What Separates Me and You
Chapter 443 I Saw Him

A drop of cold dew landed on Josephine's face.

Her eyelashes trembled. She forced herself to open her eyes despite the splitting headache.

She saw the shadows of the trees sway and droplets of dew dripping down as if it was raining.

Josephine looked to the right.

Seeing an enlarged face, she was startled. She pushed the person away.

Josephine propped herself up from the ground. Clutching her chest, she gasped for air.

After a few minutes, she turned back to look at Lewis.

He was lying on the ground, his clothes torn by branches. His hair was in a mess, and scratches marked his face.

His eyes were shut. Josephine didn't know whether he was alive or dead.

She recalled rolling down the cliff with him last night. Lewis pulled her into his embrace and protected the back of her head with his hand. Josephine grabbed his hand and examined it. The back of his hand was mangled and covered in blood. He must have hit himself many times.

She then checked Lewis' body and felt a sticky sensation on the back of his head.

Josephine looked at her hand and found her palm covered in fresh blood.

Turning pale, she raised her hand to shake Lewis' shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak, but her breath hitched, making it difficult for her to utter a word.

After struggling for a while, she managed to get a few words out.

"L-Lewis, wake u-up!"

Lewis remained motionless. Josephine surveyed her surroundings. It was all wood. Sunlight came through the leaf cracks and made soft patterns on the ground in the forest.

A profound stillness hung in the air.

She grabbed her pajamas and tried to tear them with her teeth. However, they were of high quality, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't tear them apart.

Josephine shifted her attention to Lewis' coat.

She extended her hand, gripped the torn button on his coat, and pulled hard.

A rip echoed as she tore the coat off him. Clutching the uneven strips of fabric in her hand, she cradled his head and wrapped the torn pieces around the back.

Then, she tore another piece and bandaged his injured hand.

After completing all this, Josephine was left exhausted. Panting heavily, she collapsed to the ground.

She took a break and reached out to feel his body. Eventually, she found his phone nestled in his embrace.

Grabbing his hand, she unlocked the phone. When she checked the battery, it was at one percent, and there was no signal.

Josephine slumped beside the unconscious man and gazed at him with mixed emotions.

She waited for half an hour, but there were no signs of him waking up. She then picked up some leaves from the ground. Next, she collected some dew from the tree branches before feeding it to him.

Finally, she held his arms. Mustering all her strength to lift him, she propped him against a tree trunk.

Josephine used her sleeve to dab some dew on his face to clean away the grime.

Lewis' handsome features were revealed as she wiped away the dirt. However, his face still bore numerous scratches she couldn't completely address.

Sitting by his side, Josephine gazed at the sun in the sky through the gaps in the branches.

Memories played like a movie reel in her mind. She saw under the dappled shade of a tree, and sunlight landed on her eyes, causing her eyelashes to flutter.

Chirps and tweets echoed in the forest as if the birds were singing.

Josephine turned her head to look at the unconscious man beside her. Countless complex emotions surged in her eyes.

Flecks of sunlight landed on his face, and his fingers twitched.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes.

Suddenly remembering something, Lewis immediately tried to stand up. Yet a sharp pain shot through his head, making him sit back down.

Raising his hand, he saw the bandaged hand. He then touched his forehead, which was also wrapped up.

Lewis turned his head.

Their eyes met, and a quiet atmosphere hung between them.

Lewis' gaze flickered when he saw the inexplicable emotions in Josephine's eyes. "Are you okay?"

Josephine kept staring at him.

She felt an unfamiliar yet familiar feeling.

It was an unfamiliar yet familiar gaze.

Lewis' mouth twitched. "You ..."

He fell silent for quite a while before saying weakly, "Do you remember?"

Josephine averted her gaze and looked somewhere else.

Her response answered his question.

Lewis' eyelids drooped slightly, and he also looked away.

A quiet settled between them. At some point, even the birds above stopped chirping.

It was even quieter than when he was unconscious. It was as if even the air was hushed.

Sometime later, Lewis looked at her again. "How much do you remember?"

Josephine pursed her lips and remained silent.

Lewis extended his hand, wanting to hold her. But before he could touch her, Josephine suddenly pulled her hand back.

"You all... lied to me."

Stunned, Lewis stared at her.

Josephine lowered her gaze, her eyes welling up with tears. She stared at her hand, and tears dropped onto the back of her hand.

Lewis' lips moved, but he didn't say anything eventually.

A cool breeze swept by and brushed Josephine's hair.

Suddenly, Josephine stood up and walked away unsteadily.

Watching her retreating figure, Lewis felt a desire to chase after her. However, dizziness overwhelmed him when he tried to move, causing him to sit back down weakly.

He clutched his chest. His eyes never left Josephine's disappearing figure, and a tinge of pain flashed across his face.

Josephine picked up a fallen branch and used it as a support as she tottered away.

The light ahead was bright. In a daze, Lewis saw her walking into the light.

It was as if she had disappeared with the light.

Closing his eyes, Lewis leaned against the tree trunk. A bitter smile crept onto his lips.

After a while, he fumbled for a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Leaning against the tree, he lit a cigarette for himself.

Lewis gazed at the light filtering through the leaves above as wisps of faint smoke spiraled upward and danced in the wind. Suddenly, the sound of faint footsteps reached his ears. Lewis turned his head to look.

Josephine was back.

His movements paused briefly.

Josephine sat before him and spread out the corner of her clothes to reveal a handful of fresh wild rice stem.

Lewis looked at Josephine in astonishment.

She handed him a piece of wild rice stem.

Lewis slowly extended his hand and took the wild rice stem from her. He then glanced at her.

They had eaten this before when they were stranded on that deserted island.

With a bitter smile, Lewis remarked, "It seems like your memories are back."

Josephine knelt before him and stared intently at him. She instinctively raised her hand and began signing.

"I remember more than you can imagine."

Lewis' gaze flickered. "What else do you remember?"

Josephine signed. "I remember a group of people stormed into our house on my grandfather's birthday when I was five."

Lewis' grip on the wild rice stem tightened.

Josephine continued gesturing. "They were holding guns and shooting at anyone they saw. My mother held me, and we hid everywhere, but she still got shot through the heart."

Josephine started tearing up while recalling the memories.

Her fingers became stiff, and she struggled to sign. It felt like someone was clenching her heart and suffocating her.

Choking back tears, she managed to say, "She shielded ... me, kept me hidden ... in her arms and saved me... from the ordeal."

Her speech wasn't smooth, and there were pauses between her sentence. Her pain was evident as her voice cracked.

Her face seemed to turn a shade paler with each word she uttered.

"Someone pushed my mother away, and I saw him."

Lewis quietly listened as she spoke. When he heard that, he asked, "Who was it?"