The Day I Kissed An Older Man

"Thanks to you and your friends... If it weren't for you all, I wouldn't know where I'd be right now..." He rubbed his hands together, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Perhaps he would have left behind his wandering life long ago if someone had been willing to lend him a hand from the start.

Rita smiled and said, "Where else could you go? You'd still be stuck at that piece of land of course."

Virgil scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Heh, you're right. But I still have to thank you all."

Rita nodded. "I also have to thank you for trusting me. Alright, I just came to see you. Since you're settling in so quickly, I'll head back now. There's still a lot of work to be done."

Virgil walked a few steps with her, hesitated, and finally said, "I know figuring things out can be tough, but since I've settled down now...you don't have to rush the matter. You can just take things at your own pace."

Rita understood his meaning; achieving this task alone would indeed be very difficult for her. Virgil was also afraid she forced herself into a dead-end.

"Don't worry. I've never been alone on this path, and I won't foolishly attempt the impossible," Rita assured him.

to make such a big sacrifice

smiled. As she drove away, she could still see his diminishing figure in the rearview mirror, standing

was not just doing this for Virgil; there could not possibly be only one victim in this

these things might come off as pretentious. Others might criticize her for being overly idealistic, but she was driven by a desire to reduce the number of victims and uncover the

warmth in his eyes. She could imagine how much he must have loved his children before this incident, how he lost them, lost his family, and could only watch other people's

all of this supposed to be acceptable? Rita did

on the accelerator, her destination set for

to complete. Even though she had been running around the scene for so

not

as she raised her head she caught him avoiding her gaze Rita chuckled