-- January 22, 2033 --

 

I ran as swiftly and gracefully as I could, trying to avoid soaking myself in the large accumulating puddles.

 

Apparently, the weather hated me just as much as I hated it.

 

I shook my umbrella, trying to dry it off before I entered the relaxing and comfortable warmth of the flower shop.

 

The calming fragrances of the vibrant flowers only added to the tranquilizing sensation.

 

“Key! Nice to see you!” I looked over at the owner of the shop. She was a nice old lady who I have come to love like my own mother.

 

If only she could have been my mother…

 

I bowed respectfully and cheerfully, “Hello!”

 

She graciously invited me to sit with her in the back and have some hot tea to thaw my frozen body.

 

I agreed, gratefully.

 

She smiled. Respect and manners weren’t my strong point when I had first met her. In fact, I was known for being cold, rude, and as someone who insults others without care.

 

Yes, I was quite reckless.

 

But all had changed since the day I met her.

 

“Why don’t you sit down? The tea will be ready in a moment,” the kind old lady said.

 

I seated myself in the old-fashioned sofa, plush cushions decorated in embroidered flowers. It was never my style, but I grew attached to it.

 

I looked around the small room.

 

Besides the outdated couch, there were picture frames, a small bed…nothing extravagant.

 

Each item held a different memory…

 

[*The Old-fashioned Sofa*]

 

I was resting my head gently against the sofa. I didn’t want to come into contact with too much of it.

 

Something chosen with such a horrible sense of style would contaminate my fashion-designing dream.

 

Just then, something crashed into the door, startling me and causing me to fall over.

 

I was spread-eagled across the disgusting couch when a girl who looked just slightly younger than me entered, clasping her hands to her head.

 

“Get that door fixed! It never opens the first time!”

 

Although she was shouting, she spoke with a sweet voice. It was clear and soft, and not sweet and high to the point it would be annoying. It was refreshing and cool, like drinking cold water on a hot and humid day.

 

If fruits could talk, they would sound like her.

 

She looked at me and tilted her head in confusion, both hands still grasping her throbbing head.

 

I couldn’t help but laugh at her, even though she was a complete stranger to me.

 

[*]

 

This memory is one of my favorites…because this was the memory that held our first meeting.

 

I still chuckle when I remember my outrageous first impression of her.

 

I didn’t like her at first. She made me corrupt my fashionable self when I fell over this unappealing sofa.

 

I ran my hands along the grainy fabric of the seat, smiling.

 

This sofa was when we first met.

 

My eyes shifted to the wall of picture frames…

 

[*The Picture*]

 

“Joo Hyunae! That camera is expensive!”

 

The studio that I was working as an intern for had given me permission to borrow their photography equipment.

 

How did I get them to agree?

 

I simply told them that I had a beautiful friend who was interested in modeling, and that I had some design samples that I wanted to show them.

 

But if Hyunae had broken the equipment, my internship would go down the drain.

 

“I won’t break it! I promise!” she said happily, dancing around with it in her hands, snapping random photos.

 

There was her irresistibly smooth voice again. I didn’t think it was biologically possible to have such a pretty voice. But then again, everything about Hyunae was a diversion from the norm.

 

I brought out a rack of clothes and the radiant smile on her face dissolved away and her infamous head tilt appeared again.

 

“Do I have to model in every single outfit you have there?” she asked nervously.

 

I looked at her straight in her pleading eyes and nodded.

 

She groaned loudly. Strange…usually groans sound very unattractive.

 

“So put down the camera and go get dressed!” I told her.

 

My voice came out ridiculously harsh and scratchy. I was ashamed of talking to her because of the great contrast in our voices.

 

As our little private photo shoot continued on, I felt a strong possessive feeling towards Hyunae. She looked absolutely dazzling in the clothes that I had designed, and that just made me feel much more prideful.

 

It took about the rest of the day, but when we finally finished, Hyunae and I both stood up for a triumphant high-five.

 

[*]

 

I spent hours developing pictures in the dark basement of my house. My eyes hurt from squinting in the darkness with only the faint and dim red light above me to illuminate the room, but I wanted to see Hyunae again.

 

Ironically, my favorite pictures weren’t the ones that I took of Hyunae modeling, but rather the self-cam pictures that Hyunae took of herself.

 

There was one in particular.

 

Hyunae’s long and wavy dark hair was flowing elegantly as she was prancing around. Her astounding smile glittered in the sunlight. Her eyes curved beautifully into shapes of crescents as she laughed.

 

All in all, she was breath-taking and gorgeous.

 

That wasn’t all.

 

It was an extreme coincidence, but she managed to capture me in the background as well. I was looking at her with a small smile. My hands were still at my side and I didn’t move, but my posture was entirely relaxed.

 

That wasn’t the strangest part of it though. When I looked at my gaze, I saw intense tenderness and care for the girl frolicking in front of me.

 

This memory is the most memorable because it of the day that I realized I was in love with her.

 

I looked at the picture that was framed with love. Hyunae insisted that we make a copy and give it to the flower shop lady.

 

A bittersweet grin spread ever so slowly across my face as my eyes wandered to the small twin-sized bed…

 

[*The Bed*]

 

“Is she alright?” I barged into the floral shop.

 

I had been away for two weeks to complete a fashion show project in a different city. It was the end of my internship and I was, according to the boss, looking at a brightly lit future.

 

Excited, I worked hard, trying to make this last presentation the best possible, but everything seemed to grow fainter when my phone rang.

 

The lady had given me a call saying that Hyunae was sick to the point she couldn’t move.

 

My heart was racing, my cheeks were numb and pink from the blowing frigid air, and my hair was wet and matted because of the rain shower. But for the first time in my life, my appearance was no longer my first priority.

 

The lady led me into the room and towards the small bed. A weak looking Hyunae was lying flat on the bed when I stepped into the room. She looked my way and attempted to smile, but she lacked the energy.

 

Hyunae and I were left alone when the lady left the room. She gave us privacy and we greatly appreciated her for doing so.

 

“What happened to you while I was gone!?” I tried to talk softly, but I was still gasping for air because of the long run from the bus stop.

 

My voice sounded callous and hoarse.

 

I listened intently, eager to hear her melodious and sweet voice that I had missed for half a month, but she didn’t speak.

 

My heart fell when she handed me a manila file folder…

 

[*]

 

I had always hated that memory, but it was the one that carried the most impact.

 

That day, my best friend as I knew her disappeared.

 

That day, the girl I was in love with had disappeared.

 

I felt my body cringe as I remembered the contents of the cold manila folder: Hyunae’s medical records. I had always wondered how she managed to stay so slim. I didn’t know that her body could not absorb any nutrients from her food, no matter how much she ate.

 

She had been slowly dying since the day she was born.

 

“Here’s your tea, Key.”

 

Mrs. Joo had re-entered the room, carrying two Styrofoam cups of hot tea.

 

I thanked her and received the cup from her, still lost in my thoughts of Hyunae.

 

Mrs. Joo caught me looking at the sofa, the picture, and the bed.

 

“Thinking about my daughter again?” she asked kindly.

 

My attention reverted back to the solemn lady sitting in front of me.

 

“So what brings you here today? I haven’t seen you in ages!”

 

I remained quiet. The reality of the reason I came that day hit me like a sudden rainstorm.

 

She looked into my empty eyes.

 

“You know, you’re still young. There are plenty of other fish in this world’s big sea. I appreciate your love and care for Hyunae, but I do love you as my son and I would like for you to be happy.”

 

My head tilted. I surprised myself. Head-tilting had once been Hyunae’s signature move. Was she so big of an impact on my life that I had taken on to her habits as well?

 

“Move on, Key. I’m telling you to move on. Find another girl and find happiness,” Mrs. Joo replied quietly.

 

I looked into the honey-colored liquid in my cup. An obscure outline of my face reflected back towards me.

 

“Mrs. Joo, I love your daughter very much. I regret not being able to say this personally to Hyunae herself. I curse myself everyday for having taken every day, hour, minute, and second with her for granted. My happiness can only come from my memories of her. But the human brain deteriorates. No one has perfect memory. Even those with photographic memory forget after a given amount of time. It has been about twenty three years, hasn’t it? I haven’t been able to see, talk to, or even just be with Hyunae for a length of twenty three years, and my memories of her are already unclear. But when I look around this room, the room that she lived in, I can remember.”

 

Tears began dripping down Mrs. Joo’s face. Or so, I think tears were dripping down her face. I couldn’t see properly because my vision was clouded with my own tears as well.

 

“But how long will these last? This sofa is already old, and it won’t function anymore after a few more years. That picture will fade until it is unrecognizable. That bed has a countless number of bad springs already. Mrs. Joo, the only thing that can make me happy is having a ‘forever’. Just having any kind of forever with Hyunae…whether it is real or abstract…would make me the happiest person on earth.”

 

Mrs. Joo nodded, understandingly. Even though she knew what I was saying, I couldn’t get myself to stop talking.

 

“But in a world that is governed by time, forever cannot exist. And it is because of time, that I will forget.”

 

My shoulders shook as I sobbed quietly. Taking a deep breath, I used all of my effort to speak the next sentence without sobbing.

 

“Mrs. Joo, my doctor has diagnosed me with the Alzheimer’s Disease.”

 

The sobs attacked my chest again. I was only forty two years old, and my memory is already failing.

 

Her eyes widened and her tears fell even more rapidly than before. She came and embraced me warmly,

 

I wished Mrs. Joo would have been able to be my mother, because then that would mean I would have married Hyunae.

 

Hyunae’s mother, with a heart of gold, escorted me outside. As I walked, I selected an armful of flower bouquets.

 

Crying, I walked all the way down to the lake in which Hyunae’s ashes had been scattered.

 

Hoping that I had enough, I circled around the lake, setting down one flower for every step I took.

 

“Hi Hyunae. How are you? I know I’m twenty three years late in saying this…but…”

 

I paused, trying to regain my composure.

 

My words sounded incoherent because I was speaking through sobs, but I had already wasted twenty three years. I needed to tell her before I couldn’t remember her anymore.

 

It was difficult, but Hyunae was worth the suffering. She transformed me from the rude teenager that I once was to the man that I am now.

 

I set the final flower down.

 

“Joo Hyunae, I love you.”

 

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind from the storm blew around me. The flowers were lifted from where I had set them on the ground, and floated in the air for a few moments.

 

In awe, my cries lessened.

 

Then one by one, the flowers fell lightly upon the surface of the lake.

 

With each dropping flower, blankness took over my mind.

 

And even though I cannot remember clearly, I swear the flowers formed into the shape of a heart.

 

====================

 

Author's Note;;

 

How was it...>_<

Hope it was alright. ^_^

 

[F a i t h y~♥]