Mint Flavor - Judy 1/6 (i8TOYS)

In the "Garden", there are all kinds of drawers. The one wrapped in pink tin foil is Xiaodi's drawer. In the drawer is a box of almond mints. The tin box is a little rusty. Every time he passed by her, she would quietly hold one in her mouth, letting the cool and tingling feeling spread from the tip of her tongue to her heart.

He always liked to sit by the window in the "Garden". The sunlight shone through his soft hair, giving his outline a layer of furry gold edges. Xiaodi liked to watch the arc of his little finger when he turned the pen, liked his lower lip that he gently bit when he was confused, and liked her Adam's apple rolling when she tilted her head back to drink water.

The almond mints slowly melted on the tip of her tongue, and the coolness brought a slight tingling. Xiaodi wrote this feeling in her diary: "It's like holding a small piece of melting winter."

The first time they talked was in the "Garden". Xiaodi plucked up the courage to hand over an almond mint, and the other party's fingertips brushed across her palm, like a feather gently passing by. "Thank you," he smiled with his eyes curved into crescents, "I like almond flavor the most."

That night, Xiaodi thought about this sentence over and over again, as if she was holding an almond-flavored mint candy that she would never want to bite. She drew hearts all over her homework book, and erased it with an eraser before dawn.

Until one lunch break, she saw that he shared a headset with a boy from the next class. The sun was too glaring, and it made Xiaodi's eyes hurt. She took out the almond-flavored mint candy from her pocket and put it in her mouth, but this time she couldn't taste any almond flavor, only the lingering bitterness spread in her mouth.

Xiaodi threw the unfinished box of almond-flavored mint candy into the trash can. The tin box made a muffled "dong" sound, like the sound of a corner of her heart gently collapsing.

On the way home, Xiaodi passed by a convenience store and stood in front of the freezer in a daze. The clerk reminded: "The almond-flavored mint candy is sold out, why not try the strawberry flavor." Xiaodi shook her head, and when she turned around, she heard her heartbeat, like a melting almond-flavored mint candy.

In the "Garden," there were drawers of all kinds. The one wrapped in pink tin foil was Judy's drawer, inside which hid a box of almond-flavored peppermints. The metal tin had already begun to rust. Every time *he* passed by her, she would quietly slip one into her mouth, letting the cool, tingling sensation spread from her tongue to her heart  

. his silhouette with a fuzzy golden halo. Judy loved the way his pinky curved when he twirled his pen, the way he gently bit his lower lip when he was puzzled, and the way his Adam's apple bobbed when he tilted his head back to drink water.  

The almond-flavored peppermint slowly melted on her tongue, the coolness carrying a faint sting. Judy wrote this feeling into her diary: "Like holding a tiny piece of winter that melts away."

Their first conversation happened in the "Garden." Summoning her courage, Judy handed him an almond-flavored peppermint. His fingertips brushed against her palm as he took it, light as a feather. "Thanks," he said, his eyes curving into crescents as he smiled. "Almond is my favorite.

" all before dawn.  

Then one afternoon, she saw *him* sharing a pair of earphones with a boy from the next class. The sunlight was too harsh, stinging her eyes until they ached. She fished out an almond-flavored peppermint from her pocket and popped it into her mouth—but this time, there was no almond flavor, only an unshakable bitterness spreading across her tongue.  

threw Judy the half-empty tin of peppermints into the trash. "thud", like the sound of something quietly collapsing inside her chest.  

On her way home, she stopped by a convenience store and stood blankly in front of the freezer. The clerk reminded her, "The almond-flavored ones are sold out. Why not try strawberry?" Judy shook her head. As she turned to leave, she heard her own heartbeat—like an almond-flavored peppermint, melting away.