Prose And Poetry

I looked at my watch nervously, shivering, partly out of fear and partly because it was freezing cold and I was wearing nothing but a summer dress. As my body waved a white flag against the cold wind, I regretted every single decision I made that day.

It all started when I was too bored to attend my tuitions and decided to bunk the 3 hour-long class to roam the streets of my city. The advantage of being young and broke is that you have too much time on your hands. The first two hours flew by fast as I strolled around some parks.

It suddenly dawned on me that my wallet wasn’t in my pocket anymore. Stubborn me decided to trace back her steps to find her lost possession because time is a commodity which she has in abundance. An hour went by and I finally concluded that someone must have picked it up. So that money was as good as gone. It was no big deal as I had a van to drop a couple of kids and me home from the tuition, so I technically did not need any money to get back home.

What I did not realize that it was 7:30 and that the class was already over. It was a 20 minute walk back but I was desperate to make it so I ran as fast as my legs could take me. Still, I missed the van. He probably assumed that I had gone home by myself. Calling my dad wasn’t an option as I knew I’d be grounded for bunking classes. So I searched for alternatives.

I called up a few of my friends but all of them were either too far away, too busy or did not have a vehicle at their service. I sat down on the damp sidewalk, buried my face in my hands and was on the verge of crying when my phone rang.

“Hello?”
“Hey, you alright?,” a cheerful voice answered, “You told me that you’d call me to discuss the school project. It’s 8 o’ clock already.”
“Umm. I know this sounds crazy but can you come pick me up?” Please don’t say no. Please don’t say no.
“You okay? Where are you?”
“Near Subway.”
“I’ll be there in 10.”

Click. The phone call ended but left a smile on my face. An acquaintance turned out more helpful than my so-called best friends. A man of his word, he was there in less than ten minutes on his scooty. He was pretty concerned about me so I had to tell him the entire story.

“You must be starving. You have to eat something. And don’t argue with me for I won’t drop you home then.”

I had to oblige. Over a club sandwich and a cup of hot chocolate, I made a new friend. I felt awful about him paying. He noticed my uneasiness and whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry. The next treat is on you.”

As we headed back home, he put his jacket around me that left him cold. I tried to reason with him but he was a worthy contender in matching my levels of stubbornness.
“Trust me. I’ll be fine as long as there’s a bed beneath the stars that shine.”
I smiled and muttered under my breath, “Oasis.” And that was the end of it.

The rest of the ride we discussed the rise and the fall of a great band. The bitter November winds pierced through my jacket, leaving me numb. How I felt bad for the guy who acted as my armor, protecting me from the frosty blows with nothing but a t-shirt as his shield!

When he dropped me off in front of my house, I gave him back his jacket and extended my hand for a handshake. His hands felt like winter itself, ice-cold and dead. I wanted to apologize for all the trouble he went through for me when his bourbon eyes locked with mine. He gave me a reassuring smile and all I could muster was a frail, “Thank You.”

“Good night,” he said as he drove off, humming Wonderwall.

His desk was empty, the next day at school. I called him as soon as I reached home, when his mother informed me of his high fever. I shuddered. I knew it was all my fault.

“If you don’t mind aunty, can I come visit him?”
“Oh sure. It will be good for him to have some friends over,” as she gave me her address.

On my way over, I stopped by to pick up some hot chocolate for him. As I looked up at the velvet sky from the same damp sidewalk on which I was crying the day before, I could feel it in my bones; the start of something new.