she said it was important, and i took the first flight back, but for some reason, the flight had to be delayed. 25 minutes, late than the original one. so i waited at the airport, so while doing so, i reminisce about the time when i was younger, when i was still in primary school.
i met Meera when we were in primary 3,she just moved from Bintulu, she used to sit beside me, at first i thought to myself, and mind you, this was my younger self, ' this girl is so cute, but too bad she's a girl'. and that was what i thought of her, but then she introduced herself to me. at first i was reluctant to say my name, but i did. she smiled, then held my hand and asked me to play hide and seek, along with our other friends. but the thing was at that time, she never took her hands of mine, we hid at the same place. i just kept quite, not wanting to be caught. anyway, time passes, and we were in high school. she hit puberty a lot faster than me, so when we were in form 1, she was a bit taller, but by the time we hit form 3, i was the taller one.
we shared a lot of memories, some bad, some good, her breakup with her first ever boyfriend, and then her second boyfriend, and mine with this crush i used to have, but i never had a girlfriend before, and of course the time we went camping and got lost, i never would have thought that that would be a good memory, but we do have some fun thinking back about it.slowly, i started to have feelings for her, but i never wanted to tell her, cause i thought that if i do tell her, it would ruin our friendship. she said she was single, but not available, i didn't get what that meant during that time, but now i do.
Then, we graduated, and i went on to college, she went to Matriculation, i got into an arts college, studying film and broadcasting, while she went to med school. i went on to become a broadcasting agent and i got that job offer in England. i wanted to go to Hollywood, but my application to the US wasn't accepted, so i went on to London, England. she got a job at the hospital, since it was part of her contract to work after finishing her studies. and the night before my flight, i took her out. I've been planning that for a week, and you know, i thought, that by bringing her to a romantic dinner, just a night before my going would set the right mood, and maybe our love will spark. so we had dinner, talked about my bags and shirt that I'm bringing there, and where i was going to live but then we ran out of topic, so i brought out the topic about our love life, how we have always been friend, and how she never met a guy, and i never had a girlfriend. then i told her everything. there was silence between us, just the bustling sound of the restaurant waiters and other people talking. she didn't say anything. then those words came out, ' I'll tell you after you come back here. you can wait right?'
I've always been patient, but somehow that night i didn't have any patience, i didn't know why, but perhaps maybe that i was leaving tomorrow, and all she could say was that she's gonna wait for me to come back. i didn't say a word after our conversation, its like the words are just gone, and i just don't seem to be in the mood. so the day came, i made my flight to London, and i didn't look back, not at the girl, not at my hometown.
but here i am, looking back, and going back, just with the flight being delayed i can't do anything. i took a walk around the airport, and just walked to see the people there. then 20 minutes pass, and I'm sure that i can go into the terminal now. i waited for the flight attendance to call us to get into the plane, and then we went.
the flight from Liverpool to Kuching, a direct flight, took almost almost a whole day, so i got some shut eye inside the plane to avoid jet-lagging. and when i couldn't sleep, i took the liberty to watched the in flight movies, or play some games, and other than that, i would often times flirt with the stewardess, i know, sounds perv of me, but come on, its a long flight home.
I'm not really sure why she called, and why i even answered. hours before arriving in KLIA, i had a thought, that what if she called me to finally say that she wants to be with me more than ever, more than anything i suppose. but that thought was slowly beginning to take its toll on me as i was even more eager to go back to Kuching. what if she did, what if this time going back meant we were finally going to start that relationship that was on hold for quite a few years. what if we ended up marrying each other, or the least, getting engaged. her parents and my parents were close, because my mom works with her mom, at some point when we were younger, just before my mom retired.
my thoughts were running wild, with never ending possibility of what might happen. what if i never took that job. where would i be right now? would we still be friends? or would we be married and have children? or would we lose contact and never see each other again after that night. questions that never seem to have answer. oddly enough, even though I'm not a religious guy, i only thought that God has paved my life into going to this direction. though the possibility are endless, i chose the path, and God provided my destination. that was all i thought.
my mind went back to this memory of when Meera and I were younger, we were about 12. my grandfather just died. it was a shock to us all. i fell into this sad state, cause i was really close to my grandfather. Meera was there to comfort me. she cheered me up, and that was when i realized that she could be my best friends forever. and i loved her back then as a friend. but years after, that friendly-love turned into just pure love.i never did felt like this for anyone, but her.not any of the girls back when i was young, or the girls that I've met working in England.
The "put your safety belt light" on the plane turned on, and the pilot announced that we were about to land. my thoughts came back to me. and i focused on my journey now instead of looking back. i had to be in the present.
My flight was a transit from KLIA to Kuching. i had to go into the airport, take a whole run into the immigration, and finally back into the plane . that's what they call a transit flight. since i was a citizen of Sarawak, it had some privilege. so on my way back to Kuching, a town that i thought i would never see again, or might even thought going back to. I'm doing this for love, for Meera. i still had no idea what her surprise was for me. but if my thoughts before were right, i might go back to Kuching and finally have a heart to stay there.
now all i thought about was just Meera, and no one else. my mind was focused on her. i even tried saying her full name again, making sure i still remember it. Nur Meera binti Morshidin. Lovely name. lovely smile, and love of my life.
it was almost 4 in the evening in Kuching, the weather wasn't quite welcoming. thunders were everywhere in the plane, several times i would imagine me dying due to a plane crash, but god forbid, i pray it will never happen. due to the bad weather, the plane's landing was delayed for a long time. and i waited almost half an-hour. give or take the plane took a delay of 25 minutes.
then we arrived, finally in Kuching. my mom and dad couldn't pick me up, due to some unforeseen circumstances, meaning they might be going to a function somewhere, but they let my cousin pick me up. he's alright, kinda like a brother to me, since my brother's are working somewhere else in Malaysia, i don't know where they are right now, i never took the time to know. anyway, my cousin, Jud, he told me that I'm suppose to go to the event that my parent went to. great, another wedding or 'whatever'. and i just arrived. but he said it was important. saying something about its a wedding of someone important. i didn't care, so i had to go. Meera would have to wait.
Jud wasn't the best driver, but he sure drives slow. i asked him about the event, and he said it was someone that my parents knew, their daughter getting married or something. i tried contacting Meera, but to no avail. i couldn't get a hold of her. she must be pretty busy, being a doctor and all. i decided to call her tomorrow or tonight. but first i had to go to this wedding thing.
so anyway, arriving at Riverside, where the wedding is taking place (the wedding reception), i saw a very familiar car. a white Proton Waja. and the numbers are the same too. the i figured it was Meera's car. she's had that car since after finishing Matriculation. then i had a really bad feeling. someone my parent's knew, Meera's news, Meera's car, wedding. couldn't get a hold of Meera. i deduced that what I'm about to go to is a disappointment, i really tried hard to think it wasn't what i thought it was. i really hoped i was wrong. as i went into the Riverside banquet hall, everyone was leaving, i saw my parents talking with Meera's parent. i waited at the entrance for them to come to me. and i asked them who was getting married. and my mom said Morshidin's daughter.
i broke down to tearless cry. my mom told me the reception was over about an hour earlier. i was too late. about 25 minutes too late. that was probably destiny telling me that it wasn't meant to be for me and Meera. then my mom told me to come with her and get back home, since its been a really really long time since i came back. with a depressing tone i for once agreed with my mom and followed her.
we were walking outside the hall and towards the elevator, when suddenly i heard someone yelling my name. it wasn't clear at first, but then it became clearer, and i recognize the voice. i slowly turned around and saw someone that i never expected to see. Meera, running towards me while she was wearing her 'baju kurung' and her hair all tied up. she seemed happy and hugged me. this was the first time i saw her smiling in a very long time, since the night that i saw her. she's still as beautiful as ever.
"Meera,(sob) congratulation!"
"For what, Ed?"
"This..."
she seemed confused. maybe she didn't realized that i was crying inside. my mom, entered the elevator with my dad and decided to leave me with my friend.
"thanks? i never thought i could do it,"
"yeah, me too. i never expected this."
"expected what?"
"This, you here. and this whole wedding!"
"of course I'm here, where would i be?"
"i thought probably somewhere else by now, maybe in Sidney.."
Sidney was the place she told me where she would go on her honeymoon.
"Sidney? why would i be there?"
"you know what never mind, i shouldn't have come."
"wait, what exactly are you thinking Ed?"
"nothing.. I, I.. i just shouldn't have came. you know. congratulations to you and your partner. i should really be leaving now"
i turned around to hide my face as real tears came down. through my eyes. and slowly i walked towards the stairs. but before i could go far, she held my hand.
"ALEX!! where are you going? I don't think you understand this whole situation."
"i understand (sob). i definitely understand."
"no you had the wrong idea."
just then i saw Meera's sister coming out of the elevator with a guy, and they were wearing matching colors. something tells me I've made a mistake. as i moved my glimpse from them i turned to Meera who was smiling when she was looking at me, and she burst into laughter. there was still tears coming down my face. and i still don't understand, and somehow i think I've made a mistake. Meera explained to me.
as it turns out, it wasn't her wedding. it was her sister's wedding. her older sister. the other Morshidin's daughter. somehow this stupid miscommunication shouldn't have occurred as i thought. she was still laughing. and my face turned red. as she slowly stopped laughing(eventually she stopped fully), she told me that she was the wedding planner and she was the one that did the whole thing here. then i told her that i thought it was her wedding and she was getting married. she laughed even more, and then she stopped, and stared at me, and smiled.
"how can i have a wedding if the man that i love just came back.." her hands touched mine.
i smiled and didn't answer. as we embraced again, i could hear the whisper of a song by Michael Learns To Rock, 25 minutes playing. and before i thought that everything wasn't gonna end happily.
-END-
i love you now more than i did before, knowing that you waited for me, and i was the one that you always loved...
Dedicated to:
-The love of my life-
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