"Irvin Hunter, from now on, you walk your broad path and I'll tread my narrow bridge. Let's never see each other again,"
Shirley said to the young man sitting on a stone bench, clutching his head, outside the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Irvin remained silent, his head throbbing as if it were about to split in two. ."
Partly because of the divorce, but also because he'd injured his head a week earlier.
"Irvin, don’t strain yourself by pretending to be devastated," Shirley's eyes were red, shimmering with tears.
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, "I once believed you'd treat me well. I entrusted everything to you, thinking that come rain or shine, I'd spend the rest of my life with you."
"In these times, finding a loving partner isn't easy."
"But now, I realize I was wrong," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Irvin, honestly, I really wanted to keep going with you, but I can't bear it anymore. I'm so tired, truly exhausted."
She choked up, trying her best to hold back the tears.
Suddenly, Irvin felt a slight relief from his headache. When he looked up, he saw Shirley's face, marred by sadness and teary eyes.
A pang of guilt shot through his heart.
They'd been together since college, and after joining the workforce, they'd quickly gotten married.
In the beginning, their love was strong, but as his career stumbled, he became increasingly depressed.
At first, it was just complaints, then it escalated to breaking things, and eventually, he struck her.
Just a few days earlier, he'd gotten into a fight with Shirley's younger brother.
He'd injured her brother so severely that the latter couldn't lift his arm. In the process, Irvin was shoved and hurt his head.
Reminded of his actions, a wave of regret overwhelmed Irvin.
He felt so guilty for turning everything into such a mess.
Smack!
With a crisp smack, Irvin slapped himself hard across the face.
He's such a beast!
He roared internally, consumed by self-loathing.
Seeing this, Shirley gave a sad smile. She reached out with her delicate hand, caressing his face, "We've come this far. What's the point of doing this now? Take care of yourself in the future."
Feeling the warmth of her palm, Irvin noticed visible bruises on her arm and took a deep breath.
Please, don’t be so gentle.
If you are, I'll blame myself forever,
Irvin thought, looking at the fatigued, dim-eyed Shirley, feeling profound pain.
In that moment, the bustling environment of the Civil Affairs Bureau seemed to fall silent.
The couples and married folks around them vanished from sight, leaving just the two of them, face to face, gazing at each other but unable to return to the past.
After a moment,
Shirley spoke, "Let's head in and get the divorce papers."
She said it and then led the way inside.
Irvin, noticing the reluctance on her face, hesitated to follow her into the Civil Affairs Bureau. "Shirley, I love you, I truly love you. I don't want to lose you like this. Can you give me one more chance?"
His voice was loud enough that many of the people around them turned to look.
"He deserved it, that guy clearly isn't any good," one bystander commented.
"If he'd known he'd regret this now, why start it in the first place? Such men are bad news," said another.
Several newly-divorced women were chatting, condemning Irvin without even knowing the full story.
Shirley felt a wave of embarrassment. This was the first time Irvin had publicly tried to win her back.
Deep down, a part of her wished she could believe him one more time.
But her heart was too scarred. Even if he genuinely regretted his actions, she didn’t have enough love left to try again.
Without responding to Irvin, Shirley lowered her head and went straight into the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Irvin stood outside for a while, a bitter smile on his face.
But when his eyes landed on a Civil Affairs Bureau staff throwing out trash, his body jolted as if he'd been shocked.
He suddenly saw a vision of that same staff getting scalded by an exploding water heater in the rest room.
This scene played out in his mind like a movie.
"What... what's happening to me?"
Irvin wondered, stunned and confused.
After a while, he finally entered the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Irvin followed Shirley to counter number three. The one attending them was the very staff he'd just seen outside.
"Hello, we're here to process our divorce,"
Shirley said politely, handing over her ID and other required documents.
Irvin, however, hesitated to produce his.
The staff, a middle-aged woman with oval-framed glasses, caught on to Irvin's reluctance.
"So many young couples nowadays rush into marriage and then rush out of it, parting ways over minor disagreements."
She began, turning her attention to Shirley with a smile, "Madam Quartley, I don't know what happened between you two, but divorce is a serious matter. Think it over."
Shirley pressed her lips together, saying nothing but nodding firmly.
She wouldn’t waver now. Any further indecision would only bring more pain.
The female staff continued inquiring, "The records indicate you have a daughter. If you divorce, who will take custody of the child?"
At this question, Shirley glanced at Irvin and immediately responded, "I will take care of Lucille. You can visit her whenever you want, and I don't need any alimony."
Irvin felt defeated, but he knew that pleading further would only upset Shirley more.
"As you wish," he responded.
Holding back the pain, he nodded in agreement.
Seeing Irvin's straightforward response, a fleeting sense of unexplainable disappointment flashed through Shirley's heart.
She suppressed the surge of emotions just as quickly as it rose.
The female staff, noting the situation, didn't say any more. Instead, she directed her attention to Irvin, "Sir, please provide the necessary documents."
Hesitating slightly, Irvin shakily took out his ID and other required documents.
He realized that Shirley was now thoroughly disappointed in him, and forcing the situation would only hurt her more.
It might be better to start anew and, in the future, show through his actions with the hope that she'd change her mind.
The female staff accepted the documents and began processing.
During this moment, Irvin warned her, "Ma'am, be careful when you go to the pantry for water later. That water heater might explode."
"What?"
She looked baffled as she worked on the computer.
Shirley frowned at Irvin's strange comment.
She was about to ask him to stay quiet but then realized they would soon be divorced and chose not to say anything.
Irvin continued, "The water heater in your pantry must be quite old and poses a considerable risk. I'd advise you to get a technician to check it now, or there could be problems."
The female staff was utterly confused.
How could this young man, who wasn't even a staff member of the Civil Affairs Bureau, know about the aging water heater in their staff room?
She suspected he might be making things up, perhaps affected by the emotional strain of the divorce.
Maintaining her professional demeanor, the staff handed the documents to them with a smile, "Thank you for the warning. I'll keep that in mind."
But internally, she didn't take his words seriously.
After their divorce paperwork was finalized, Shirley and Irvin left the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Later, when the female staff noticed her water bottle was empty, she picked it up and headed to the rest room to fill it with hot water.
On her way to the rest room, she suddenly remembered what Irvin had said and felt increasingly uneasy about it.
After all, even if Irvin had been upset, he shouldn't make such baseless claims.
Her intuition told her something was off.
When she arrived at the rest room, she carefully placed the water bottle under the tap and filled it. Then she quickly exited the room and shut the door, waiting outside.
Just a few seconds after she stepped out, a loud explosion came from the room, startling her!
A few moments passed before she mustered the courage to open the door. The metal exterior of the water heater had exploded, scattering everywhere, and hot water covered the floor.
"My goodness, was that man a prophet or something? This... this is unbelievable,"
The woman thought to herself, astonished by Irvin's uncanny foresight.