That fateful night - Chapter Four

The doors swung open releasing everyone in the train out, they flooded the platform with such pace, it only signaled their urgency. It looked like a dam had cracked open and the water spilling out all at once. Everyone with their hand luggage just walking with such speed, he did not dare to get into the mob that were tourist to find her. But it was not difficult to do so anyway, amongst all there was just one person who took her time, and walked closer towards him. Her face imprinted with the emotions that were running through her heart. He savoured every inch of her, as though it were going to be the last time he would ever see her again. She was in her usual jeans and a blouse that he had bought for her some time ago, never once had he seen her in it. She looked beautiful as always, and in her eyes he could see how much she loved him. In his gut he knew that once she gets on that plane, life for both of them would change forever. He understood why it had to happen and he knew that no one could stop the wheels of change when they are in motion. As she came closer to him he got up and hugged her, she felt his embrace and hugged back. Their embrace spoke of love and how much they cherished each other. They never could comprehend why this was happening but they knew that it was necessary. It was coming, but in the past ignorance brought a lot of bliss to their union. Their minds flew back in time, to the moment when she received her acceptance letter. She read it and her eyes immediately filled with tears. He knew how much this meant to her, and hiding his emotions and sadness that someday she won't be here with him, he kissed her and congratulated her on her success. Maybe she knew all along of his true feelings, but it didn't matter then, they had each other and they cherished it. Never would they let her leaving the country, to come in between what they knew was to become something special. After a while they decided to go up to the departure terminal and have a drink. He felt like he had a lot to say and so did she. So many unspoken words from the past all bottled up due to maybe ego, or just bad timing, was now going to be put out onto the table.

They made their order and collected their drinks, picked a spot where they would have a lot of privacy and sat down next to each other. Although they had a lot to say to each other, it seemed that words were hard to come by at moments such as this, so they sat down quietly. Looking deep into each others eyes, they suddenly found a new level of comfort in each other. They knew that they were growing up and that this was just another challenge placed in front of them. A challenge that if faced alone they might loose but together there was nothing they couldn't accomplished. Around them there were so many different emotions. Some were crying, some were laughing away, others just sat there alone seeping away at their coffee. But these two were locked in their own world together. Acceptance of their destiny was settling in and all they could do was just to swallow it and not complain. "I will miss you." she said, breaking the silence. "I'll miss you to sweetheart, and i just want to say that I love you and I will always be with you," he replied. He wanted to do what he came here to do, and that was to be by her side and by saying that he was declaring his intentions. Upon hearing his words she smiled, and replied, " You're the best thing that has ever happened to me and I will always be with you to." Words he had never heard being uttered from anyone to him. She was perfect for him, and he knew that well. Soon they both fell into a casual conversation, it was needed to comfort their feelings. Planning away at the future, they came up with holiday plans and they enjoyed it. A renewed sense of hope filled the air between them and it was lovely to see, looking forward to their escapades together in the future created a false sense of immortality around their relationship. The conversation spanned for hours and laughter filled their hearts with joy, and numbed the sadness. Time however put an end to their laughter. Hours had passes without them knowing and it was time for her to leave on her jet plane. They sat in silence and held each others hands, not knowing who was the one who needed strength. To be honest they both needed it.

Soon they found themselves standing at the gates. They knew this was the moment, and it had finally come. The one moment that they were afraid to face had snuck up and caught them both by surprise. People around them were handing their passports and tickets for inspection and hurrying to catch their flights, except her. She wanted to stay with him and not go anywhere. If only the officers at the entrance of the gates were that sentimental, they called out to her to hurry and she had no choice but to go and leave the rest to the cruel hands of fate. In one enchanted moment, they kissed and each savouring the moment with the greatest care. At once all the memories they had in their hearts flashed by in one quick glance. She looked at him and said,"I'll be back soon honey, I love you." "I'll be right here waiting, and remember I love you to." he replied. She turned and proceeded to hand her ticket for inspection. Going down the escalator he could only look on as his love was being taken away from him and he was powerless to stop it. The wheels of change were already in motion and it had different plans for the both of them. As she got of the escalator she turned back and shouted,"May The Force Be With You." He smiled and at that moment he knew that this was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. She knew of his love for the popular movie, Star Wars, and accepting him as nerdy as he was made him realise how special this girl was. They waved at each other and she disappeared into the future. He stood there and took in all that had happened, a single tear rolled down his cheek. Turning back and walking towards the car park, he knew that the world was about to change for him. What was ahead he could not see, but he knew he had become stronger and that he was ready to face those demons. It was on that fateful night that he became a man. And it was all because of her.

That fateful night - Chapter Three

The airport was packed with eager travellers, all of whom filled with anticipation. So many faces so many races filled the area around him. For a while he wandered if this could actually transcend into the world, the scenery at an airport. People from various backgrounds working in a joint effort to help each other get to their respective destinations. He shrugged of the taught as just another flash in the pan. From what he always saw on the news he was convinced that such a state of peace was only possible in fairy tales. Some would say it was negative thinking but others on the other hand called it the blunt truth of it all! After scouting around for her face he knew that she had not arrived yet, it brought about a smile on his face. This was due to the fact that in their previous experiences together, he was the one who was always late, which made her very angry most of the time. Later on though she got used to it, which made him a happy man. No more fights because of his timing, no more making things up to her after a fight. It was a deal that tasted so sweet on his end. He walked down the escalator to where the trains stop, that was where she was getting down. It was a train service from the central station to the airport, one of many lame attempts by the government to lure people to use the airport. He always looked at it as a complete waste of money, yet today it had proven convenient to her and that was all that mattered to him, her convenience. So he waited, picking out a seat that was empty and sat down and waited. Again his mind was victim to his many tauts that seem to overcome him with ease through out the day. Recollecting his first kiss with her, their first date, it all seemed surreal to him even after 3 years. He always had a unique character that made him different from others and so, sometimes even a social outcast. Never had he been with a woman for so long, it always ranged from a week to a month, in his previous relationships. That was what he found so special in her, the way she did not judge him before she got to know him, she was one of the few people who actually spent time getting to know him as a person and not as just another face. Sometimes when they were alone, she would hold him tightly in her arms and make him feel good about himself, making him feel protected and cared for. She did all those things without any difficullity as if it came so easily to her. He knew that she had made him a better man and that she had in some cases prepared him for the world. Thinking of her always brought peace to him, it made his inner voices quite down and made him feel at ease with himself and his surroundings. To him the one memory he would never forget was the first time he ever saw her. All through the years he kept that one memory close to his heart never letting it out onto the open to be tarnished by jokes and insults. He kept it safe with him and always taught of that moment as one of the highlights of his life.

The bell rang signalling break time was up, and it was time to head into class. For him as a student the one subject he hated was Biology. Never in his existence as a student was he able to stay awake for a single class of bio. It was just to boring to him, despite understanding the importance of the field of study as a corner stone of life on earth, he always preferred leaving the field biology to the nerds who loved it. To him he was only there in class to satisfy the teachers and his mother, never himself. The taught of it drained the very life from him. So when it was time to go into an hour of Biology he obviously dragged his feet along and walked along with his friends, chatting about the various topics that teenagers would find amusing, trying desperately to waste as much time as possible outside of the class rather then suffer through it in the class. He opened the door being already five minutes late, but he didn't care about that at all. He hated the subject so much that if he had to drop it, it would have been a blessing instead of a curse. Slowly dragging his feet, he and his friends edged to the back end of the class, picked a spot and started talking softly again behind the class. Through out the first ten minutes he had already yawned about a hundred times, the lecturer so use to that very sight, became accustomed to ignoring it and continued on his teachings. Everyone in class had a notepad out and were frantically writing away. Not him, he kept on talking with his friends and ignored everything around him in the class. Suddenly the door opened, stealing every one's attention for a brief moment, and as fate would have it, it was her.

When he saw her he could not think or breathe, it was as if his body organs had all simultaneously stopped and stared at her magnificence. Blinking his eyes just to make sure it wasn't a dream he kept on looking at her. To him she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her eyes were dark brown, her hair was a perfect length and fell on her face as though it were part of it. Her skin colour so radiant and smooth, lite up the room as soon as she walked in. She looked like an angel and he was, well in the words of AC DC, 'thunderstruck'. Her walk displayed a certain amount of confidence that was for all to see, and her voice was as soothing as a cup of hot tea. She attracted every one's undivided attention without even having to speak. She certainly got his. His mouth fell to the ground, he felt alive again and it was a long time since he had felt like that. She had already made a huge impact on him even before anything had transpired between them. When she sat down he was still in shock. The teaching had gone on and everyone else returned from that small distraction back to their books, but him. He wandered what would it be like to be with someone so beautiful? The more important question that he had to answer was, how would he get her to be with him? Questions he could only find out the answer to if he was willing to give it his all to get her! And so he did. Months later, their love for each other blossomed like a beautiful flower in spring. It was a love story for the generations to come. One that was filled with joy and sadness, love and hate, every aspect of it was nothing but a roller coaster ride and they loved it. More importantly, they loved each other. Their love was one that had stood the test of time and distance, and still carried on. It was time for them to realise the greatest challenge for any relationship, being apart from each other. As the train reached the platform and the sound of the breaks alerted him out of his dream world, he asked himself, would it last?

That fateful night - Chapter Two

Knowing what was to come and facing it, were two different things, and he knew that well. How was he to face the one challenge that he knew he was not strong enough for? The doubt and the ever growing anger that burned within him, made him want to put an end to everything. As crazy as it sounded, that seemed like the better option. After knowing her for so long and after going through so much with her by his side, he knew that going about it alone was not going to be easy. And that was putting it mildly, he knew that he just couldn't do it! She was the corner stone on which he had built the later part of his life on, and she was the one for him. Now she was being taken away from his grip and that was just to much to bare alone. As hard as he taught it was going to be, things were going to be harder. A stupid, innocent child was about to become a man, a mind that was drowning in ideals that were so green, was now going to be left to dry in the cold that was the world. Hours he had spent contemplating what was to come, yet what was coming was beyond him. Looking at his watch, he realised that time was running out and he had to get ready soon. It was time for the metal to meet the meat, so to speak. It was time for him to put on his armor and ride into battle. To face what years of living could not help him it. Nothing in his live could prepare him for what was ahead, it was as if he were blind folded and asked to find a key in a dark room. So was his situation.

As he walked towards his car, his knees were wobling from the immense fear that rested quietly on his shoulders. Reaching out to his door handle, a moment of hesitation filled his heart and soul, for a brief second he wanted to turn around and not face her. In that split second the very taught of running away seemed more appealing to him then anything else. In that moment of weakness he gave into that very notion, he gave into failure. Walking back to his room, he sat down and just stared into oblivium. Trying desperately to silence the voices of his consience that yelled out to him, screaming out the difference between right and wrong. Suddenlly, his phone rang. Assuming it was her calling, he took his own sweet time and took out his phone from his pocket. Deep down he knew he was doing the wrong thing, deep down he knew he was being a coward, deep down he hoped she would understand. To his surprise however it was his mother calling. A moment of relieve blew across his heart and he answered. "How are you handling things son?" his mother asked. His reply was neither convincing nor the truth and his mother knew it. " I'm ok ma, just sitting in my room, busy with assignments." "Aren't you suppose to be on your way to the airport by now?" his mother asked. Knowing not what was suppose to be said next, he fell into silence. His tongue was tied by his need to be brave and his need to not show weakness. Yet, it was the coward in him that was prevailing today. His mother understood which path he had chosen, she did not need an answer nor did she need confirmation on what her son had chose to do. She understood why he would go about this the way he had, still she knew it was not the best choice to make. Especially not for a man. Being a lady of her age, having walked a little further on in life as her son, her reply was short yet precise. " Son, always remember, courage is not the absence of fear, instead it is the recognition that there is something else greater then fear. I am sure you will do the right thing." She hung up and he sat alone in his room for a few minutes. In his head his mother's words were bouncing of every corner in his mind. He knew what his mother meant, but still putting those words is action was way more difficult then it had seemed. He knew the ball was in his court, and he knew that his next move would be determine how he would lead his life forever.

He started his engine an waited for a moment to get the engine warmed up. While he waited the fear that now had built a home in his heart, was to much to handle. Still he needed to be strong for his love, that was her. He had to put aside his notion of fear and move like a man. Knowing that life would always place obsticles ahead he chose to burst through them. He wanted to be by her side and hold her and whisper into her ear how much he loved her and how things were going to be just fine. Wheather is was something he wanted to do remained a question, but was it something he had to do, returned a thundering yes! He drove on at a steady pace, and did so only because that was the kind of driver he was. Never to fast and never to slow on the road. He knew he had plenty of time to reach his destination, and so there was no need to rush. The sound of his favourite songs echoed in the cockpit, bringing to him whatever little comfort it could. Admitedly he had heard those songs a million times, yet today there was going to be a huge change in his life and the question of change in his CD pouch was not of any concern to him. Again he glanced at his watch, realising that he was going to reach earlier then expected, he wound down the window and lit a ciggarate. As he was doing so his favourite song came on, as if to remind him of what laid ahead. For a while now his mind had seemed to get tired from thinking of her leaving that it spaced out and focused on nothing at all. It was as if he was in a world of his own and nothing mattered outside of it. In the background Rob Thomas sang his song entitled 'Now Comes The Night', and it felt as though the song was made for the moment. As he heard it, the words that carried the song seem to bring about a metaphorical pat on the back. As to say that he was doing the right thing. The soulful piano mixed with the emotion packed voice of Rob Thomas, was enough to prepare him for the moments ahead, to make his heart stronger and ready. At the end of the song, '....let us hold onto each other till the end of our days' urged a notion of hope in him that would never go away.

That fateful night - Chapter One

The clock hit 9 and the alarm went of, giving out a sound that he dread the most. The sound that signaled to him that it was time to wake up and face his demons again. A new day had arrived and what it held for him was not something he wanted to face. But, despite of his distaste for what was to come, destiny had made it impossible to avoid. For a brief moment he felt like Alice, tumbling down a rabbit hole that had no end, worse still not a guarantee of what was ahead at the end. His mind went to explore the possibilities that lay ahead, yet none could be found. Maybe it was because he was to afraid to think of them. Sort of the same situation that most find themselves in. Many times the question of life that can never be answered smiles at us all in our faces. Answers to them however elude us and maybe its because we are just to afraid to realise them. Maybe we just want to go on without knowing, just to ensure that the spice of this live is not forgotten or neglected. Finally he gathered all his energy that had not been taken away by sleep, and woke up. He went to his small brown table and lifted his box of cigarettes. Knowing that it was harming his health, he still took a stick and hoped that it would numb his tauts and keep him going for the whole day. Walking toward the balcony at a slow pace he stared out onto the open and lit his cigarette. As he puffed away, he could only feel hate and anger at the sad wings of destiny. To him it was unfair as to where life had taken him, to a place that he did not want to be, to a choice that he did not want to make. A mind split in two, and filled with doubt and confusion plagued him, eating away at his dreams and his will to keep going on. What was beckoning was a dark cloud and the fate of his future could only be saved by one person, and that was him. Time kept moving on without an ounce of symphaty. It moved so fast that not a single moment could be savoured. On one hand he liked it that way, the faster it ended the faster he could get over it and continue on his journey, and on the other he was in fear of the coming hours and begged mercy from the ever unforgiving entity we call time.

His mind, lost in its wanderings was suddenly awakened again by his phone. It rang loud and clear, as he went towards it to pick it up, he realised it was her. Nothing in the world was ever good enough to compare her with. To him it was the beauty that radiated from her that gave him hope of a better tomorrow. A world that was being torn apart by war and greed held no surprises for him anymore and it seemed like a never ending story. Every morning he would have his coffee and log onto CNN and read about all the things that he hated in the human race. All the things that seem to take away the beauty that he believed resided in us all. It was amazing he taught, the human mind was capable of such beautiful dreams and such terrifying nightmares all at the same time. As the phone rang in his hand, he pondered the choice that lay before him. He could pick it up and speak to her, or he could not and be alone with his tauts for a little longer. But he decided to answer it anyway. To him, he knew that this would be the last day he could speak with her without worrying about the distance or the cost of it all, today was the last day she would be close to him. For tomorrow, the future had placed vast oceans between him and her, for tomorrow the world was against him. She greeted him with a shiver in her voice, maybe it was fear or sadness that had engulfed her emotions or maybe it was both. He felt that he had to be strong. He was challenged by emotion to break down and submit to the sadness that clouded his heart, but he realised that being strong for her would bring about a better outcome. Their conversation lasted for at least an hour, they spoke of various topics that related to the coming hours. Neither of them wanted to face it, but both of them knew they had to. While they were talking, the both of them were recollecting of the past. Thinking of their times together. They knew speaking about it would make things harder for both parties, so they stayed quiet and wandered away and took a stroll down memory lane. To them of all the great discoveries they had made in their lives, the one that they knew would change everything was their love. An emotion that seemed to fuel their hopes and dreams and give them a strong push ahead. Unfortunately the wind in their sails brought them here. A point where their individual paths would now have to go in different directions. What laid ahead? Would change consume them? No answers came about to settle their minds, in time, they would find out.