WAITING FOR YOUR LOVE

In 2022, at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam:

After the pandemic, Vietnamese people gradually returned to normal life, busy and active. Finally, the airport recovered to its previous glory. Aurora Grace was sitting upright and watching these eager people hurrying for their own flights. It seemed that only Aurora was the one who kept her calmness. Aurora planned to travel to Europe and visited Paris, the city of love and romance. This would be the first time she went there but she didn't feel nervous nor excited.

"Miss, haven't we met somewhere before?"

Amidst the crowded airport, Aurora heard a voice, neither loud nor quiet, calling her. It startled Aurora and attracted the girl's attention. Aurora could see a familiar face yet strange. She had a feeling that she knew this person but couldn't remember where and when they met. A faint smile on her lips, Aurora breathed:

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Madam, but I think you have got the wrong person."

"Sometimes we don't meet people by accident, my muse, but destiny does" The old woman laughed thinly. She didn't sit down and kept talking "The pendant on your neck, I was the one who made it."

"What? Can you…."

Frightened out of her wits, Aurora unconsciously touched her pendant. It was her most important possession. The jewelry was a key of live, symbol of longevity and happiness. Aurora had a strange feeling since she couldn't remember who had given her this valuable object. Quickly regaining her calm, Linh immediately raised her head. She wanted to ask so many questions about the pendant and she knew, on a hunch, the old woman knew the answers linking to Aurora's lost memories. But strangely enough, the old woman was nowhere to be found. Although the granny was not too old, she couldn’t leave without Aurora's notice. Trying to search for her was no hope, she only saw the keen people ready for the international flight.

"Hey…" Aurora looked around trying to find, but no one, Aurora felt disappointed, she sighed "It is truly strange."

Aurora's cellphone abruptly rang. Rose, her best friend, was calling. Her friend rarely phoned Aurora this late. This high-class girl usually ate healthily and went to bed early. Therefore, she would never call Aurora at two A.M. Not wanting to remember the unusual encounter, she answered the call and made use of the opportunity to tease the drowsy girl on the other line: "Hey, why are you still awake? You normally go to bed early, don't you? It's two A.M. already."

"I know..." Rose Valdez answered, still not fully awake "But I suddenly remember that my closest friend is sitting on her own at the airport and prepare to fly to Paris, ALONE. What were you thinking, Auli?"

"Well, I am uncertain, too."

"Then do you know who you are going to meet? His age? Job? Even the face? Just cancel your booking, come back to me. I will get you as many boyfriends as you want, hot or ripped, your choice" Rose said.

"But do you think at least I need to meet the owner of this pendant? Apparently, his name is Louis, if I recall correctly, Louis Stoll" Aurora kept happily talking "I hate the feeling that somewhere inside me is empty, so I'm trying to fill that hole."

"Louis… Stoll…? Alright, do your best to enjoy your vacation and do remember if you ever get lost or kidnapped, don't cry and ask for my help since I won't be there to rescue you."

Aurora laughed loudly; she didn't expect that her friend really cared too much about her. Rose was a strong-will girl, Aurora vaguely recalled. Despite being born in a wealthy family; Rose never thought the whole world revolved around her. If anything, she was extremely sociable. A truly friend was hard to find and Aurora had been lucky to have found Rose. Looking at the ticket, seeing that departure time was four A.M. and it was almost three o’clock, Aurora hastily said: "I had better be checking in for my flight and you should go back to your sleep. Maybe when I come to Paris, there will be a promised prince waiting for me."

"You…beep… beep… beep…"

Not letting her friend have a chance to make more objection, Aurora ended the call. Rose, on the other line, didn't phone Aurora again. She quietly went back to her table, took her unfinished coffee. Rose had never slept. She had been timely waiting to telephone her silly friend. Rose felt insecure while walking to the balcony, holding her cup of coffee. It was a cold one tonight in Ho Chi Minh City. The winter wind was blowing upon Rose's body.

"Auli, will Paris truly be where someone is waiting for your love?"

1

"Mr. Stoll, Mr. Stoll…"

Hearing the flight attendant's call from behind, a man between thirty -five and forty years old, white skin with rare green eyes, turned around, confused.

"I'm incredibly sorry but would you mind swapping seats with this pregnant woman here since her seat is not steady?"

Surprised by the offer of the attendant, Mr. Stoll thought a while and looked at the blushing pregnant woman. Touching the seat and realizing that it was really unfirm if the plane took off, Mr. Stoll smiled: "No, not at all when I can help a little angel and her mother."

"You're too kind!" The pregnant woman thanked him "I wish you will find true love in life."

Embarrassed when being complimented, Mr. Stoll rubbed his nape and quietly carried his luggage to the new seat. Everything seemed to be under control.

2

After boarding the plane, Aurora sat on a pretty good place where she could see the view from outside. Next to her was a pregnant woman who got on earlier and already made herself comfortable. Following the eye contact, Aurora smiled and nodded at the pregnant before helping herself at the seat.

"Bonjour pretty lady, do you travel to Paris alone?" The pregnant talked to Aurora "It's the city of love where couples indulge themselves in the romance. It's so romantic that when in Paris, you can smell roses out of nowhere."

"Really?" Aurora asked in surprise "I beg your pardon; this is the first time I visit Paris and go abroad so I'm really nervous. I have heard a lot about Paris and that excites me just from thinking about it."

"Trust me, Paris is better than you can imagine. And if you go alone, you will definitely find your destiny on your romantic adventure."

Aurora smiled. She had never thought she would have traveled to Europe or the marvelous Paris let alone finding an unfamiliar figure.

"Mr. Louis Stoll, you dropped your things…"

That name suddenly rang bells in Aurora's head and she could feel that her heart skipped a beat. Was that really ”Louis Stoll" , who she was looking for and was the owner of the pendant she was wearing? Not thinking too much, Linh hurried to stand up and look for the man called Louis Stoll.

"Sorry ma'am, the plane is about to take off so I hope you can take your seat and fasten your seat belt."

The voice of a male flight attendant made Linh startle. She looked at him as if to say she really wanted to meet that man named Louis Stoll but she knew it couldn't because she knew she even knew his name but she didn't know anything about his face. can describe to the male flight attendant. Disappointed Aurora sat down, she looked at the pregnant woman and smiled slightly.

“You know Auli, if you decide to leave Vietnam to go to Paris to find someone you don't even know, you'll just be disappointed. Paris is extremely large, how can you find that person, are you going to the police station to look for information? You should know that a person's information must always be kept secure so you won't be able to identify that person named Louis Stoll."

Rose's words kept ringing in Aurora's head, did she know she was too foolish to come to Paris just to find that person? She also doesn't know why she does this, but there is something motivating Aurora that makes her always feel trapped in her memories.

3

“Louis, are you sure? Why come back to Vietnam, is it too risky for you to do that? Your job is doing well, if you return to Vietnam, you will not be able to find that person.”

Louis sat with his head against the plane window, remembering his best friend's complaints. He laughed, it was true that he was a bit stupid, right when his career was at its peak, just because of a promise, he decided to return to Vietnam to look for that girl. The girl that even he didn't know was who, but because it was the person that he trusted, Louis couldn't refuse. He used his hand to brush away the dust on the worn-out file, which was a file with the words: Aurora Grace's medical record...