My beautiful blue butterfly

Chapter four : The Heart Remembers

Years had passed since Hario had last thought of Iohan in the same way he once did. Time had dulled the sharp edges of his memories, and the seasons of longing had faded into a quiet acceptance. He had moved forward with his life, content with the peace that forgetting had brought him. But as with all things buried deep, the past has a way of resurfacing when least expected.

It was during a mild summer, the air thick with warmth and the sound of cicadas, when Hario first heard the news. He had been at the market, speaking casually with an old acquaintance, when Iohan's name came up. At first, it felt like a distant echo, a name from a time he had nearly forgotten. But then the words that followed cut through him like a cold blade: Iohan had been left by her fiancé. Worse still, she had lost her only son.

The words hung in the air, heavier than the summer heat. Hario’s heart raced, a flood of emotions rising within him—shock, sorrow, and an overwhelming urge to see her, to comfort her. But it was the next words that froze him in place: *She doesn’t know him anymore.

It had been years since they had last seen one another, years since their lives had briefly intersected in a way that had meant so much to him and perhaps so little to her. The Iohan he had once known was no longer the same woman, and the Hario she had briefly known was, it seemed, nothing but a shadow of a forgotten past. Yet here he was, standing in the midst of a busy market, feeling the weight of her sorrow as if it were his own.

For days after hearing the news, Hario found himself lost in thought. The woman he had once loved from afar, the one he had watched with quiet admiration, had suffered deeply. He remembered the strength she had always carried, the way she moved through life with purpose, so focused on her work that she had barely noticed him. He had watched her for so long, his heart full of feelings she never knew existed. And now, she was lost in a world of pain that he could do nothing to heal.

He tried to push the thoughts away, to remind himself that their time had passed, that he had moved on. But something within him stirred, pulling him back to those early days when the sight of her dark brown hair had been enough to light up his world. He remembered their first meeting, how he had felt an instant connection even though she had only seen him as a friend. He had hoped, back then, that maybe one day things would be different. But that day had never come.

And now, she didn’t even remember him.

It was a cruel twist of fate, to know that the woman who had once occupied so much space in his heart now carried no memory of him at all. She had faced heartbreak, the loss of a child, and the abandonment of a man who had promised her a future. And yet, she was a stranger to him once more.

The rain began to fall that evening, a soft and steady drizzle that blurred the world outside Hario’s window. He stood there, staring out at the gray skies, his mind drifting back to Iohan. He wondered where she was, how she was coping with her grief. Did she still walk with the same determination, or had life worn her down in ways he could never imagine? The thought of her in pain, alone, made his chest tighten.

He didn’t know if he should reach out. After all, what could he say? They had never been close, and even if he had once loved her from afar, it had always been one-sided. Now, after all this time, could he offer her any comfort at all? Would she even recognize him if they crossed paths?

But deep down, Hario knew that it didn’t matter. Whether she knew him or not, whether she remembered their brief encounters, his heart still held space for her. He had thought he had forgotten, thought that time had erased the hold she had over him. But hearing her name again, knowing the sorrow she was enduring, had stirred something inside him that could not be ignored.

Iohan might not remember him, but he would always remember her—his beautiful blue butterfly, now caught in a storm she had never deserved.

As the rain fell harder, Hario whispered a silent prayer for her, hoping that somewhere, somehow, she would find peace again.