After that day, something emotional was truly left inside Thanh Quang... It seemed he had rethought a lot after what Hạ Đan had shared with him, and he realized that he had completely misunderstood her before. He now felt quite guilty for having avoided her and making her sad, because it was clearly not her fault, but rather the fault of his own mistaken, overthinking thoughts.

Under the church lights at around nearly 7 PM, his eyes scanned around the crowd of people leaving the church to find her figure, but today he did not see her. He had intended to apologize to her today for his previous attitude, but he still could not find her: "I just saw her attending mass yesterday, why has she vanished without a trace today?" He muttered to himself while still waiting for the moment to catch her silhouette, but as he kept standing and waiting, his heart grew more and more restless with every passing second: "Don't tell me she didn't go today... Oh my god, Quang, you are so stupid." He spoke to himself as he began to ruffle his hair. He truly wanted to say sorry and at the same time open up to her, since she was someone who genuinely listened to him and genuinely wanted to be his friend. These lines of thought kept tormenting his mind; how could his life fall into such a mistake just because of a momentary foolishness.

Tomorrow he had to return to his home by the coast, which meant he would not be able to go to the church here, and also meant he would not be able to see her. His family had only come to visit his maternal grandmother this week, but today was the last day, yet he could not meet her to say a final word. He felt extremely frustrated: "But what if she hasn't finished praying yet? It's still not too late." A lonely hope flickered in his mind. He silently nodded and leaned against the lamp post to continue waiting, thinking about the explanations she told him yesterday while that book was inside the crossbody bag over her shoulder. But unfortunately, time kept passing, and Hạ Đan did not appear.

After that, he saw another familiar silhouette—it was Xuân An and Hải Đường walking out of the church. Without thinking twice, he immediately ran toward the two girls to ask about her: "Excuse me... did Hạ Đan not go to mass today?" "Oh, you know our friend? She just went back to her uncle's house this morning, it'll be about 3 weeks until she comes back up." "Huh?! 3 weeks..." "Is something wrong, senior?" "Ah, no... thank you very much..."

Thanh Quang had no choice but to walk back bitterly, his heart full of frustration and regret. He did not expect that yesterday was actually the last day they would see each other. Had he known, he would have spent more time with her. This time, he was completely doomed. ...

The sound of waves gently crashing against the white sandy shore, the sun gradually setting under the shadow of twilight. This scenery was truly beautiful; anyone who watched it would fall in love with it. Leaning near the window, Thanh Quang stared out at the sandbank near the small path leading to the shore, where wild bushes and weeds grew patchily on the sandy soil, and sometimes a few flowers hid behind the grass. The scene was quiet, with only the sound of waves reaching his ears.

He had returned home. But it seemed that it was not "home." Almost every day, he had to experience the suffocating feeling in this place—sad, bored, wanting to give up everything. They could not be spoken out; for some reason, his lips seemed to freeze every time he wanted to utter a word, as if these emotions were too overwhelming. His eyes darted down to the windowsill where a few small pebbles were left. Picking up a random one, he observed it, gripped it tightly, and then casually flung it forward; the pebble flew ahead. Sometimes it was an action to release the pent-up emotions in his heart, and sometimes it soothed him to some extent. Until...

"Ouch!" A loud cry echoed from nearby. He immediately poked his head out and looked through the window. Oh no, he had accidentally thrown a pebble right at someone's head! "Holy sh—" He quickly left his room, rushed down the stairs as fast as possible, and opened the door, running out to the path to the beach to apologize to the person he had just hit. Because running away was cowardly, so even if he got scolded or had a pebble thrown back at him, he would accept it: "Oh, I am truly sorry... I didn't think anyone would be walking by—" "It's you?? Thanh Quang!"

One shock after another, the person hit by the pebble was actually Hạ Đan! His eyes widened in astonishment, his heart a mixture of emotions upon seeing her right in front of him. First was guilt and shame for hurting someone, then came absolute joy when some miracle had brought her here: "H-Hạ Đan..?! I thought... wait, why are you here? This isn't your neighborhood? Ah, almost forgot, are you hurt? Are you okay?" Being questioned so rapidly made her flustered too, though she could still smile in physical pain but mental comfort. Đan rubbed the area between her shoulder and elbow, trying to soothe the sting: "I'm fine, it's just a bit stinging because it's a fresh wound, but I've had this before, it'll go away in a few dozen minutes." She rubbed it while smiling, while Quang's gaze was filled with worry about his own action. "Don't look at me like that, I'll be fine. And to answer why I'm here, that over there is my uncle's house. My parents drove me to his place to stay for a few weeks during the summer."

Then she smiled gently like a spring breeze, while she herself was very happy to meet him once again; she had also thought it would be hard to meet him a second time. "And my house is right here. When we met at the church, my family was visiting my grandmother, and now we are back home. Where is your uncle's house?" "Right over there, just pass those rows of fences, the house painted blue with a swing. It's beautiful and comfortable, and this year I get to play with my cousin too, so I've been happy from the start. I didn't expect you to live right here. What a coincidence!" His eyes filled with even more joy knowing that she was staying not far away and could be reached by walking. Overjoyed, he almost forgot about the wound from earlier. He took her arm to examine it: "There is a scratch... should I go get some medicine to apply for you—" "No need, senior! For this, I can just use a Band-Aid, I told you I'm fine." Saying that, she gently pushed his hand away, not wanting him to worry too much about this small scratch; she wanted to minimize anxiety for others as much as possible.

As for him, he still felt uneasy, his heart full of restlessness, but facing such certainty, he did not object. He put his hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a Band-Aid that was already there. He peeled it off and gently applied it to her arm. Her eyes opened wider in surprise at this action of his, and at the same time, she felt her heart touched, but then she did not resist, smiling at his kindness: "Do you always carry it with you?" "Uh... I often need it, so I always have it on me." After applying it, a lot of worry lifted from his heart, feeling at peace that he could fix his own mistake. But he knew he could not waste any moment on past regrets. He cleared his throat, looking down at the sand before continuing: "By the way, Đan... I'm sorry." "Huh? Sorry for what?" "Um... first, I'm sorry for deliberately avoiding you. I saw that you intended to talk but... because of some stupid misunderstandings that I had... I'm sorry." "Ah, that matter? I let it go a long time ago. To be honest, I was sad at that time, but after that, we were able to talk to each other! So I don't blame you at all." "Really... ah, but there's one more thing. Actually... I lied to you." "Lied... about what?" "Actually, I do have a Facebook account, the one I said I didn't..."

Hearing this, she giggled softly, but realizing she was being a bit too much—indeed, such sincere confessions would always be forgiven, but what was needed was also a reason: "So why did you lie to me? Afraid I would hack your account?" "N-No, I..." He felt embarrassed and still did not dare to look directly into her face, staring intently down at the sand. It seemed there was some reason that was hard to say, or being kept hidden, or a secret. Whatever the reason was, to Đan, what she was feeling right now could completely make up for the past: "It's okay if it's too hard to say. I... also don't mind even if I've known it for a long time. At least you were honest with me, that's also something that makes me like you more." A warm and relieved smile appeared on his face. He felt so light-hearted, happy that she agreed to forgive his past foolish actions and attitude: "Then can I add you on Facebook now?" "Ok, my account name is like this..."

After that, the two could text each other no matter how far apart they were. Everything now was considered settled, smooth, and beautiful—it was everything he could wish for, no, more than what he could wish for: "Ah, I'll head back first. I just moved in today so I haven't finished unpacking yet. I'll text you later. Bye-bye." "Ok, bye." A gentle breeze blew through Đan's hair, leaving a faint scent in the wind. Quang smiled watching her step back home, his heart fluttering, yet very happy. It had been a very long time, a whole 10 months, since he could feel these emotions again. Even if trouble comes in the future, there would be no more regrets. ...

The moonlight filtered through the window frame. The night sky was clear with a light breeze, and the stars sparkled despite being tens of thousands of miles away. The quiet night enveloped the residential area; only the sound of waves kept crashing, but gently, the sound was also soothing. Footsteps echoed from the stairs. A child around 8 years old, tightly holding a soft teddy bear that she usually slept with, opened a nearby bedroom door: "This is your bedroom, sister! Remember to wake up early tomorrow morning so I can take you out to play early! I know a lot of places to play, if you go late, we won't be able to visit them all." "I'll be here for almost a whole week, but alright, I won't wake up late tomorrow. Now go back to your room to sleep, so you can take me out tomorrow." "Yes! Good night, sister Hạ Đan." "Good night, Nhi, too."

Hạ Đan waved goodbye to the child and closed the door. She looked around the room before lying flat on the bed, turning on the air conditioner with her hand, enjoying the coolness and this absolute comfort. Less than a minute later, a notification sound came from her phone. She picked it up to see who was texting her at this hour, then sat up abruptly when it was Thanh Quang. The message read like this: "Hello, I don't know if you are asleep yet. Earlier was a bit rushed so I haven't told you. Whether you stay here for a month or just 3 days, the only thing you shouldn't miss is the moment of sunset right by the beach. Honestly, I highly appreciate that view, more people know about this neighborhood because of it. If you want to experience that poetic scenery, see you at 5:30 PM at the path from earlier. Good night."

She was surprised to read that message. She looked at the screen, unable to hide her curiosity—could a late afternoon beauty truly be that excellent? Or was it that exact moment? After a moment of thought, she made her decision. People don't regret the things they did, they only regret the things they didn't dare to do. There was nothing to lose if she went to see it, so she agreed. Warm blankets and a soft mattress, clouds forming beside the pillow, everything sank into silence, and the tide also receded. Could this night tell Hạ Đan what tomorrow would be like? Perhaps that clear blue water will answer soon.