Ari
Your Words
He loves you, Woohyun’s words replayed a thousand times in her mind. He loves you.
And deep down, she knew that the words rang true.
Quickly, she dialed Sunggyu’s phone. It rang once, and then went to voicemail. She tried a few more times, but when it started going straight to voicemail, she knew that he was avoiding her.
She cursed, and traced her way back to her apartment. She hoped that he would come around and talk to her. She promised herself that, if he did, she would tell him everything. Every single thing that he wanted to know.
She wanted this to work. She wanted to be with him. It might have taken a lot of time and struggle and even a mini-intervention by Woohyun, but finally, she realized it.
She loved him. She just hoped that it wasn’t too late.
*******
She counted down the seconds, the hours. 6pm. 7pm. 8pm. 9pm.
She called for the millionth time. No answer.
She needed a way to reach him. If he was going to avoid her, she still wanted to get through to him. Just one last time. Then, suddenly, a weird memory flashed through her mind.
She was standing in front of a large TV, at a second-hand electronics store. The host asked a question, and Sunggyu answered. ‘It’s the mysterious Ari,’ he said.
Ari.
Ari.
Ari.
On a whim, she booted up her computer and logged into that familiar old blog. Immediately, she was overwhelmed with notifications of comments, questions, and subscriptions. But she ignored all of it, and began to write.
It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s not that I’m broken. The truth is, I’m terrified. I’ve risked it all once, and lost. And a part of me is afraid of doing that again.
But as I think about it, I realize that you are different. You are a constant in my crazy, awful life. You are a support to me, helping me even when I stubbornly push you away.
And you let yourself hurt, in your efforts to stay by my side.
Yes, I’m still afraid. But more than that, I’m tired. I’m tired of resisting you and keeping things from you. I feel weak and vulnerable, and admittedly, I hate it. But, this exhaustion has been good for me. It has made me ready for the next step.
I’m ready to stop being a damned idiot. I’m ready to accept you, like how you deserve to be accepted. And I’m ready to love you, just like how you loved me.
Please come back to me. I’ll wait, for you.
She read through it once, hardly noticing the tears that fell down her cheeks. Then, she positioned her mouse over the ‘Submit’ button, took a deep hesitating breath, and hit click.
Miles away, in a bar at the heart of the city, a phone dinged, announcing the arrival of her post.
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The grand finale is coming. I'm so excited to share it with you, but at the same time, I'm sad this story will be over :( Please stay tuned and look forward to it!!
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