Meet Me Where the Oak Tree Grows novel Chapter 53

I rambled on, throwing out every possibility that came to mind, each one more jumbled than the last.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention, I've been thinking about getting into forensic science. Once I graduate, we could work together, side by side. Who knows, maybe I could help you crack cases like they do on TV.

"I promise I won't be a bother. I'll be on my best behavior, I swear.

"Jonah, please take me with you?" I finally pleaded, my voice cracking with emotion.

"You are so smart and thoughtful." He sighed, gently cupping my face, and tenderly kissed away the tears from the corners of my eyes.

Our foreheads touched, and the dampness seeped into the pillow, making it impossible to tell whose tears they were.

The unease in my heart grew stronger, and I clutched my hands until my knuckles turned white.

He lifted his head, softly patting my back, as if comforting a child. His voice was thick with emotion as he forced a playful tone, "Don’t cry so much in the future. You're too young to ruin those beautiful eyes."

"Right before she was set to take her college entrance exams, a massive flood hit down south, wiping out crops overnight. Her family was broke. They planned to marry her off to the village chief. My mom refused, tearfully begging them. She insisted that she could earn enough money by going to college to help her brother get married. But they wouldn't listen.

"So, she ran away with nothing but her hopes, heading to the train station in the dead of night. There were street performers and beggars around. She was too proud to beg, so she danced—a dance she had learned from a school teacher. But no one paid her any mind, and by the end of the day, she hadn’t even earned enough for a bottle of water. As the last train was about to leave, she panicked.

"That's when a man in a military uniform appeared. He complimented her dancing and asked where she was headed. As payment for watching her performance, he offered to buy her a train ticket. She didn’t know where to go, so she asked where he was headed and pretended their destinations matched."