One Fine Day

Behind his blue eyes lies a huge curtain of shyness. He saw her everyday yet the first step always seems to evade him. People around him always barged him to go talk to her but they just did'nt understand him like I do. It was'nt about saying the wrong things and making oneself look stupid. It was a matter of pride. Lion's pride.

Both of us work the same way. We gaze from afar yet we know more than we should. He never got within a 100 meter radius of her warmth yet he knew her name, he knew where she lived, her favourite colour her favourite scent and her favourite brand of clothes.

As he meddled himself silly with her soft laughters and contagious smile, he thought if he actually deserved her. There were many conquests in the past. But that was before. Gone are the days of endless nights in the back seat of his dad's car. Gone are the days of habitual partying. Pretty dance queens come and go like the neon lights lining up the infamous Mohamed Sultan strip.

Diana did not have Nicole Kidman's skin, nor did she have Eva Mendes's mole. She did not have Jeniffer Aniston's hair nor Jeniffer Love Hewitt's body. Diana is different. She remained chaste and she has her charms. She was trendy in a way yet revolting to teenage norms. Diana is just....different. Of course no one saw this but him. The one that watches from afar.

"Good luck for your exams ya", he muttered in a coy manner. "Thanks. You too," was the similar response. She wasn't expecting him to say anything. But she smiled endlessly. She felt it. It wasn't a myth after all...these tingling butterflies in the stomach. And from there it all started.

They talked a little everytime they met. It was mostly about school. Even if it was only a few words, it meant alot to both. And when the exams are over, he asked her out for a date. It was the most memorable date for him and a blast for her. The first time she held a boy's hands, the first time her lips met anothers' and the first time she has someone to finally call her own.

Diana is the eldest daughter of a rich family of merchants so traces of her loverboy has to be as discreet as sparrows mating. She had to lie profusely just to go out and meet him but she did not regret one bit. After 2 weeks of love bliss, Diana was to accompany her aunt to Istanbul. It was supposed to be a holiday but not anymore it seems for holiday now means lying in the arms of her boy.

So before Diana left for the airport, she called and asked, "What do you want from Istanbul my love?" "Nothing. Just come back quickly and safely to me", was the modest reply.

Istanbul was beautiful. It was colourful and vibrant and it was full of life. Streets were thriving with little shops and honking vehicles. For a moment, Diana was happy to be in Istanbul but when the bus she was in came to a screeching halt, her thoughts were again of her boy back home. And she rested her head at the window. In her muse, she shed a tear for him.

From the opposite road, a lorry somehow lost its direction and went head on for the bus Diana was in. The resulting accident was a massacre. The driver of the lorry died on the spot. Several people in the bus was severely injured. Others escaped unscathed. But Diana was unlucky for she suffered multiple head injuries. And she fell into a deep sleep.

She was rushed to the top hospital the same time news rushed to her boy's ears. Doctors there did what they could but her condition remained unstable. It was decided after a couple of days that she will be flown back to Singapore for further treatment.

As her family was strict, the boy still could not visit. His phone calls were treated like dirty strangers and he has to go through Diana's girlfriends for any news. It has been three weeks now and her condition is improving but seeing her seems impossible and boy did he missed her. There are video captures of her in his hand phone but looking at them only made him weep.

It was then that he sat on the bench where they met for their first date. The first time they held hands and the first time their lips locked. And it was then that he remembered Diana asking him what he wanted from Istanbul. The boy is still waiting for his gift.