onto him forever. From eighteen to fifty-eight, these words had been buried in his heart for decades. And now, he had finally said them out loud. "Okay." I looked at him, my heart surprisingly calm. "Arthur, you know I've never been into guys like you anyway." A flash of stun crossed his face, but he eventually nodded. "Good." 3 I took the warm thermos of ginger tea back to our room. My sister had already changed into clean pajamas and was drying her hair with a towel. Hearing me come in, she immediately looked up and asked: "Who was at the door? Was it Arthur?" I paused for a moment before setting the thermos on the desk. "Yeah. He brought this ginger tea. Said it’s to warm you up." The corners of my sister's mouth unconsciously curved upward; she was clearly very happy. She cupped the mug, taking small sips, the steam rising and softening her features. I hesitated, but still asked softly, "Autumn, are you still going to reject him?" The reason we had gone down to the river in the first place was because Arthur had asked her to meet him. He had planned to confess his feelings to her. But because my sister didn't like him—or so she claimed—she dragged me along. Arthur probably didn't know that my sister had caught onto his feelings a long time ago. When you like someone, you can't hide it in your eyes. However, no one knew that I used to have a crush on Arthur, too. He was handsome, smart, and gentle. And because he liked my sister, he was especially nice to me by extension. Every day after school, he would wait for us outside my classroom and help me with my homework. When we were little, our parents were always busy and rarely had time to look after us. Once my sister reached school age, they told her to take care of me. I wasn't as pretty as she was, and I certainly wasn't as smart. Whenever Arthur saw my grades, he would always laugh and call me dense. "You can't even solve a simple problem like this, Summer. How are you ever going to get into college?" I would get annoyed when he called me dense, but at the same time, I thought his smile was so gentle and handsome. A teenage girl's crush is always hidden in those unspeakable, quiet moments. But the one he liked was my sister. So I buried those feelings deep, deep down inside. I never imagined that we would end up getting married because of my sister's death. I had imagined a thousand different futures with him. But I never imagined it would be at the cost of my sister's life. That was never the ending I wanted. And it certainly wasn't the ending Arthur wanted. With a lost life standing between us, our hearts could never get close. Those hidden feelings never made a single ripple in the stagnant water of our decades-long marriage. Maybe Arthur genuinely never noticed my feelings, or maybe he just pretended not to see them. Until I realized that he had never, ever let go of my sister. Back then, I often wished we could just go back to the past. And now, we actually had. We all had the chance to change our futures. 4 "Summer." My sister put down her mug, her tone carrying a hint of shyness: "Actually, I think... Arthur is a pretty good guy." She turned to look at me. "Why don't I give it a shot with him?" She paused, then asked softly, her eyes carefully watching my face: "Summer, are you... are you going to be mad?" My heart jolted like I'd been struck by lightning. Seeing that cautious look in her eyes, I finally understood. She had known all along. She knew I liked Arthur. That was why, in our past life, she insisted on dragging me to the river. It wasn't because she was nervous. She wanted to speak up for me, to confess my feelings to him. She went there for me. And she died because of me. My nose stung. I forced down the surging emotions and intentionally raised my voice: "Autumn Vance! What are you talking about? Why would I be mad?!" I forced a laugh, keeping my tone as light as possible: "You know I'm totally over guys like Arthur now." The gentleness and care Arthur possessed were reserved only for my sister. I had stopped liking him a long time ago. That youthful flutter had long been ground down by the passage of time. Now, I finally had the chance to walk a path that truly belonged to me. I would never have to sit in a lifeless house day after day. Waiting for a man who didn't love me. 5 The next day, my sister and Arthur made it official. I climbed up into the branches of the huge oak tree at the edge of town to cool off. Below the tree, their laughter mixed with the sound of cicadas and drifted up to my ears. All summer, I quietly played their cover, and at the same time, I cracked open textbooks I hadn't touched in ages. In this life, I wouldn't have to drop out and get married. I was going to take the SATs and go to college. My grades were average; my only option was to work my ass off. When September rolled around, we started our senior year. My sister and Arthur were taking AP Science classes, while I was stuck in the standard Humanities track. I was in a different homeroom than they were. After school, the two of them showed up outside my classroom right on time. "Summer, let's go home." Arthur had my sister's backpack slung over his shoulder. They both looked at me expectantly. I turned them down. "Autumn, you guys go ahead. I signed up for evening study hall." My sister was stunned. "Since when? Why didn't you tell me?" "My grades aren't great, and if I want to get into a good college, I need to spend more time studying. I already told Mom and Dad. You guys go." I didn't even look up, my brow furrowed over the math worksheet in front of me. "But..." My sister wanted to say more, but Arthur's face suddenly darkened. He grabbed her hand and turned away. "Let her be! Let her do whatever she wants! Let's go!" The two of them walked away. I went back to burying my head in my math problems, only to hear a scoff from the desk behind me: "Heh. Interesting." It was Cole Harrison. Cole had transferred from a big city prep school during the second semester of our junior year. Every day in class, he was either sleeping or reading comic books. He basically looked down his nose at everyone. He didn't get along with anyone. I had certainly never spoken to him. I only knew his name because of my sister. I didn't care what he meant by his comment. My time was more precious than anyone's. I didn't want to waste a single second. The old ceiling fan rattled and squeaked above me as I kept working on my math problems. That night, I walked home alone, carrying a flashlight. From the school to our house, there was a long, steep hill. I was slightly out of breath, quietly reciting history facts to myself. The night air was hot and sticky, but my steps had never felt so light. Until I saw Arthur standing near the entrance to our alleyway. He was clearly waiting for me. "Summer, you didn't have to stay late just to avoid me." He frowned at me, his voice low and serious: "It's not safe for a girl to walk alone at night. Stop throwing a tantrum and start walking home with us tomorrow." I looked at his face, at that expression that seemed to say he had me all figured out, and I just found it hilarious. "You think I'm avoiding you?" "Aren't you? Ever since Autumn and I got together, you've been deliberately distancing yourself from me." He took a deep breath, as if he were tolerating a child. "If you want to study, we can help you. There's no need to act out like this." "If something happens to you, Autumn will be worried." He thought I was putting on a show. He thought my distance, my studying—it was all just a ploy to get his attention. "Arthur," I stopped and looked him dead in the eye. "Do you really think everything I do revolves around you?" He was momentarily speechless. I continued, "I don't like you. I genuinely don't like you anymore." "I'm staying for evening study hall for myself, and I'm going to college for myself! You flatter yourself way too much." His face darkened, and his tone hardened: "Summer, do you really have to speak to me like that?" "You're the one who blocked my path and started spouting narcissistic nonsense." Combining both my lives, this was the first time I had ever openly fought with him. We stood there, glaring at each other in the muggy night wind. After a few seconds, he suddenly let out a short, cynical laugh. "Summer, you really think you can get into a good college? We'll see about that! Don't come begging me to tutor you when you fail." Arthur threw those words at me and stormed off. I turned and walked toward my front door, but as I looked up, my heart skipped a beat. My sister was standing quietly in front of the house. I had no idea how long she had been watching. She took my backpack from me, stayed silent for a moment, and then spoke softly: "Summer, since you want to get into college that badly..." "Why don't you move into the school dorms?"
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