A parting message from the waves

The year 2018 was the tender dawn of the path wherein my heart began to chase after him, though in truth, it was not a complete chase, but rather to linger softly behind, observing my very own 'blue whale' from the depths of my devotion. In the month of May, when we first met, my heart was solely preoccupied with a friend from earlier days, for I felt an awkward shyness, struggling to connect with the new faces at the English learning center. Then, my only concern was whether I could effortlessly forge new bonds. Yet, as time unfurled its delicate wings, I slowly, gracefully, acquainted myself with the embrace of that academic haven, and the swift currents of a single course swept by, brimming with countless joys shared among friends. And then, there was him—a soul who etched himself deeply into my heart, for his tender 'youthful works' from that era had already carved their indelible mark upon the deepest recesses of my being. The very first time, it was that bothersome laser trick, as I was stepping into the center—a truly vexing play, for it stirred an irksome unease within me to cross its path, with that persistent light dancing before my eyes, much like a graceful cat suddenly confronted by an alien cucumber in its delicate stride. Yet, I gently navigated that playful 'ordeal' and ascended to the classroom. Upon entering, no surprise graced my gaze as two mischievous smiles, radiant with triumph, met my eyes, for they had successfully teased their companion. I was no stranger to such playful antics, for the boys in this class never wanted to cause gentle chaos, often being whisked away to the admissions office for whispered counsel. But, alas, these endearing souls scarcely altered their ways, merely escalating their playful mischief from the ordinary to the sublime. And he, too, was naught different, for one might truly say, he was a wondrous blend of mirth and tender vexation. The second time, my heart truly began to perceive his radiant presence was during the game of capture the flag. The class was brimming with vibrant energy then, yet exhaustion had claimed me, keeping me from joining the frolic. But you, my dear, dove into that game with such a fiercely joyful spirit, accompanied by your soul's closest confidante, Vick, the friend from Taiwan with whom I once shared laughter and lessons in our old class. Those two souls were interwoven from the very dawn of the term, affording me precious moments to exchange sweet words with you. This very day became etched in my memory, for while you played, a fellow classmate, Quan, inadvertently inflicted a tender injury on a most delicate spot, causing your dear face to blush crimson with pain. Oh, what a pitiful sight it was, though one must bravely embrace the sweet burdens of play. Everyone gathered to inquire about your tender well-being, and you were gracefully permitted to depart early that day. Though this was but a fleeting, almost imperceptible moment, it has somehow remained indelibly imprinted upon the fragile chambers of my mind, delving deep for nearly seven years. I simply haven't summoned the courage to share this tender tale with you, shy as I am to revisit another's intimate hurt. You also, I have observed with my adoring eyes, possess a deep fondness for sweet delights. Especially when the hours of learning begin, a cup of Toco, a bubble tea brand in Vietnam, will always, without fail, grace your presence. A whispered secret, revealed now: once, I clandestinely captured a moment as you so devotedly photographed your very own cup of milk tea, a meticulous passion so profound, no different from a child's rapt adoration upon discovering candy. Each new day unveiled a fresh cup, and once, you even extended a graceful invitation for me to partake, but alas, my heart did not yearn for such sugary bliss, and so, with a gentle touch, I declined. To speak more, for the third time etched into my memory, that fateful day when we unleashed mischief upon a dear companion: specifically, this friend merely sought passage into f*******:’s realm for some urgent matter, borrowing your sacred portal to enter. The outcome, as destiny would have it, was known to all; for with the restless vivacity of your soul, never would that sanctuary of a social presence be left undisturbed, and thus this unsuspecting companion turned to my own digital key for entry. Alas, another delicate thread of fate was unspooled! I, too, found myself ensnared in the web of complicity, for after our friends had concluded their affairs, they neglected to sever the digital ties. At first, my thoughts drifted, unburdened by such trifles, yet, it seems, in that tender moment, your innocent query, "Do you perchance still possess the keys to that domain?" softly awakened a dormant mischief within me. For then, the mischievous sprite within me, having wrestled control from the nascent threads of maturity, resolved to embark upon this venture with you, perusing the hallowed scrolls of their digital presence. In its tender genesis, our scheme merely envisioned transforming the digital backdrop of their domain into a homage to their secret adoration, a cherished image of their beloved; a flicker of amusement stirred within me, prompting the playful decision to adorn their very visage with an accompanying flourish, for completeness. Yet, in a strange cosmic dance, the image flickered and transformed two or three times, a whimsical ballet wrought by your simultaneous, unspoken participation. With our whimsical creation complete, I, in a gesture of nascent reverence for privacy, erased the digital footprint of our playful transgression. But alas, though two souls had conspired in this lighthearted mischief, only one, in the end, bore the gentle weight of consequence; none other than you, my dear 'you', the very soul most enmeshed in the web of suspicion woven by this 'childish folly'. This very day, that self-same companion sought out your presence, and there, amidst a quiet understanding, a resolution gently unfurled. This tale, now a whispered memory, was recently reawakened, for in a serendipitous twist of fate, you chanced upon this very friend once more, and their recounted words then reached my ears; a soft gasp of surprise escaped my lips, for the threads of destiny had woven such an intricate tapestry of coincidence. In that hallowed moment, I laid bare my heart, confessing my own complicity in the prank’s gentle unfolding, yet lamenting that you, and you alone, had shouldered the entirety of its fleeting burden. Yet, with a serene grace, you simply whispered that it mattered not, for the very seed of this escapade had been sown by your own hand, making your acceptance of the blame a light and natural thing. Truly, the blossoming of maturity casts a profound transformation upon the soul; for had your heart remained childish and untempered, surely you would have, with playful indignation, borne me to some imagined altar of consequence. The childish nature always wanting to be better than others led to several arguments between us during middle school because of your mischievous behavior, always messing with others. For instance, when you found out I liked a classmate, who was also your classmate, you went ahead and shared a photo, shouting that I had a crush on them. It was such childish behavior. There was a time I got so mad at you that I blocked you on Messenger, but somehow, after a few days, you still didn’t realize and messaged me on Zalo asking, “Is your Messenger acting up or something?” From that point on, I was too scared to block you again, fearing you would spam me with questions. Back then, being kids, we acted like other children, spreading rumors online, and you were the one who got the most attention. You would message someone and then post their message for everyone to see. Since we interacted a lot, whenever I posted something, it would immediately go viral, and you would see it and ask me about it. I would just mumble that it was a coincidence, trying to dodge the topic as much as possible, but you still remembered it all the way until tenth grade, using it to tease me about how I claimed to be nice. It’s incredible how you remember such trivial details! Time has flown by, and in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, causing students to take a break from school and switch to online learning. Coincidentally, it was also the day we had our final exam. Luckily, we had already formed a group to discuss and help each other with the material. It’s no surprise that I copied your answers to quickly get an 80, while you complained about how little that was. But to me, that score exceeded the goal I had set for myself. After that, we created many more groups with different names like VUS, Dien Dong Cung, and chatted about silly things in there. During this time, a friend of mine had a crush on Vick, and of course, you and I played matchmaker for them, getting bothered every day. But life is unpredictable; who knew that she would stop liking him, and he would end up liking her back? Despite our efforts to push them together, the pandemic hit. Vick moved back to Taiwan to continue his studies, and we didn’t talk anymore after 2020. Nevertheless, you kept in touch with Vick on i********: and once showed me his new haircut. In 2021, we entered the 8th grade. One time, while discussing high schools, I asked you about the school you were going to, and you said it was Mac Dinh Chi high school, because it was the closest to your house. Knowing this, I threw myself into studying, even though I hadn’t been that diligent before. At that moment, I gradually realized my feelings for you, which motivated me to study hard, sacrificing many fun outings to make it into the top 10 of the class. Naturally, during this period, I asked you for help with my studies many times, since you were the friend I had been messaging the longest and felt the most compatible with. After finishing 8th grade, we entered a crucial year. Everyone needed to study hard to get into a good school, and I was no exception. I was determined to study alongside you, and during this time, we messaged each other a lot, discussing everything from schoolwork to chatting about exam predictions and subjects like literature and math. By the end of the second semester, due to the different exam formats, we exchanged ideas about the questions from districts 6 and Binh Tan. You confidently predicted the topic would be "The ivory comb," but I suggested "Phuong Dinh", a character from Far Away Stars. After much back and forth, we both ended up being wrong. On the day of the entrance exam, you still insisted it would be about "little Thu", and we missed the mark again. Even later, I often teased you about it during a school play of "The ivory comb." After the exams, we discussed the results. You mentioned that you had almost completely missed "Early Autumn", a poem by Huu Thinh, due to our predictions being off, but despite that, your scores were still decent. The only issue was that you made a mistake in math, which brought your score down, but overall, you only lost to me by 0.25 points. With the 1-point bonus for being of Chinese descent, you ended up surpassing me by 1.25 points. When it came time to register for our classes, we talked about choosing between the natural sciences and social sciences. You joked about how studying social sciences would lead to becoming a "Pikachu waving," so we decided to go with the majority and chose the natural sciences track: Math, Physics, and Chemistry. As for the elective subject, you said you didn’t know which one to choose, so you decided to follow my lead and picked IT and Geography. I thought we would be in the same class, but fate had other plans, and we ended up two classes apart. On August 25, 2022, the day we started at the high school we chose, I asked an old friend from VUS to take a picture together. In reality, that was just an excuse to get a photo standing next to you. On the first day of school, I was surprised to see how much your hair and height had changed; you looked taller and more mature, giving off a vibe that was nothing short of a bad boy. That was also when I realized that my feelings for you had grown even stronger…