The Flower That Fell..

He was woken up from his sleep by the cellphone ring. 'Damn..I need to turn my phone off before I sleep', he thought. Cursing his rotten luck of being interrupted from a rather sweet dream, he annoyingly picked up the phone. He was greeted with a sweet voice, 'Still asleep?'! It was the same person that's been waking him up in the morning for the past 5 years. She has always called at 8AM on the dot and that day was no different. 'How could she wake up this early'!!! He got up and sleepily said 'Not now. Man, I was having an awesome dream. I think there was a girl involved too. You just ruined it for me'!! Before he could finish the sentenced, he was presented with a tirade from her about how he should go to sleep early and get consistent hours of sleep. Even though she reiterates the same to him almost everyday, he still hasn't gotten tired of it.

It was very coincidentally that they'd met. It was at a friend's party that he had reluctantly attended. He was new to the town and had not made many friends. He did not want to be uncomfortable among strangers and thought that he'd spare himself. But his friend pushed him to attend and he agreed. He walked into the apartment quite early in hope to get to know a few people beforehand so that he won't be sitting in a corner bored out of his mind. As he knocked on the door, he could hear the noises from inside. A female opened the door and gave him a warm smile. He was greeted inside where he was welcomed by his friend. Thankfully, there were only about 5 people present there. They were decorating the apartment and he thought that he'd join in on the fun. Within a matter of minutes, he realized that the group of people was definitely one of the friendliest he'd encountered.

The same female that had opened the door was helping him with decorations. As they were doing so, they started chatting on quite random topics. She was very laid back. At the same time, she was intelligent and he seemed as though she had a great personality. He felt very comfortable with her. As the night progressed, they talked more and more to realize that they are alike in a lot of ways. She kept him company all night and he left the night with her contact information. From then, many calls were made to each other...many dinners were shared...many parks were walked on. And it's been 5 years and they still remain the best of friends.

Getting back to the call, he sensed that she had something to say to him. So he asked if everything was alright. She said that she had something important to tell him. Her voice was a bit dull. They arranged to meet each other in an hour. He started getting ready right away because he did not want to start a quarrel about his usual tardiness. He went down to the garage to get his car. It started raining. He went back into the apartment to get an umbrella because it was a 3 minute walk from the parking lot to the park. As he hoped in his car, he realized that his gas tank was almost empty. He was so convinced that the cosmic forces were trying to play a game with him. After filling fuel, he sped to the park. By the time he got to the park, the rain had stopped. Sunny day, he thought to himself.

He walked to their usual meeting and she was waiting for him. He was ready for a tirade and was about to apologize when he saw her face. It was gloomy. This was a surprise to him since she's smiling almost all the time. He asked what was wrong and she just smiled at him sadly. "I don't know where to begin, dear. I thought of about 5 different ways to introduce this to you but nothing seems to be sticking. I'm just going to say it. My marriage is arranged." It took him a few seconds to process that information. As soon as he did, he started laughing like a maniac. "You got me. You got me. Great way to start a day. Now I am completely awake", he said. Saying that, he looked at her. Her expression had not changed. He was dumbfounded. She kept on talking and he could not hear anything. At last, he managed to say "And you are okay with this?" She talked about how her fiance is a childhood friend and that their families are close as well. It was a very abrupt decision and since there was no opposition from both sides, they decided to go ahead with the planning. The night before, both families came together and had a verbal agreement.

He could not believe his ears. 'Why did not you tell me about this before?' he asked. 'The whole process was in 3 days and I needed some time to register the information in my head' she retorted.

They sat together on the bench. No words. No sound.

At last, she broke the silence. 'You know, this may be hilarious. We've known each other for 5 years and there had been a few times when I felt something for you. Something more than what a friend feels for another friend. It probably was wrong of me have thought that way. I just couldn't help myself. You became a part of me and there were times when I felt as though I wouldn't have moved on if it weren't for you being there for me. There were times when the mere thought of you made me ecstatic. Don't laugh, alright? I was such an idiot. I know that you'd never thought of me in that manner. I was wrong to have thought that. I thought I should say this anyway, so that I won't have a heavy heart later on in my life whenever I think of you.'

He looked at her with his mouth wide open. He started to say something.....but she interrupted...

"Hey, you know...if you had ever told that you had feelings for me....could you even imagine where we would be today? Anyhow. No point thinking about the past. We'll remain friends and nothing can come between our friendship. I'll call you tomorrow, okay? I have a date with my fiance today and I better not be late. Well. He's a nice guy, I'm sure he won't mind though. But I'd rather build up a good first impression. I know that this is a lot to take in, but do understand...yeah? I'm sorry that I didn't tell you this in advance. We'll hang tomorrow. Buh bye."

She walked away..waving. A tear drop rolled down his cheeks on to his shirt. Just then, a flower from the shady tree fell next to him.

He truly had loved her and was planning to confess his love that night.