Lilypie

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

A Valentine's Story ....

A long long time ago, on St Valentine’s Eve, in a galaxy far far away …. (well, not quite)

Girl : It is our first Valentine’s Day tomorrow. Will you be bringing me somewhere?

Guy : My classes will end early. I will be bowling with my classmates. You want to meet me there?

Girl : Oh... ok, which bowling alley will you be going?

Guy : Don’t you know which one I go to?

Girl : I know, but since you will be with your friends, I thought you may go somewhere else.

Guy : Then come find me. I don’t need to tell you everything. If you think you are smart enough, you can come find me on your own.

The next day, V-Day itself, the girl met the guy at the bowling alley. She waved to him when she caught his eye, but he did not even acknowledge her presence and continued coaching a female classmate on the right technique to hold a bowling ball. The girl wanted to bowl too, but did not want another tongue-lashing from the guy on not being able to bowl well.

There was a paper bag consisting of a gift and a bouquet of flowers next to the guy’s bag. The girl’s heart took a leap, and was really ecstatic as she for sure did not expect that. Then, one of the female classmates had to leave for a date, so she changed back into her shoes and took her things, including that particular paper bag. The girl’s hope was dashed.

The guy continued bowling for another hour, totally ignoring the girl. When he was finally done, they went out of the bowling alley …. and into the nearest hawker centre. The guy said he had nothing to give her, so he should order food for her, and ordered whatever he liked to eat. He asked if the girl could pay since he spent all his money on bowling.

The girl felt like crying, but decided not to spoil the night with her tantrums. After dinner, the girl gave the guy a very meaningful gift – an antique heart-shaped gold pocket watch, which she scrimped and saved since Christmas and hunted the whole island just to get for him. She specially had his name and a love message engraved on the inside cover of the watch. He took a look and scolded her for wasting her money on something he did not need.

They then took a slow walk around the Singapore River, where the guy kept telling her about a particular female classmate whom he so admired, and asked the girl to follow in her footsteps as he would like his girlfriend to be as pretty and elegant and smart as that classmate.

That was the girl’s very first Valentine’s Day, a day which she had waited in anticipation and looked forward to for eighteen years. Yet, when the day finally arrived, it became one of the worst days in her life.

She went home that night crying and sobbed the whole night through, and kept cursing herself for bringing the misery upon herself, as if she had not kept the date, she would have just gone home and started on her tutorials and spent a peaceful night instead.

Two years later ….

The same girl with a different guy, again celebrating their first Valentine’s Day. The scene : A high-class restaurant. The girl was holding a big bouquet of roses in one hand. The guy gave her a crystal heart-shaped necklace, complete with matching earrings, and she gave him a football jersey of his favourite team, which she again scoured the whole island for it.

Girl : This place looks expensive. And plus all the things you gave me, I worry for your pocket.

Guy : Anything for you, my dear. As long as you like it, I want this night to be your most memorable night.

Girl : This will definitely be my most memorable night. It is practically a dream come true ....

Guy : Remember, you are the first girl who ever made me feel this way about any one. Please do not ever leave me. I love you so much that I never ever want to lose you.

Girl : I promise ….. Of course I will never ever leave you.

A pity he never did promise not to leave her. Thus, six Valentine’s Days came and gone …. and one day, the girl’s hopes were dashed again.

Eight years after that memorable night …..

St Valentine’s again, and the girl was spending the first Valentine’s Day with yet a different guy. Come to think of it, this girl is really fickle, right? ;-p

The venue : at the guy’s place. He prepared a whole dish of stewed beef for her. She never liked stewed beef, but took it for his sake since it was a commendable effort on his part.

Girl : This is delicious! You are a good cook!

Guy : I whip up my own dishes whenever my parents are not around.

Girl : Hmmmm ….. most delicious Valentine’s meal I have ever partaken.

Guy : Maybe because it is made from LOVE.

Girl : Really? Then I must whip up something for you the next weekend then.

Guy : Ok, I’m really looking forward to it!

Now, many years later after that first ill-fated Valentine’s Day, the girl is all alone, staring at the computer, not having a date to spend the day with. She thinks of all her friends who have found love or new love, and spending the first (or many) Valentine’s Day together, and feels a slight twinge of pain.

But she is not giving up. She believes that somewhere, somehow, someone will be there for her, and perhaps by the next Valentine’s Day, she will again be spending another first Valentine’s Day with someone who truly loves her.

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" ~ Victor Hugo

"A lover's eyes will gaze an eagle blind; A lover's ear will hear the lowest sound." ~ William Shakespeare

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." ~ Helen Keller

"Love does not make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." ~ Franklin P. Jones

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Wishing one and all a very good Valentine's Day, be it with friends, family, loved ones or just enjoying on your own!

6 comments:

Ole' Wolvie said...

Just another day...

shakespeareheroine said...

I know, but it feels a little funny being by myself this time round after so many years of celebrations. Not that I did not have a happy day though.

Anonymous_X said...

She believes that somewhere, somehow, someone will be there for her, and perhaps by the next Valentine’s Day, she will again be spending another first Valentine’s Day with someone who truly loves her.

The girl puts unnecessary pressure upon herself by setting a target date of the next year Valentine's Day.

So what if, no good guy can steal her heart by that date? Will she again wallow in self-pity in front of her computer feeling a not-so-slight twinge of pain this time that begins to feel like gnawing cancer within her?

Not to mean to tell her what to do.

Yes, it's true that she should not give up. But she ought to be realistic too. She should be more patient. It can be tomorrow or next week or next month or next year or a day after next year Valentine's Day when the girl finally finds someone who truly loves her (and vice versa).

shakespeareheroine said...

Anon_X : This is a story, so it's up to others to interpret whether it's based on fact or fiction.

And the key word is "perhaps", which means it may or may not be true. Besides, in a year, anything can happen, as experienced from previous rather eventful year I had.

LeeCooper said...

Remeber, love happens when you least expect it to. Happy belated Valentine's Day.

I would have sent you flowers if I know where to sent it to.

shakespeareheroine said...

Lee Cooper : Thank you. That's very sweet, and I really appreciate it. :-)

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...