The Tale of the Lotus Heart

Yong's POV

I was minding my own business, getting a coffee on my break when I saw a man harassing a barista. Normally I wouldn't get involved but I only had so much time for my break to start with. In this generation, I was a doctor, but I had really only come down to play for a lifespan. I wasn't a normal human being although I was parading around as one for the time being. In truth, I was an immortal from the Heavenly Realm. I was over 30,000 years old, but after certain events that happened 4,000 years ago, I idled around mostly these days.

I intervened on the side of the barista when I saw the altercation getting physical. I had no other motives, I just wanted to deescalate the situation, get my coffee, and head back to the hospital. But I wasn't prepared to see who it was exactly I saved.

Zyanya.

No, it wasn't Zyanya. Zyanya was dead. I watched her die 4,000 years ago to save me. This girl was just someone who looked exactly like her. Still, the resemblance was so uncanny, I couldn't stop myself from helping her with her dislocated shoulder.

"Your birthmark..." I muttered as my fingers brushed across her shoulder blade. I knew that mark. It was the mark of the lotus heart. This girl Aivi, was surely the reincarnation of Zyanya. There was no other way to explain Aivi's resemblance to her and the tie to me. She pulled her shirt back up with a little difficulty.

"The lotus," she sighed. I was surprised she even recognized the flower. What else did she know? Did she have any memories of her previous life?

"When I was younger, I was teased a lot for it by other kids. An old lady who often helped out at the home would often tell me that it's a curse. She said I'll lose my life at age 24, but I never took her seriously," she explained as she buttoned her shirt with her back facing me. She stood and handed my suit jacket back to me as a faint blush covered her cheeks.

apologized. I could only shake

okay. In fact, it's been a while since anyone has talked to me this long. Most

draped my jacket over her shoulders. Aivi couldn't have known anything from Zyanya's life. If she did, she would recognize me. Her knowing about the lotus birthmark was pure coincidence. She didn't know what it truly meant. The lotus marked where the lotus heart was kept. If Aivi really had the lotus heart. It was plausible that she wouldn't live to see age 25. But from what I could sense, the lotus heart was dormant. I walked with Aivi the short distance to my place of work, the hospital. After checking her in and getting her shoulder X-rayed I braced her shoulder

she chuckled to herself as we walked out of the automated sliding doors.

any questions, feel free to call," I said as

she said before she

scratched the back of my

too presumptuous of me to want to see you again?" I asked. She hesitated before

call you," she promised before she left. I sighed before going back inside. In my office, my brother Tase was waiting on me. He came down with me from the Heavenly Realm to keep me company. He was idly spinning in

mood?" He asked. I sighed and

ran into her," I admitted. Tase stood out of the chair quickly as

How do you know it's her?" He

Same look and temperament, but it gets worse. She has the lotus heart," I explained.

"If that's true-"