#moonlit orchid day

[hananoami]

The hues of clouds weave their art, As the Milky Way stretches afar. Tonight, he longs to meet you, To share the starry sky and moonlit night, And whisper his tender feelings to you. Sending his adorable greetings! May all your wishes come true and your life be filled with happiness and love.

[nightyl]

i was so enamored with zayne i forgot to screenshot what he said at the cafe for the moonlit orchid day

he said something along the lines of "If I had ten smiles, they only happen when I feel true happiness, and you'd seen all of them."

THAT IS SO SWEET I WAS SCREAMING. how do i make him say this again?!

[lisharchivez]

Night Invitation [Daily]🐦‍⬛🪶Moonlit Orchid day chat with Sylus : all possible outcomes

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Requirements

when you open the game after august 10 ,2024 Sylus on screen will have unique greeting voice line. You will have two options in dialogues.

After this you will get the chat unlocked

Anyone who can provide me CN link of the greetings please help!

Here are JP ver of the interaction from me

🖤

🖤He starts the chat

🖤

🖤here are your reply options

(which is only two this time)

🖤

🖤Outcomes

After his response you will get a call from him right away

So Enjoy

🖤

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Curious about other posts and chats outcomes? Checks more here. Like & follow for more while I try to gather Moonlit orchid outcomes of others.

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

[just-a-pinch-of-salt]

Moonlit Orchid Day: Interaction with Sylus

First, the texts.

Then, the transcript of the call.

Happy moonlit orchid day to all! ⋆˚✿˖°

[xayspancakeee]

the boys and their moonlit orchid day phone calls were soooo cute.

made me giddy and smiley.

teehee. ◟( ˃̶͈◡ ˂̶͈ )◞

[soli-nepenthe]

Wish I had been able to save all of his greeting but I find it funny that he and Raf both got MC a special dress for the occasion 😅

[ineclipsedpast]

🌊Moonlit Orchid Day- Rafayel’s Greeting🌊

“This holiday might belong to everyone, but the memory of tonight is only between you and me.” -Rafayel

[empty-vessel-of-a-person]

Zayne and M/C are so busy with work that even being stuck in the car during heavy traffic is precious for him.

Not Zayne unlocking another kink: Car Dates

Sudden Rain

Heart Within Reach

Moonlit Orchid Day

Eternal Attachment

Seremoon Gift

[kykyonthemoon]

Till The Break Of Dawn

That girl was Death, and she came to see me on my twenty-seventh birthday.

── .✦ Zayne (Dawnbreaker) x MC (Female Reader)

── .✦ Tags: oneshot, angst, open ending, multiverse, AU, loops, MC is referred to as "Dawn" in this fic, first pov (Zayne's), side characters: Jas, Astra.

── .✦ Word count: ~3k

── .✦ Ky Ky's note: This fic is for my friend Le Juan, and all the Zayne's girlies out there. Happy Moonlit Orchid Day (or Qixi)! <3

It's also my very first time writing for Dawnbreaker.

── .✦ Masterlist ♡ Request a fic - closed for the time being.

when death

takes my hand

i will hold you with the other

and promise to find you

in every lifetime

— commitment (Rupi Kaur)

Rain. Tiny translucent and frigid particles plummeted into this dark world. The rain fell from the opulent downtown area to the deteriorating, abandoned structures. Under the torrent of water, be it human or monster, it was all the same.

Slow, worn-out steps came to a halt in front of a building that had long since fallen asleep in nature's embrace. Blood trickled over the ground and spread a poisonous tint in the water, yet it had no stain on the pristine white jasmine blossoms flourishing in that desolate place.

Jasmine bid me farewell in my last moments. Perhaps this life was not that dreadful to me after all.

My body crumbled. The rain welcomed me. Cold. The sweet scent of jasmine soared throughout the wind. With my final breath, I extended my hand forward. The hand was smeared with so much blood, from both human and Wanderers, and I knew I was not deserving of it. But I had just the desire to touch it once. My pure jasmine petals.

I had simply sought for one favor; let me dwell in those tranquil dreams with the girl I had always revered.

It appeared as if I heard her voice in the breeze; such melodies to my ears, lulling me into somnolence. I was determined to find her this time, forever.

“Zayne?… Zayne?…”

Someone ran to me from the other side, behind the jasmine bush. She was waiting for me. Just a little more…

“Zayne!”

Her warm fingers connected with mine. I awoke at that very time. Was she calling me, or someone who looked identically to me in the dream?

I opened my eyes and saw her there. She donned a dark robe that swept above the street. She sat down beside me and turned my cold body over. That was her. It was truly her.

Each drop of rain landed on her hair, which had barely emerged from the hood of her cloak, wiping the blood stains from my face. My lips moved silently. I ached to tell her how long I had been waiting for this moment. I had always waited for her. And my wish came true.

That girl was akin to my dream. Her eyes fixed on mine, revealing a mix of astonishment and sadness. But her expression was cold. Where was the brilliant smile that brought luminescence into my otherwise miserable life? I desired it.

Trembling. My fingers moved towards her lips. I begged for her mercy  and to grant me this one wish. Yet she spoke before I could touch her: 

"Zayne." Yes, it was my name. But I knew she was calling me, not the Zayne she had loved in her dream. "Dawnbreaker."

This was the real me, in this world.

"I came here to take you away." Her voice was quite sorrowful. Had I disregarded her with my unkempt appearance and stained hands? This was not the meeting I had hoped for, but I was delighted to have found her. Or it was she who found me.

Winds. The bell chimed midnight. The cold seeped into my thick layers of clothing. The girl's scarlet lips parted again as she drew closer and murmured:

"Take my hand."

She seized mine. There was something in her eyes. Death. Then I suddenly realized something.

That girl was Death, and she came to see me on my twenty-seventh birthday.

It is said that when a person dies, their entire life flashes before their eyes. For me, there was more than just one.

Countless sights that resembled fractured, patched recollections flashed before my eyes. They were my life, yet not really. I knew them well yet felt as if we were complete strangers. I was once a foreseer on the icy throne, I was once a god hidden in the deep mountains, I was once a doctor in the modern day,... Among countless variables, there was only one thing that remained constant: her. 

In each piece of memory, I always found her, my girl. It was always her dying heart, and I was fighting against fate to save her. The instant my life ended, our jasmine flower withered. Then everything went back to where it started.

As midnight was also the time when a new day began.

At first, I could not comprehend what was happening. Everything happened in the same order: I met her, loved her, she was going to die, and I sacrificed my life for her. Our identities might differ, and our decisions might not be precisely the same, yet the ending never changed. I began to vaguely feel that a certain hand had intervened in the flow of our life, driving her and me to follow such a predetermined path.

And suddenly I was Dawnbreaker. In this life, I failed to find her. I had always assumed she just existed in my fantasies. It was not until my death that I discovered she had been seeking for me all along.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the midst of a thriving jasmine garden. A person's fuzzy shadow appeared ahead of me. At first, I believed it was her, yet as I drew closer, I noticed it was a boy who seemed quite familiar.

"Georgie?"

No, that was not Georgie. The boy with that name had abruptly vanished before my eyes. The individual standing here was someone else who resembled Georgie.

"Hello, Zayne." The small child spoke. I had no idea who he was. However, I got the feeling that we had known each other for a long time, since innumerable lifetimes ago.

"I'm not Georgie." The boy added. "I only took the shape of someone you used to know so that I could communicate to you without causing any disturbance in this reality. If you don't like it, I can turn into a snowflake, a cat or something else.”

“You are?”

"Jas." He responded. "I am Jas. Perhaps you forgot about me. But I remember you, and her."

The name rang like a bell, reawakening something that had been asleep inside me. I asked:

“She… And you. Have we known each other before?”

Jas grinned mysteriously. “Shouldn't all the answers be right in front of you at this point?”

“Who are you exactly?”

The child went around the garden like a butterfly. A moment later, he replied:

“I am nobody. I am merely an illusion created by her and you a long, long time ago.”

“So… this garden is also an illusion?”

“It's all an illusion.” Jas replied. “This garden and all the flowers here are.”

I looked around. Each blooming jasmine brought back memories of a lifetime spent with her. I found myself ready to ask Jas a few questions about the flowers, but as if reading my thoughts, he immediately replied:

"That's right. Every jasmine here represents a life you once shared with her.”

I cast a gaze across the seemingly endless garden. There was no evidence of the girl anywhere. I wanted to find her, to call her name. Yet, I had no comprehension of what she was dubbed in this life.

"She is Death. In this realm, she has no name." Jas said as if he could read the thoughts written on my face. "But you may call her anything you want. She permits you to."

Hence, from that moment on, I decided that she would be my Dawn.

Dawn represented Death in this world. Her duty was to send the deceased to their proper resting place. She had seen me in the abandoned street, where I drained a soul out of torment before they were hauled into eternal darkness, and their body became a monster. She was always watching me, yet I could only see her when life left me. Dawn, like me, had spent her countless existences in this garden. 

Jas spoke again, directing my attention back to him:

“Stop looking. She's not here. But before you go mad and run to find her, listen to the remainder of the story first. Shall we?”

I had no alternative since Jas began shortly before I could say anything. Following along the boy's footsteps, I felt as if I were lost in another garden similar to this one, but in a distant timeline.

In the past, this jasmine garden was once the residence of a goddess. Although she was merely a minor deity, her fate was tied to the survival of that world. That divine being was Dawn.

She was born from the purest energies of heaven and earth. That was why, with each cycle, she would have to sacrifice her life, offering her flesh and blood to continue nourishing that world. Then she would be reincarnated in her former body, forgetting all about her previous life. Just as the end of day gives way to darkness, and the breaking of dawn marks the start of a new day.

Things were always going to be like this, then one day, she fell in love.

The person she loved was chosen by Astra - the god of creation - to inherit his power and pass on his will to humanity. She was originally sent by Astra to assist him in training, but in the end, she proved to be his greatest challenge.

"Zayne…" She cried out his name, the person who had always been at her side. They traveled the world together, battled side by side, and defended each other. In the end, they arrived at Mt. Eternal, which marked the boundary between the human and divine realms. Overcoming many obstacles, they learned the mystery that Astra had kept concealed for so long.

Astra, the deity that Dawn considered her father, turned out to want nothing more than to take away the power of heaven and earth that she possessed. Every time she died, he became stronger by taking her energies. Every time she reincarnated, he would bring her back and care for her as if she were his daughter, earning her trust until she ultimately sacrificed herself for a false greater cause. But in this existence, she met Zayne.

"If divine power can't protect those important to me, then I shall need nothing from it."

Zayne had made a decision. Dawn went with him to search for Astra, pretending that he would personally sacrifice her as a present to him while they plotted for the murder of the god. However, they were unaware that they were sliding into Astra's predetermined trap.

How did both of his instruments slip out of his grasp so easily? Astra separated the two, robbed their memories and encased those in jasmine. The new Zayne and Dawn began a new life, unaware of each other and with no memory of their preceding love.

But they still found each other. The thread of fate had long ago bound both of them. Dawn, like in her previous life, must die in accordance with Astra's wishes. And Zayne was always trying to save her. The moment he surrendered his life for hers, the flow of time halted. The entire world came to an abrupt end, then it started all over again.

Astra experimented thousands and thousands of times. The jasmine garden housed every existence of the star-crossed lovers, trapping them eternally in the cycle of love and death. They appeared to have discovered this secret after their first few lifetimes. Every time the flow of time was reestablished, their memories were erased. However, simply encountering each other again caused them to fall in love anew; and whether Zayne remembered or forgot, he would always give his life to the one he loved.

"Don't cry…" Zayne was lying in her arms. He was standing before her. He was leaning onto her shoulder... Their circumstances would alter, but there was always that final moment when she wept and grasped his hand.

They had just recently retrieved some recollections of their past lives before being forced to part ways again.

"Don't cry…" This time, Zayne had her in his arms. His back was against the debris of the collapsed research room. The blanket of snow sprayed over, bringing chilling temperatures. They were on Mt. Eternal in another timeline. Yet even this time, Zayne gave up his life to save Dawn.

She shook her head, tears flowing. They were so close to discovering the truth they had been seeking for so long. They had almost broken this curse of eternal reincarnation. Yet in the end, Astra was one step ahead.

"Hold my hand…" Zayne clasped hers. Death reached his remaining arm and froze it. "As long as you hold my hand like this… I will be able to find you… in the next life…"

"Do you promise?"

"Yes…"

Zayne had not once broken his vow to her. However, if she did not truly die, Astra could not obtain the power he sought. The jasmine garden grew wider with each new life and reboot. He must put an end to this.

As a result, he designed a life in which she became Death, and Zayne could only find her at his very last breath.

"Astra believes that if you die before meeting her, you won't be able to die for her anymore."

Jas' voice sounded out. We returned to the Jasmine Garden. Although the location was the same, this was not Astra's first garden. Dawn and I had poured our powers into this garden. Many eons ago, we had uncovered Astra's secret and secretly created this place as a safe haven away from the wicked deity. Jas was the spirit that guarded the garden and guided Dawn and me back here anytime we recalled something critical. Dawn discovered Jas before I did.

"There were two mistakes Astra made." He said. "First, he tried to control and take her power, unaware that each time she was reborn, the energy source within her grew stronger as well. Second, he was naive to believe he could separate the two of you. Even if you can't see her, the bond between you two still exists in a different way.”

At that point, I instantly realized something. "Our dreams?"

"That's right." Jas confirmed. "Even if the person you dreamed about was an alternate version of her, it seemed like all the versions in all of your lives knew each other in one way or another. She, as Death, has always dreamed of you and sought you out."

I halted to reflect on what I had just discovered, or recalled.

"Zayne, listen... Astra made another great mistake. That is giving her the status of Death. It implies she now has your life in her hands.

"Does that mean this time, she saved me?"

Jas' nod reaffirmed my doubts, my fears. "You should have died and Astra could have her again... However, she utilized the power of Death to stop your time. Zayne, you are still alive."

I already knew that. The truth was, my life only begun when she arrived.

"I have to find Dawn."

"Wait." Jas spoke up. Almost immediately, vines from the garden seized my limbs. "You cannot go yet."

"Why?"

"She used all of her current power to prevent you from dying. If Astra finds you, she will no longer be able to defend you. She brought you here to keep you safe, Zayne."

Dawn wanted to confront Astra alone. I expected this when old memories resurfaced. I told Jas:

“Then it’s another reason to find her. I cannot bear to lose her again.”

I strained with the vines that were becoming increasingly tight around me, even using Evol to break free of them.

At that point, the garden started to tremble severely. The pure blue sky above broke into fragments and decreased. The jasmine petals detached from the stems, drifted in the air and eventually vanished.

"Jas?"

“I have… completed my mission…” His voice seemed to resonate from far away. His entire body perished before my eyes. “I exist… so that one day… you and she can… find what you've lost… Now… you both have made your own decisions… So I will… disappear… and return… the source of power that you both… gave me before… But remember… If you and she fail in… this timeline… there will be no more Jas, no more… jasmine garden…”

Jas in front of me appeared as surreal as a mist. I knew I had to find Dawn before Astra made a move on her. This was the last chance we had.

“Go, Zayne… I can only… help you get to… her…”

In the middle of the garden, an archway made of plants and jasmine opened. I hurled myself through it, not forgetting to gaze back at the smiling boy Jas, whose body transformed into thousands of jasmine petals before vanishing.

I heard Dawn whisper to me at that moment of life and death: 

“This time, I will protect you…” 

My hand reached out to where she was waiting. My chest ached as I screamed with everything I had:

“Dawn, take my hand!”

And I awoke. Rain splashed over my face. Cold. I was lying on the roadside next to a jasmine with each flower falling and gently dissolving in the water. 

I lifted myself up. In the black of night, I went after her traces. I knew she was so close to me. I knew she was calling my name. And the world would awaken at dawn, once again.

I will find you, in every lifetime.

[nameuserlee]

Sylus — Moonlit Orchid Day

Stay with me until the moon is over our heads. Or until you… fall asleep. Will you?

[itsphoenix0724]

I don’t know if your still doing the bouquet event. But an orchid with Rhysand sounds wonderful!

Orchid (Rhysand x Reader)

Warnings: angst (don't hate me)

Word Count: 970

❀° Event Masterlist ❀°

A/N: Thank you for visiting my page, I'm so sorry this took me so long to write. Reader takes the place of Feyre in this fic so Nesta and Elain are her sisters. I have a very complicated relationship with Rhys idk why he's just super hard to write for me. Please don't kill me but this is angsty I'm so sorry. But I hope that you enjoy it <3

You haven’t been able to leave the nursery since you brought your baby home. He was perfect, the crown of inky black hair matching his father, with your eyes staring back up at you. You’re humming softly rocking the cradle back and forth as he sleeps, the knitted bat stuffed animal curled under his small arm. Your body tenses as your husband slips through the doorway, he utters your name and you glare at him without stopping your lullaby. 

“I will not discuss this in front of our son.” Your tone betrays nothing of your feelings, refusing to let anything show in his presence. Rhys’s face pales a shade but he nods and gestures with his head to the door. After giving a subtle nod you leave the sleeping prince in his cradle, safely guarded by moonlit dreams, and follow Rhys out of the room. You want for nothing more than a glass of liquor, preferably the strongest Velaris has to offer, as you stand across the study from your husband.  Alas, you are nursing so your desire remains a boiling headache sprouting in your temples. 

“Darling-” Rhysand starts, but you raise one hand and he stops speaking, snapping his jaw shut. You take a moment to look at Rhysand fully. His raven hair, so normally well-kempt, is run through and the purple half-moons under his eyes cast grotesque shadows on unnaturally pale skin. You’ve barely spoken to him in days since Nyx was born. 

In fact, you’ve refused to see any of the inner circle at all seldom your sisters.

“I am going to talk now. You are going to do nothing but listen.” You will steel into your spine, wishing your power to grant you the strength for this. Rhys nods once sitting in his chair and wringing his hands together in his lap. “You made me your equal, and yet you betray me. You force the hands of our truest friends to betray me.” You have felt a tidal wave of emotions since you found out what your mate kept from you. 

Anger, betrayal, disgust, but all you feel now is sadness. 

Sadness at the reaper that seems to have been following you through your first week as a mother, angry at your sister for snatching your family back from the cold iron of his grip. 

“You have proven that the members of this court will obey your wishes without any regard for me as your equal. Not only that, the worst thing about this is you were going to let us die in ignorance, after promising that I would always have a choice with you. That is what truly breaks me, Mate.” You watch your husband fall apart before you. The High Lord of Night crumbling and dissolving like salt in water. You want to go to him, you want to ease his sobs and tell him that everything is alright. 

But everything is very much not all right. 

“Why?” is the only thing you can manage to croak out, your tears finally cracking the damn that you’ve built to keep them at bay. Rhys stands, crossing the room and three wide steps, and wraps you in his arms. You try to fight it but you let yourself collapse into the warm embrace he offers. You wail, cursing the world and your mate, beating your hands against his chest half-heartedly. He cups your cheek a thumb running to wipe the silver from your eyes, but your hands remain limp at your sides.

“I have no excuse,” he swears sinking to his knees you follow him melting without the force of his weight to keep you upright. “I tried to do my best by Madja’s instructions. I did not want to rip the joy from you, but I had no right. I’m so sorry my love, so so sorry. I wanted to bring you the news with a solution.”  You still choke around your sobs, the solid iron you’ve built around the bond cracking just a fraction, letting some of its golden light shine back through. 

“You also had no right to send Nesta on that hike. Her intentions may have been egregious, but she is the only one who was honest with me.” Rhys’s lips press into a thin line, the topic of your sister always a touchy one, but he nods. 

“I’ll do my best to be better for you.” Rhys gulps around the tightening in his throat. You don’t know how long you spend crying on the floor of his study, Rhys soothing your hair before something finally lightens in your heart and you let go. 

Forgiveness. 

You realize after one heartbeat, then two, that this feeling is forgiveness. You almost collapse under the weight of it. You meet Rhysand’s eyes and let the walls of the bond fall and you feel the palpable relief, see it in his eyes. 

“You have to be better.” You mutter, and Rhys nods resting his forehead against yours. 

“I’ll do better for you. For Nyx. For our family.” He swears and you feel the burn of another promise singeing into your skin, the stretching wings of a dove appearing on your sternum, you can see the twin appearing on Rhys’s own skin. Finally, you press your lips to his and he melts hauling you onto his lap. His kiss is bruising, the bond between you both singing happily in your chests. This healing road will be long, and the trust you’ve built with your family now broken and fragile. But the road is visible, the fog of pain gone from the path you must take. You will forgive, no matter how hard it will be. Rhys’s hands are shaking as he presses a kiss to your forehead. After all of the pain.

Forgiveness is a welcome feeling.

[hananoami]

Hello, Hello! May I ask what is Moonlit Orchid Day? Is it QiXi? How is it related to orchids?

Hello, hello nonnie!

Moonlit Orchid Day is a festival celebrated in Linkon City that's equivalent to Qixi Festival IRL! This year Qixi Festival falls on August 10th, so if you're on NA like I am we wont be seeing the prompts for it in game until Saturday.

The devs probably named the holiday differently in game to fit the story line better and also to avoid any discourse within the LADS community. They did something similar back in February for Valentine's Day where they called it Azure’s Echo Day.

[jinwoosbabyboo]

"It’s canon that Sylus gets nervous when he wants to ask you out."

Wait, where is that stated? I want to go see that. I love that man Sylus. Also, who is your favorite when it comes to the LADs boys? My guess is Sylus, but I figured I would ask.

Also, why that specific man? What made you love him?

Yeeeessss let’s talk about it. So the Moonlit Orchid date. It was the phone call “Riverbank Scenery”

He sends a letter inviting us to dinner with him by the riverbank that has a great view of the Orchids. He doesn’t explicitly say he was nervous, but you can tell since he wasn’t focused for most of the day waiting for your answer.

And yes Sylus is my favorite (Rafayel is a close second though) I love his strong demeanor and i love how much of a misunderstood character that he is because that’s me in real life and I feel like I relate to him while also loving his rough edges that I struggle to love in myself.

He’s gentle, soft, gentlemanly, considerate, sarcastic, driven, he even has a heart of gold but forced to be cold. He’s a walking contradiction but molds it perfectly to be such an all around person. If he were real I would love the feel of him melting in my arms since I would know there’s not many people who care if he makes it home safe.

And he’s such a dominant man at the same time but would take the back seat if I wanted him to. He’s just so 🥹🥹🥹🥹

[lisharchivez]

All Moonlit Orchid Day Greetings(JP) & chat interaction outcomes of L&d Men

❄️Zayne

🐚 Rafayel

⭐ Xavier

🐦‍⬛Sylus

Please check them out so more players can reach them. I would be very glad if they do .

[just-a-pinch-of-salt]

Moonlit Orchid Day: Interaction with Zayne

First, the texts.

Then, the transcript of the call.

Happy moonlit orchid day to all! ⋆˚✿˖°

[cegiel-athelia]

Love in the Stars

(A Love and Deepspace x Qi Xi Tale)

This is a sequel to the Moonlit Orchid Day event on 10 August 2024.

I thought that it is important to educate the fans about the true nature of the event, that is, Qi Xi (七夕), commonly known to simply be the Chinese Valentine’s Day, but it is really more than just that. It is a love story. It is a story of broken hearts and eternal love all at once.

I have done my best to summarise the myth into an easier read for players, so please, enjoy.

Genre: Very Fluffy (and slight angst, only if you are able to catch the nuance.)

-----------------------------------------------------------

The low, soft humming of the engine of the car as Zayne was driving us back from the festival was steady and consistent amidst the melodic chorus of the song, “Mountains in the Night”, which he said that he would play enroute our way home to Linkon.

I laid on my side in the reclined passenger seat, gazing tenderly at the stoic, yet magnanimously caring man before me - the same person I have known since my childhood, and I was grateful that fate had not only given us the chance to reconnect after years had passed, but that we now had something that is more than special.

His soft chuckle cut through the ambient noises when he noticed my staring, and he said in a voice that was gentle, “what is it?”, as he removed his grip from the steering wheel to take my hand in his, intertwining our fingers – a gesture confined to our private moments together.

I shook my head, a fond smile playing on my lips as I replied, “Dr Zayne, what did you wish for on your sky lantern?”

He let out another amused chuckle at my question, releasing my hand to shift the gear. “If I told you, then it wouldn’t come true.”

I smiled knowing that that was not exactly true, but I did not insist. Instead, I murmured, “I saw you peeking while I was writing my wish on my lantern. How much did you see?”

A blush formed on his cheeks which spread to the tips of ears, almost imperceptible by the dimness of the night and confines of the car. He cleared his throat as if to brace himself before he spoke. “I saw that you wrote ‘I wish to be with Dr Zayne forever’, and you punctuated it with five exclamation marks.”

I groaned an agonised sound, covering my face with my palms from the embarrassment, and his chuckle drifted to my ears again. In concession, he spoke in a gentle voice, “I wished for the same thing with you, but I excluded the exclamation marks.”

I lifted my head from my hands and for a fleeting moment, I saw the curve of a smirk on the sides of his lips before he returned his attention to the road ahead.

We stayed there in the comfortable silence for a while, until I soon found myself drowsy with sleep. In defiance against the lull of slumber, I asked, “Dr Zayne? Could you tell me more about the origins of the festival?”

The familiar chuckle came once more, one that was of tenderness and affection as he obliged. “Sure,” he muttered, collecting his thoughts before continuing. “Moonlit Orchid Day is really the ‘Qi Xi Festival’. It falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.”

He paused, slowing the car at the corner to make a turn. “On Qi Xi, the stars align, such that, it allows the constellations, ‘Vega’, ‘Altair’ – the star-crossed lovers – and ‘Deneb’ to come together. Deneb forms a bridge over the Milky Way to enable Vega and Altair to meet once every lunar calendar year.”

He glanced over at me and a wistful smile graced his features as he spoke. “In the Chinese mythology, Altair is the man known as Niu Lang, and Vega, the girl named ‘Zhi Nu’. There are several versions of the story, and this is but one of them.”

Zayne’s eyes were on the road, but his gaze appeared distant, as if, deep in thought. “Zhi Nu, together with her sisters, are the daughters of the queen of heaven, the Queen Mother. One day, they came to earth and bathe in a river in the mountains. Niu Lang was smitten by Zhi Nu’s beauty and he stole her clothes, which prevented her from returning to heaven with her sisters. Zhi Nu eventually fell in love with Niu Lang and they married, and were blessed with two children.”

I continued to listen to Zayne, or at least, I attempted to. However, his voice, combined with the low droning of the engine and the occasional sound of crunching asphalt under the tires, created a harmonious lullaby and my eyelids grew heavy as the minutes passed us by.

Still, I strove to listen to his words in my subconscious as I felt myself succumbing to the lull of sleep. “When the Queen discovered the marriage – one that was forbidden – Zhi Nu was immediately seized and returned to heaven. Niu Lang finding that Zhi Nu was gone, searched for her with his two children, embarking on a journey to heaven, intent on reuniting with his wife.”

Zayne’s expression became pensive, although his eyes did not leave the road as he navigated towards home. “To thwart his advances, the Queen ‘drew’ a river with her golden hairpin - the Milky Way is symbolic of that river – making it impossible for Niu Lang to cross.”

“Niu Lang mourned for his wife by the river, unable to cross it, and soon, the news spread and a flock of magpies, having compassion for Niu Lang, formed a bridge for the lovers to meet. The Queen eventually allowed the lovers to meet only once a year on that magpie-bridge – the constellation, Deneb.”

“That one day a year, is Qi Xi.” Zayne’s voice trailed off as he concluded the story, turning to look at the figure beside him, now soundly asleep.

Her breathing was slow and even, the glow of the passing streetlamps faintly illuminated her features, and her eyelashes cast long shadows on her cheekbones. He felt a breath catch in his chest at how ethereal and fleeting she looked. He reached a hand to brush a lock of hair away from her face, careful not to rouse her in the process and he could not suppress the tender smile forming on his lips.

He leaned in to whisper ever so quietly, “I will love and find you in every lifetime,” and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “I promise.”

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