Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
For months Liz hid his true identity from him, half of her hoped that he will remember for their little girl’s sake. The other half hoped he’d stay like that forever, because he will remain the more caring and sweet Jason that she always wanted. She knew it was unfair to treat him like a stranger when his face told her she knew him all too well.
She debated with herself for months but she didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth after six months. Maybe it was for the better, they finally had their happy family. During the spring, she suggested that they go on a family trip together. “I’ve never seen the Great Wall in Beijing.” Liz sighed.
Jason smiled while he peeled the potatoes for dinner “We should go.”
Liz looked at him like a little girl “Really?! You would go?” he nodded casually “Great!! I can’t wait. I have two weeks of vacation.”
He laughed comfortably “Honey, we’re not staying there for two weeks. Trina has school. But she does have one week off in the spring. We’ll go then okay?”
Liz nodded happily as she planned the vacation in her mind. When the day finally came, she rushed the two slowpokes out the door “Come on, we’re going to be late for our tour bus!” she screamed into the hallway.
“Wait!!” Trina cried out as she poked her head out her room door “I’m not done.”
“Sweetie, what do you need help with?” Liz walked over to the room, only to be beaten by Jason. He was quicker as he came to her rescue.
“Her zipper is stuck. I got it Liz, go start the car.” He concentrated on Trina’s zipper while Liz smiled at them. He was such a good father. He seemed to notice her stare “What’s wrong?” he looked up at her with concern.
She grinned wider “Nothing.” She spun around and rushed outside to start the engine.
The drive was pleasant as can be as they sang songs to kill the thirty mile drive to the city where they met with the Tour Bus and about 40 other people that were going with them. There were about 10 different tour buses, so it took them a while to find theirs.
It never occurred to Liz that she would see anyone she knew until the familiar female voice called to her “Lizzie!!” it was Nancy.
Liz turned around before she got on the bus, her faced brightened naturally seeing her friend after almost a year. “Nancy!” the girls hugged each other dearly like high school girls. “What are you doing here?”
Nancy smiled “Vacation.” A twinkle in her eye as she answered shortly.
“With Chris?” Liz asked.
Nancy smiled as she nodded, “He’s getting a drink for me. Our bus is over there.” She pointed to three buses from Liz’s.
“Lizzie, come on, they’re going to leave without us.” Jason carried Trina in his arms as he rushed over to her. “It’s almost….” He stopped when he saw Nancy “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you two were talking. I’m Jason.” He brought out a hand to her.
Nancy’s face clouded over as she looked at him closely “I know who-”
Liz quickly cut off her sentence “Well, I’ll see you later…” she quickly hugged her friend as she whispered to her ear “He has amnesia.” It was all she had to say.
Nancy understood slowly as she nodded “Nice to meet you Jason, I’m Nancy, Liz’s old high school friend.” She winked at Trina who smiled at her goofily in Jason’s arms.
Jason smiled politely “Nice to meet you too.” He turned his head anxiously “I don’t want to rush you guys but we have to go.”
Liz nodded “Bye Nancy.” She waved to her friend goodbye as they rushed to the bus. Her heart was still beating fast after they had settled in their seats and the driver began the trip. It was too close, she didn’t want him to be suspicious.
“What’s wrong Liz? You seem a bit tense.” Jason asked with genuine concern.
She smiled showing him that she was okay “Nothing. I just miss my friend that’s all.”
He nodded understandingly “I guess, since you just saw each other after a long time. Why don’t you invite her over?”
Liz shook her head “She’s busy. She’s always traveling, there’s no time for a boyfriend let alone a visit to me. Chris is her boyfriend.”
“Oh, I remember you mentioning it sometime ago.”
She smiled “You have a good memory, I told you months ago.”
His faced frowned at the thought of his memory. After those dreams began to haunt him each night, he began to grow curious about his past. “Too bad I still can’t remember the past.” He never spoke to Liz about his dreams for fear that she will know he saw something that could be his past.
“Do you want to continue searching?” she offered, still hoping that he would just settle with her.
He seemed to be thinking about it for awhile before he answered a slow “Yes…Don’t worry, I won’t ever abandon you two.” He said quickly reassuring her “You two are my life. But there is a nagging feeling inside of me and I know it’s about my past.”
Liz nodded, she understood and it was bound to happen one day. “I’ll help you do another search.” She was serious this time. She owed that much to him, of course she knew where to look, Hong Kong. Even if he would hate her forever she knew it was the right thing to do. She couldn’t hold onto his past forever.
Their vacation was sweet eventhough it felt too short for the three of them. The Great Wall of China was magnificent and it was endless. Little Trina could not withstand one mile as Jason offered to give her a piggy back ride. When Liz noticed that he was tired, she offered to take over but he always declined, not wanting her to be tired. They stopped at every mile to rest and little Trina snacked until she was full. The adults crossing by would smile at the little girl with pig tails. Some envied the happy family, the couple looked so affectionate and the father was as sweet as can be. Liz tried hard to push the thought of their family being broken apart after he found out the truth, she wanted to enjoy the trip as long as possible.
When they got back to their little home, everyone was exhausted. Liz went straight for the phone while Trina was put to bed by Jason. “Hi, Hong Kong Police Department.” She spoke into the phone.
“Please hold.” The operator answered before transferring the call to Hong Kong.
Liz spoke softly into the phone trying to find a ‘missing’ person. She wanted to have the information on Cheung Yiu Wai sent to her home. The officer was kind enough after 21 questions and realizing that Liz was indeed a friend of Cheung Yiu Wai since she knew his information. The information was going to be sent to her home in another week.
She sat back on the couch after the long conversation. She sighed to herself, it was as if the weight was lifted from her shoulders. “You tired?” he asked her from the hallway.
Liz pushed her head back to find him leaning down to her face. He stroked her hair affectionately “Just a little.” She smiled up at him “Come over here.” She patted on the seat next to him.
He nodded as he took a seat next to her. She leaned on his chest comfortably, trying to remember the moment, she knew it would not last forever. “Is something wrong Lizzie?” he sensed her nagging feelings.
She shook her head “Nothing.” She lied. “I just want to stay like this forever.”
He smiled as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer “It will.”
****************
A month later, still no sign of the information that was suppose to be sent by the police department in Hong Kong. It began to worry Liz as she wondered where it could have gone? Maybe Jason found it and hid it from her? She had no idea. He seemed nonchalant about it when she told him and it made her even more curious. He insisted that he didn’t get any package nor did he care. He began to lose interest in finding his past again.
One Saturday morning, while Liz went to the market with Trina, Jason decided to stay home and do some cleaning around the house. Liz was understanding since she knew everyone needed a time to themselves.
He cleaned from the bedrooms to the living room. He never invaded her privacy nor did he ever enter her room without her consent. It was the most respect he had for her. Until he found her door open and decided to vacuum the floors. While he did this, his eye caught something sparkling at her vanity desk. Jason turned off the vacuum as he walked over. He picked up the charm and the chain followed it. What he saw almost made him gasp. It was the exact replica of his own necklace.
His fingers crawled up to his own charm, he continued to look closer at the charm and found the name Cheung Yiu Wai on one side and Wong Siu Yu on the other. The female name was the same name that was on his. He quickly untied his own necklace and there he saw, two identical necklaces. His heart thumped as he felt faint and had to sit down on the bed. “How could that be?” he whispered to himself, now more confused than ever.
His thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang, he was like a zombie when he picked it up “Hello?” he answered.
“Is this the home of Wong Siu Yu?” the operator asked. Jason nearly dropped the phone out of his hands as the name snapped back in his mind “Hello?” the operator asked endlessly.
Jason came back to reality “Uh…I….”
“Miss Wong requested information on a Mr. Cheung Yiu Wai.” It was the name again, his head began to ache as he took a seat on the couch afraid that he might faint from shock. “The information was sent to the wrong address. The owner that had it just gave us back today. I just wanted to confirm the address.” She read out the address. “Is that correct?”
Jason looked dazed as ever “Yes…”
“Okay, I will send it through the mail again, hopefully it will be at your home in the next few days.”
“Thank you…” he said as he placed the phone back into the receiver. His thoughts began to wander as he asked himself questions. Why did she lie to him? Liz Wong as in Wong Siu Yu? She knew him all this time but never told him? Suddenly a stab of pain crossed his head, he winced in pain as he grabbed his head. Surges of memory began to overfill his mind. He remembered why he came, how he came…to look for her. He remember the crash that caused him the memory laspe, he remembered climbing up the cliff to get to safety. He remembered the determination of finding her even when he was in pain. Slow tears began to fall down his face when he finally remembered the airport. He tried to look for her but it was useless, she was already gone.
His memory slowly came back to him as he sat there for a long moment, the shock was finally over. Instead it was filled with pain. He was lost in his own thoughts until Liz opened the door. “Oh my gosh! You could not believe the supermarket, it is so busy! I had to fight with this lady to get the last head of lettuce.” She talked on and on about her little trip while Trina helped her carry some groceries.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Liz?” Jason asked solemnly.
Liz immediately sensed something wrong in his voice. She turned to her little girl “Trina, you have some homework to do.”
Trina pouted “But it’s Saturday.”
“Would you rather do it tomorrow?” Liz asked and Trina shook her head “Well, go inside and do it now.” She pushed at her little girl lightly. She made sure Trina closed her door before turning back to Jason. “You know everything?”
“I remember everything.” He said sadly, tears began to fill his eyes as he looked at her, remembering every feature on her face. She saw the necklaces in his hands.
She looked away guiltily “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie. Half of me wished that you would remember so you can leave us alone. But the longer you stayed with me, the more I saw something in the Jason that I once loved. You’re a great father and a loyal husband. You were respectful of my boundaries and never pushed me to do anything I didn’t want to do.” She paused to wipe the tears that began to stream down her face “The day you walked back into my life, I wanted to kick you out. But when I realized that you didn’t remember anything it began to hurt me, to know that you don’t remember me, you don’t remember that we had a child together. Then time flew by and I came to realize maybe it was better that you didn’t remember anything from the past. You’re like a white piece of paper ready to be drawn on.”
He was more hurt than angry “I know I hurt you when I told you I wasn’t ready to be a father, but I never said I would not do it.” He walked closer to her as he reached for her hands “It’s not a job to me, being a lawyer was a job. I want to be a good father and husband. You have no idea how long it took me to look for you. There was never a day that I didn’t think about you or wanted to see you so bad it ate me up inside. I hated the thought of never seeing you again. I tried to ask Nancy but she was loyal to your request, she wouldn’t tell me.”
“What made you come here?” her eyes brimming with fresh tears after hearing his words.
“I searched all the cities in Hong Kong, but you were no longer here, I knew that much. Then I had a dream one night about a conversation we had years back when you told me that you were going to be working in Shanghai for a while. I remembered feeling a bit sad but I didn’t tell you. Instead I said okay, have fun. I knew it must have hurt you. I began doing a search in Shanghai after that. Maybe it was fate that led me to you after five years of searching for you. Maybe God finally felt sorry for me and showed me the way.”
Liz sniffed back the tears as she reach up and touched the scar across his forehead “How did you lose your memory?”
His eyes began to fade as he recalled the treacherous situation “I remembered driving out here, there was this cliff that I didn’t see. The snow was too strong and my wipers were not fast enough for them. My car tipped of the edge and it crashed at the bottom of the cliff.” Liz gasp as he told the story, no wonder he had all those cuts and bruises! “I don’t know what happened but managed to crawl out of the car and climb up the rocks. My determination to see you was too strong, but at that time, I didn’t know that. I just wanted to get to safety. I walked on the road for another mile and came upon your house. I saw shadows moving inside so I tried to ask for help.”
Liz was horrified by what he went through, it was more or less her fault “I’m so sorry…” she gulped back the tears “I didn’t mean to lie to you…I really didn’t. I was just confused and didn’t know what to do…” she shook her head over and over.
Jason smiled through his own tears “I understand.”
She looked up slowly “You do? You’re not mad?”
He shook his head “Why should I be mad. I was lucky enough to find you and Trina. I found my little girl finally.”
“Maybe I should have told you sooner?” she looked sadly at him.
He smiled as he pulled her into a warm hug. They swayed back and forth “Everything happens for a reason. Had you not told me that you were pregnant, I wouldn’t have realized how important you were to me when you left. If you never went to Shanghai, I wouldn’t have gotten amnesia and you end up taking me in.”
She smiled at his optimistic attitude “If I had not left, we wouldn’t have wasted five and a half years of our lives.”
He pulled her away lightly “If we never got together, we wouldn’t have such a beautiful child.” She couldn’t argue with that. She wiped her happy tears away as they hugged once more.
“Mommy?” Trina called from the hallway, she saw the two of them hugging and her mother was crying.
Liz pulled away with a smile as she bent down to her knees, she put out her arms “Come here Trina.”
Her little girl happily obliged as she ran to her mother’s arms. “Why are you crying mommy?”
Liz smile “I’m just happy.” She turned to Jason, they seemed to be exchanging knowing glances. She didn’t want to confuse her little daughter by telling her that Jason was really her father.
As if reading her mind, he kept the subject out of the way “Trina, how would you like for me to be your daddy?” Jason asked grinning at the little angel and then back at Liz.
“Yipee!!” Trina exclaimed as she reached for Jason naturally.
*************
Their wedding was short and plain, only the closest of friends were allowed there. Nancy and Chris stood by their sides as they gave their own vows. Trina was their little flower girl, she was happy to see Liz and Jason getting married. She finally have a father like the other kids.
Liz was dressed in a beautiful lace white gown with the veil covering her beautiful face. Her tears were starting to come out as she said her personal vows “I never believed that you were given only one chance to love. When I met you, I really believed it and everything that we went through. The five missing years just reminded me how much I missed you. I’m glad we had our second chance. I promised to love you forever.”
Nancy stood next to her friend sniffing away the tears. Liz turned to her friend with a smile while Nancy shook her head “Don’t look at me.” She said through tears and a huge grin. She was happy for her friend.
The minister cleared his throat for the distracted couple to get back to the ceremony. “My turn.” Jason said as he took a hold of Liz’s hand and placed it on his heart “You don’t know what you have until you lose it. I have literally lived through that saying. I don’t remember ever loving someone so much that it hurt. But I would rather have that kind of pain then never to see you again. I regret losing the five years, but I think about the next 40 years or 60 years that I will get to see you and our children and it makes it all worth while. I promise to spend each day, each minute loving only you.”
“How about me?” Trina interrupted their vows.
The group and little guests laughed at the darling question. Jason smiled as he stroked her chubby cheek “I will always love you!” little Trina smiled as she swung her body side by side happily.
“I pronounce you husband and wife.” The minister announced as the group got up and clapped happily at the newlywed.
Jason smiled as he leaned into kiss his wife, the crowd went wild as they were happy for this couple. Little of them knew of the couple’s past and those that knew had tears in their eyes. They walked down the aisle while everyone threw confetti and rice into the sky making beautifully colorful rain.