The 7 Days

Day 3

Tyler sat on the bench outside the café with coffee in his hands. The steam rising from his cup blurred his vision of the few pedestrians occupying the quiet street in front of him. A young mother was pushing her baby on one of those ultra modern strollers. Behind her, a boy of about 15 years young was walking his cock-eyed Shih Tzu and finally, a cyclist was zooming past both of them as if being chased by a crashing asteroid.

He wondered if she would show up. This is a weekend afterall. They had parted ways yesterday with a mere ‘See you around’. Tyler didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. He got out of bed just like any other Saturday. He dressed himself in his casual Gap Polo-T paired with a simple bermuda khakis. And yet, something was different inside. Today he was hoping. Hoping to see her again.

‘Hey you,’ came a voice behind him.
He smiled, knowing the owner of that delicate voice. Tyler turned around to face Lisa.
‘Good morning,’ he said. ‘You here on weekends too?’
‘Yeap. Caffeine addict. Guilty as charged,’ she replied, raising both hands in a surrender pose. ‘How come you’re sitting out here today?’
‘Just wanted the fresh air, especially when there’s less traffic around,’ he lied. Truth was, Tyler was afraid she might miss him if he’s tuck in one of the corner tables inside the café. ‘Care to join me?’
She sat down beside him and opened her paper bag. She took out a warm muffin purchased from the café and offered it to him. ‘You want some? I could never finished it.’
He laughed and took out a similar muffin of his own. ‘What flavour you got there?’
‘Blueberry but it’s low fat,’ Lisa answered. ‘You?’
‘White chocolate, the fattening kind,’ he replied with a grin.
The wind blew and rustled the tree that was shading them. Tyler looked up and saw patches of yellow and green. Yellow from the peeping sun rays and green from the pointy leaves.
‘Notice how the leaves appear blackish against the light of the sun?’ he said as he popped the last bit of muffin into his mouth.
‘That’s just the way life is,’ Lisa answered. She offered nothing more.
‘What do you mean?’ he asked after a while.
‘Well, you only miss the green because it looks blackish against the sun. Similarly, people always take what they have for granted. Only with the bad will people appreciate the good. Sadly, it’s often too late when you realised what you have missed,’ she said all too serious.
‘That’s deep, especially for a Saturday morning,’ he tried to lighten the mood.
She looked at him and smiled. ‘Do you know what tree this is?’
He looked up and frowned. ‘Errr, not really. Do you?’
‘It’s a jasmine tree. Older folks refer to it as the tree of sorrow. The flower will bloom at night and fall in the morning, when the sun hits them,’ she answered sagely. ‘As the myth goes, as long as the people beneath it are happy, the flowers will remain. Only sadness will cause them to fall off. Silly myth isn’t it,’ she continued gloomily.
Tyler could see now that Lisa was enveloped with a sense of grief. He wanted to reach out to her. To hold her and tell her everything will be alright. Instead he took out a pen and scribbled a note on his muffin’s wrapper.

They both continued to sit in silence, staring out at the empty street.
Lisa got up to leave. ‘I’ve got to go now. Thanks for keeping me company.’
Tyler got up as well. He gave her a smile then pressed the wrapper into her hand.
She unfolded the crumb stained wrapper and it read ‘After the storm, try looking out for the rainbow’.
‘Goodbye now,’ she said as she hurriedly walked away, hoping Tyler wouldn’t notice the tears glistening in her eyes.