THEY

He opened the door of their apartment in darkness, not a single light was on. Thinking that she already went to bed, he silently went to the kitchen for some water not wanting to wake her up. But the moment his finger turned the light there on, his mind was also awaken by a slow realization. “It’s 10:30 PM and she’s not home!”

She was not, because if she was, she would definitely be awake, waiting for him until he was back to share the green-tea ice cream box he bought her in the afternoon and were about to eat together at the park, just before he received a phone call from the hospital informing that his ex-girlfriend who was also his first love was rushed into emergency room after a recent car accident. She insisted to go to the hospital with him, saying that his ex was alone in this city, they were also friends, and when friends need help, she should be there, too. He knew her, he knew her pure and kind heart, and he let her go there with him. Arriving at the hospital, they were informed that the accident was not a minor one and more severe than they thought. His ex was losing a lot of blood and they were running out of the rare blood type she had in the blood bank. The moment he looked at her determined face when she said she had the same blood type with the patient and she would donate her blood, he knew he would never forget that face of hers. “She was so pretty when determination was written all over her face…” – He thought to himself in the chaos. But despite her kind donation, the doctors still decided to transfer his ex to a more professional hospital as her condition was worsen and only one person was allowed to go there with their patient on the ambulance.

“You go with her!” – He recalled her voice when she pushed him on the car without any hesitation.

“Wait here, I’ll go back!” – Something hit his mind when he remembered what he shouted back just before the ambulance’s door closed. At the closing door, the last thing he saw was her, at the main entrance of the hospital, the ice cream box still in her hand.

His words echoed in his mind “Wait here, I’ll go back!”, “Wait here, I’ll go back!”. He stormed out of the apartment after checking every room, she was really not home. He impatiently unlocked his phone but she couldn’t be reached, all he received while trying to call her was “… that God damned automatic voice”. He cursed.

After his ex was brought to another hospital, he was bombarded by a lot of guarantee paperwork to have the patient gone under surgery and once the operation ended and he was able to contact her family abroad informing them that her condition was okay after the operation, it was already 10:00 PM. “She must go home.” – He took that granted thought while checking his watch on the way home.

He told her to wait for him, he would go back. He didn’t.

He thought she already went home.

And he just wanted to punch himself so hard finding her at a bench not so far from where the ambulance departed in the afternoon.

She was sitting there at the bench, all alone, turning her back at his direction. She was so small, he silently went towards her, slowly observing her figure in his every step. The night cold wind and the street light in the empty yard even made her body look smaller, the closer he got to her, the more he wanted to hit himself realizing she was in coldness, her shoulders slightly shook.

He didn’t really know how to call his feeling at the moment he got in front of her and saw her slowly looking up.

She smiled.

She looked up at him and smiled.

“You’re back. She’s fine now, isn’t she? I hope everything was alright, can you contact her family? What did the doctor say?” – She was still smiling, standing up from the bench.

“I am. She is. Her family will arrive here tomorrow by the earliest flight tonight. She's in good condition now.” – He answered her questioned one by one emotionlessly without any change on his face, did the cold wind freeze him?

Observing his words, she smiled again, softly sighed in relief – “Thanks God!”

“Where is your phone?” – He asked

"My phone?" - She asked back and reached for her bag to look inside - "It's out of battery already, did you call me?"

He didn't answer.

She continued by bringing the ice cream box in front of him – “Ah, right, I forget this. Sorry, but the ice cream was melting now, it’s been 7 hours already, I think we have to put it in the freeze to eat later!”

Something gripped his heart and his mind looking at her two hands, they were all red, the temperature was going down at night, and she was holding the ice cream box by her bare hand. Did she know that it was freaking cold here?

She was still smilling at him, like nothing happened and she was at home waiting for him.

Unable to control himself, he just toughly grabbed her one arm and ragged her with him. He couldn't think straight counting the hours she had been waiting for him, he gripped harder on her arm and continued walking speedly. When he was nearly out of breath and stopped, they were already inside the hospital's garden.

He turned around, looking at her.

"Ah..." - She softly moaned in pain, he must hurt her all the way here. "The ice cream, it's melting already, even if we went home faster, we still need to wait until tomorrow to eat..."

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? IS THE ICE CREAM THAT IMPORTANT? IT'S 11:00 PM NOW, AND YOU SHOULD BE HOME, NOT HERE!" - He shouted uncontrollably, getting off of her arm, realizing he had made her wrist so red.

"You said you will be back..." - She answered softly

Something stabbed him right at his heart.

"You told me to wait here..." - She continued

"ARE YOU STUPID OR WHAT? SINCE WHEN YOU BEGIN TO DO ALL THE THING THAT I TELL YOU? IT'S 7 HOURS, 7 HOURS, WHY DO YOU NEED TO WAIT? ARE YOU A FOOL? DO YOU KNOW WHERE IS THIS? WHY DIDN'T YOU GO HOME?"

"If I go home, I'm afraid when you're back and my phone is out of battery, you can't call me, I'm afraid that you can't find me..."

"ARE YOU REALLY A FOOL?" - He gripped her shoulders. He thought he would die listening to her. It was so painful, like his heart was gripped too hard that he couldn't breath.

She didn't answered, she looked up at him with her teary eyes, her smile disappeared.

Then she slowly spoke up.

"I don't know too. You know what? I don't know too..." - She softly shrugged off herself from his grip. "For the whole 7 hours waiting here I'm asking myself that question too. Am I a fool? Since when I started to do all the things you tell me? Why do I need to do this? Why?"

With her two eyes that had tears b up at the corner, she looked at him.

"I waited, and I think I was going crazy with those wondering... To my sadness, I haven't figured it out yet... I don't even know why I insist to wait here and keep telling myself that you'll go back! Why am I afraid that you won't find me if I leave."

Tears started to stream down her face, she swept the tears away, smiling at herself - "Ah, I don't even know why I'm being like this? Why am I crying? Ah, really... I'm really a fool... Why am I being like this? What do I have to say that you will be back?"

That moment, not a single thought could run through his mind but only one thing. He took a step towards and once his lips were already on hers, he was able to think again. That moment, he realized he couldn't stand to see her tears, if she was cold he would do things to make her warm, if she was unable to figure out something, he would try to help her, but if she was crying, he didn't know what to do. This is the only thing he could do to stop her from crying, he just realized if she was in pain, it hurt him to the core. Kissing her is the only thing he could do or to think of.

Her eyes opened in shock, her hands fell off along her two sides, her mind was empty. What was happening?

When she thought her legs were already melting like jelly, she felt the coldness touched her lips. His lips had just left hers.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." - He whispered - "I'm sorry for not coming earlier, I'm sorry..." - He pulled her to him, wrapping her in his two arms.

That made she cry, again. This time, she cried louder, louder like this is the first time she was able to cry, after all those time, she thought if she didn't cry, she wouldn't be able to breath. She cried her lungs out, he hands clutched at his coat.

"I was so scared, I was so scared that you won't go back, I'm so scared that just at the moment you leave you will not go back, even if I know you will, it still scares me, why am I being like this? I don't know why I'm so scared." - She cried in his arms.

"Do you know why I was shouting at you minutes ago?" - He asked

"I ..." - She tried to answeres in her sobs

"Because I'm mad at myself, because I hate myself that I make you like a fool while I'm that real fool. Because I feel like hell seeing you cry. Because I'm mad at me that I should have said earlier how much I love my wife, how important she is to me, even my marriage is an arranged one, even when I said "I do!" at the wedding, I had nothing called love but the more I stepped inside this arranged marriage, the more I am grateful to be arranged to marry my wife..."

She looked at him with a puzzle look.

"You... are you...?"

"I am, I am confessing to my wife that I love her and I'll work my out to make her happy, to make my arranged marriage work, and... don't cry, don't cry baby, I'll punch myself to death if I see you cry baby.. I hate seeing you cry..."

"I hate you!"

"I'm sorry baby!" - He kissed her tears

"I hate you!"

"I know, but don't cry baby!"

"I hate you!"

"Don't cry baby..."

"But I think I love you more..."

"Hush hush baby..." - His fingers swept her tears away, he smiled when he kissed her forehead - "Don't cry, because I love you!"

The end.

Sep 2014. Ceroro.

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My dear,

It's been a long time I write again, and I don't know why, but after bumped into Tae Yeon's "Can You Hear Me" I was flooded by inspiration to write all that ran in my mind at that moment and here it comes, a short story.

When I decided to post it here, I was so surprised seeing so many new comments on White Horse, and it brought tears in my eyes, really, I don't know how to explain the feeling, but it's quite amazing, I swear :)

Please see this chapter as one of another way this couple confessed to each other and ended up being together, I just hope you guys can enjoy  this simple and short chapter for a while as I miss writing and I miss your comments so much, no matter what happens, at least, in my heart, they really belong to each other.

They are mean to be, here.

From Ceroro with love ~~~ Follow me on Twitter at @6002theCeroro