The room Levi and Jun stayed in at The Hollow Fox Inn was on the top floor of the inn, accessed by a narrow, creaky wooden staircase. The room was filled with the scent of soap and lavender. Inside were two simple beds, side by side, with wooden frames, iron headboards and clean, white mattresses. In the centre of the two beds was a small bedside table with a kerosene lamp and a few books. In the corner was a worn fireplace and in front of it were the chairs where the two lovers had just sat.
Levi and Jun were lying side by side on one of the beds in the room, the wind outside had died down and they couldn't hear the empty humming from below.
They were both clasping their hands together, thinking about what to do next.
-'Are we going back to Norbury?' said Jun.
-'If we go back there, they'll bother us both and it'll get worse,' said Levi.
-'What are we going to do then, we can't stay here forever,' said Jun.
-'We'll go somewhere else, away from here, if you want to,' said Levi.
-'You love Norbury, you have a comfortable life there, it's going to be hard for you to change that. Don't worry about me, I'm willing to stay with you quietly and put up with all the bad things,' Jun said, turning slowly towards Levi.
-"You said you were born near Norbury, even though you've been on the streets all this time you're used to it and you're still young so you need to be confident, if you come with me and realise your feelings are temporary you might regret it.
-'I'm nineteen. I know if my feelings are temporary or permanent, Levi. Now, where are we going to go, have you thought of a place?' Jun said, his voice both angry and soft.
-'We could go up north, I have a friend there, he could find us a place to stay and we could open a new clinic. In the meantime, I'll teach you how to read and write quickly and some basic medical knowledge so people won't get suspicious, and I'll have to tell my family about it,' Levi said.
-'To the north, we'll have to travel for days from here and we'll see how your parents feel about it. Maybe I should...' Levi started to say something before Jun had finished:
-'It's going to be a bit of a long journey, yes, but that's okay, and as for my family, you don't even know them yet, so please don't think negatively,' Levi said.
Jun just nodded his head 'yes'.
-'Tomorrow,' Levi said, 'I'll go back to Norbury and send a letter to my family and my friend who lives in the northern town of Keswick. I'll pack a few important things from the clinic and I'll come here to you, you wait for me here while I wait for you. When I arrive, we'll take a horse and cart to the nearest railway station and from there we'll take the train and start our journey.'
-'Wouldn't it be better to wait for the letters to be answered? Maybe they won't accept them,' Jun said.
-'We might get hurt if we wait for a reply, I'll tell them where we'll stop so they can send the letters there, and if they don't accept them, we'll find another way, don't you think? Do you want to come with me?' said Levi.
-'Save your sceptical questions, Doctor' Jun said, hugging Levi, 'let's hug some more.'
-Levi replied with a chuckle, 'Do you want anything from the clinic?
-'My blue cup, please, and you,' Jun said. He hugged Levi tighter.
The fireplace in the room was about to go out and it was long after midnight.Levi and Jun had fallen asleep hugging each other tightly.They would wake up in a few hours and embark on a journey that would change their lives forever and they would never forget this little room in The Hollow Fox Inn.
This room was a small, humble shelter where they took refuge in the sharp bend of their lives. This room was the first witness of their fatigue, timid sentences and new decisions made.