In sixth grade, our literature syllabus included this course novel called wonder.
There was this peculiar line one of the characters quoted.
It was
"when given a choice between being right and kind - choose kind"
I didn't realise what it had meant till this very moment. I chose being right and it broke me. It broke me more than it broke him. So I ran.
My heart was pounding in my chest. I could hear the struggling pulse in my head. Ringing In my ears. The sky was raging. His tall figure was walking away and I wasn't stopping him.
Surely enough at that moment why did my dying voice didn't reach him?
If it did, would have he turned around?
If it didn't would have he still looked back ?
I couldn't ruin him. My mind was blank. And he was gone.
I walked home feeling stray . Stopping on the porch my hand was stuck on the handle. I did the right thing I kept telling myself. But why did it feel so wrong. Why were tears rolling down my cheaks. Why was my heart breaking into tiny pieces. Falling to the ground my legs hugged my chest as I wrapped my arms around my folded body trying to suppress my pleading sounds. My throat was drying up and felt like I was loosing myself again.
"may!? "
"maple is that you?? ", a voice came from nowhere.
I looked up through my tear flooded eyes trying to make out his face. It was noah
"umm noah when did you get here?!... ", I said in my horse voice
"what happened, why are you crying.. Is everything okay??! "
"uh... Uhh..."
"maple?!!", he semi - yelled, freaking out. I could see the worry in his eyes.
"uh can you drive me to the airport please ", I mummered.
"uh sure but not until you tell me exactly why you are crying ", he said.
I got on my feet wiping away my tears only for new ones to drop down my cheak.
"please just.. I need to be there ", I pleaded
"oh-okay, maple you are worrying me", he said as his car engine started.
We drove in silence except the sound of my sneezing. I tried calling tae a million times but he just won't pick up.
"okay here we are. Now what? ", noah asked, a certain tone of annoyance in his voice.
My heart was thumping and I didn't know what to do next. What if they already took off.
What if I can't find him
What if he doesn't want to see me anymore.
I didn't even know where he was and how I would find him?!!!.
"wait may, isn't that those boys u and issy were hanging out with? ", noah said pointing to a black suv van.
Found you!!
In the next split of a second I was out of the car practically running towards tae Jun.
"maple! ", noah shouted behind me. The volume was enough for the group to have attention of me. It was fairly quiet in that parking lot considering the time and location. Even though I supposed that air ports were always busy but that night there wasn't a single soul. I guess it had to be that way. It was meant to be that way.
Tae Jun was looking at me and so were the others. And I was standing there frozen.
Now or never May.
Step by step, I ran to him. I ran to him forgetting the whole world behind me. Because at that moment we both knew that we would not had been ever able to live without each other.
It was the same urgency I felt from the first moment I had met him. That night I knew that if I was only a second late he could be dead and this night I knew that if It only took me a moment longer, perhaps I would have suffered a heart attack.
As soon as our bodies were close enough I threw myself at him and my lips were on his. Our eyes flutter shut and he slowly kissed me. His breath traced my lips as his hand cuped my jaw to further deepen it. The world seemed to cease , the coldness of the air transitioning onto a cosy warmth and all that mattered was the growing pulse in my body.
I pressed my lips adamantly against his causeing his lips to curve in a smile.
The crowd behind was as cheerful as shocked while there were no sort of noise from the person who drove me here. The person who brought me a ring. My investment. But none of that mattered.
"this better not be a fucking good bye ", he whispered against my ear making me shiver.