Chapter 508 The One She Loved

Emily couldn't help but glance at him. "Stop it," she said.

"All right," Jacob replied as he kissed her cheek.

The rope was about to break and his face had become serious, "Hold on tightly to me. We are going to
jump into the river."

"OK." She was nervous and hugged him tightly, but before she even realized it, her body began to fall.
"Ah!" she screamed.

The rope hadn't broken, instead she started falling because he had untied the knot which was around
her waist and released her.

The couple clung together as they plunged into the turbulent river, sending up a great splash of water.

Sinking to the bottom of the river, Emily gulped in several mouthfuls of water, and her ears and nose
filled in with the intense pressure of the deluge. She struggled fearfully as she began to drown! But in
the nick of time, Jacob pushed her up to the water surface. Since the current was swift, they were
washed down along the river course.

Soon they were confronted by a waterfall which roared ahead of them. Below it the water bubbled and
churned in a whirlpool from which there was no escape.

Seeing that the waterfall was fast approaching, Jacob pushed Emily towards the riverbank with all his
strength. She reached out to pull him towards the shallow waters, but failed to grasp his hands. The
force of the river current carried him past her and suddenly they were separated.

"Jacob!" She felt his finger tips brush past hers and then he was hurled out of her reach, further and
further away from her. A state of helplessness and panic overcame her, "No!" She screamed in
desperation.



In the blink of an eye, Jacob vanished under the water. She didn't know if he had been washed away,
or if he had been sucked into the waterfall and the dangerous whirlpool below it.

"Jacob! Jacob!" She screamed in sheer despair, but heard no response except the tearing song of the
rushing river.

Fearing that she would lose her beloved once more, Emily collapsed onto the muddy riverbank,
suddenly depleted of all her strength.

Why? Why was god so cruel?

Why was she reunited with him, only to lose him again?

She stared blankly into the turbulent waters, her mind numbed by despair. Then, she stood up and
stumbled back into the shallow waters.

But as her feet touched the water, a large fat fish landed beside her in a spray of water that beaded her
face.

The icy splash made her come to her senses. She looked at the river and saw Jacob bob to the surface
of the river, and he began to swim towards her, a lone indomitable figure, "Emily, get back! It's too
dangerous!" He shouted as he swam hard towards her, veins bulging on his muscled arms.

Her gaze still fixed on the man struggling against the water. She was unaware of the tears rolling
across her cheeks. How lucky that she had not cast herself into the waters before Jacob surfaced, or
she would truly have been separated from her love for ever! She looked down at the fish once more. Its
timely arrival had saved her life, and she wondered if she should thank it. Stooping she picked it up and
carried it a few steps away from the water before sinking to her knees.



Jacob reached the riverbank through a mighty effort and enduring courage. When he saw Emily sitting
in a dejected heap, he felt both gratitude and pity. Bending he scooped her up and carried her to dry
ground. Then he saw the tears on her cheeks.

"Why do you cry?" He lowered his head and kissed away her tears, which tasted a bit salty, yet also
saccharine, "Don't cry. Okay?" he said mildly.

"I was afraid you would disappear again, just like last time." Realizing that she was now very fragile,
she could not hold back the pain, "I couldn't stand such a blow again. If you were really... I would die,"
she said, her voice choking with sobs.

"Don't be silly." He felt the pain of her confession in his heart, and it was like a dagger to his soul.
Bowing, he kissed her lips, "I won't... Even if I were really dead, I would not allow you to die, just to
follow me."

Hearing this, Emily's pupils dilated sharply, and suddenly she bit him on the lips.

"Ah..." Feeling the sudden pain and arousal he unconsciously gasped a deep breath.

She hooked his neck and kissed his lips forcefully, as if she were venting her loss, the pain of their
separation and her fears in the moment of passion. He responded to her, but did not kiss her too long,
soon letting go of her.

Finding a clean spot for her to sit, he managed to make a fire, and so drive the cold away and dry their
clothes.

Emily removed all her clothes until she only wore a thin, single layer slip. She curled up in Jacob's
arms, clinging to his body for heat. Wrapped in his embrace she felt like this was the only existence
which was real.



Having dried her clothes, he asked her to change into the dry garments, while he began to remove his
wet clothes to dry. When she finished dressing, she glued onto Jacob again, her large eyes fixed on his
face. She seemed to have foregone blinking, as if she was afraid that he would disappear.

With his heart palpitating in response to her fear, he drew her into the safety of his arms again and
kissed her hair, "Don't be afraid! I will never leave you," he reassured her.

No matter what happened, for her sake, he would cherish his own life. He wanted to be with her
forever. He hadn't seen the lovely daughter she told him about yet. Moreover, there were still so many
things for him to do, memories to share with Emily.

He would die for her, but there was much that they still had to live for.

She rested against his chest in silence, her long curled eyelashes overshadowing the unease which
still clung to her eyes.

Jacob stroked her hair with great tenderness. Setting her next to him he began preparing the lucky fish
for roasting. Yellow fish oil seeped from the scaly body as it began to sizzle, pit-a-pit...

When the fish was ready, he fed Emily a little, but she seemed too weak and threw up whatever she
ate. Seeing that her face was deathly pale, he became frightened and feared to feed her anything else.

Realizing that he needed to regain some of his strength, he ate some of the fish and hurried to
transport Emily back to the village. Lifting her onto his back he rushed to get her safely home.

Lying on Jacob's back, she weakly clasped her hands around his neck, and dared not let go. She was
worn out and a fever had begun, which gave her a splitting headache, made worse by the bumpy track
which he was carrying her along.



"Are you cold, Emily?" He spoke to her ceaselessly, trying to stave off unconsciousness, and keep her
focused on his voice.

"No," she denied it, her teeth chattering together with violent trembling.

"Talk to me, all right?" He urged as he carried her upstream.

"All right," she replied as her eyes slowly closed.

"What kind of person did I use to be before?"

"You used to be..." Emily seemed to be recalling. She answered in an extremely low voice, her words
made inaudible by exhaustion, "Mature, overbearing and omnipotent. Even if the sky fell down, you
could withstand it. You always came to me when I need it most, just like a hero..."

He listened to her talk about the man he used to be, a man who was familiar, but also a stranger to
him. She admired and missed that man, that Jacob, so much. This made him feel strange, as if his
heart was soaking in lemonade, sour and astringent. Yeah, he was jealous of the Jacob he used to be!

The Jacob she spoke about was the Jacob of the past, but not the one of the present.

He had lost all those memories. The Jacob of the past was just a stranger to him, for he was totally
brand new now.

Maybe the one she loved was the Jacob he used to be?

Dark clouds invaded the blue sky, and soon it began to rain cats and dogs.

There was nowhere to shelter from the storm, so he plucked a large leaf and made a cover for her, but
kept moving onward, "Hold on, and we will be there soon," he tried to encourage the woman he loved
over his shoulder.



"OK..." she replied vaguely. Her voice became weaker and weaker.

Not knowing how long it took, and how far he had gone, Jacob finally saw the village in the distance.
His heart began thumping with excitement. "Emily! We'll be home in a minute!" Jacob cried out
jubilantly.

But this time, he received no reply.


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