UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS PRESSIE (Short Story)
UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS PRESSIE ---Written by Steven Le (Le Duy Minh)--- (The English-Vietnamese version of the story can be read at my blog http://360.yahoo.com/leduyminh20022002 ) Christmas is coming soon. It is getting a little colder. Keeping thinking of and imagining the scene of romance and peacefulness, together with him on Christmas ‘s Eve; the cell phone rings and a girl pulls over, stopping by a coffee shop to answer the phone. Right at a table adjacent to the glass window inside the shop, a little familiar-looking guy is embracing a girl. The girl rushes into the café, grabbing the glass of water on the table, splashing it all over the guy’s face and giving him a slap across the face. And then, to the astonishment of people around, the girl leaves with fury. Depressed! Gloomy! Christmas comes again! What an extremely dull Christmas this year! Han detests Christmas. Han has just dumped her new boy friend that she went with for a few months only. A bad guy running with the hare and running with the hounds. He just promised the moon. The third love shattered already! Han sighs: “Heavens! How to find the other half? Why so difficult? Now which corner of the earth is the other half of mine?” “So boring, this afternoon we are allowed to have half a day off to welcome Christmas by the boss but I have no guy to go out with whereas all the colleagues in my division have their other halves; each couple has a plan for tonight already; I have nothing. Heavens! Too bad! Forget about it, go home and sit before the TV all the night.” At the desk, Han is listless and listless with fingers dancing on the keyboard, suddenly from the doorway of the room a voice resounds: “Hi, Han.” Being startled, turning round, right in front of Han is the grade 12 classmate sitting at the back of the class, Han gazed at him, trying to remember his name but failing to do it, stuttering confusedly: “Hi,… hi…” So unexpected, before Han has time to have any reaction, he turns up right ahead of her handing a bunch of red roses to her. As a natural reaction, Han just holds out a hand to receive the roses with a lot of questions in mind. “What‘s up? Why does he offer me roses???” Before Han says thank you, he continues to hand over a note; Han opens it and looks inside, that is a short letter: “Dear Han – December 24th, 2000 – while I was busy myself looking for the Christmas card to give you and then extended an invitiation out for Christmas Eve to you, the class monitor was quick enough to do it. Seeing you radiantly smile and accept his invitation, my heart really hurts, so depressed was that I knew nothing else to do; just because I was not lucky enough. The next morning, I unintentionally overheard a classmate asking you about the previous night out and you, with that perfectly charming smile, shattered my heart. I knew I had no chance only to secretly look at you from afar.” With annoyance, Han thinks to herself: “I am accused unjustly, he didn’t know the class monitor didn’t come, keeping me waiting in vain that Christmas, but just because of being afraid to lose face, I boasted it was a wonderful night. Why? Why does he let me read this letter…???” Han lifts up her head to get a look at him and intends to ask why, but before anything to be said, a second note continues to be put into her palm: “Throughout the twelfth grade school year, my mind was always filled with your images, but I dared not to express what I wanted to you. And then I had lost touch with you since the baccalaureate exam, I asked and asked for your information and didn’t know your lodging place until the sophomore year. Approximately one week before Christmas 2002, I went to your place but you were not home. I had been waiting you for hours but did not see you get home, I had to leave you a message via your room-mate. In the afternoon of December 24th, 2002, I got back to your place and it was the first time I met you again for two years. Before I had time to bare my heart to you, you with that charming smile haunting me all the time said quickly enough: - Sorry, a friend of mine has been waiting for me outside long, I have got to go right away, sorry. Well, Ms Hanh, my roommate says she likes you so much, and tonight she hasn’t been asked to go out yet, take her out, will you? Bye. – Then I felt myself lost, I wondered if you knew it, you might be so insensitive. That was all, I was slow again. And not soon later, I decided to go abroad for study to try to get you out of my mind because I knew I had no chance. You must have had a good time on Christmas ‘s Eve that year, mightn’t you???” Han thought to herself, annoyed: “He puts the wrong blame on me again, that night I wasn’t able to go out as planned just because my younger sister had an accident and was rushed to hospital. Just because I kept my guy waiting in vain, he dumped me later. He doesn’t know…” Discontentedly, Han intends to plead for it, but the third note is handed over to her. Alone in a foreign land, though I already attempted to bury myself in books I failed to get you of my mind, your images occupied my mind all the time. In the lecture hall, I thought the long hair of a female student was yours. Strolling about on campus, seeing a Vietnamese girl come and go freely in the “ao dai” – a Vietnamese traditional costume: a long silk tunic slit on the sides worn over by loose pants – in a festival by Vietnamese students, bringing your graceful walk in the pure white “ao dai” back to my mind. There was a time, by chance, I dropped in a music performance by Vietnamese students and saw a girl looking slightly like you, singing a Vietnamese folk song, which made me remember the Teachers’ Day you stood before the class singing the song “Chalk Dust” for our form teacher. There was a time, I went to the library for books and accidentally bumped into a girl, the pile of books fell off her arms, causing me remember the time I used to do the same for you and then embarrassedly helped you pick up books one after another. What sweet memories to make me remember for good! Han… I ‘d like to tell you I have looked on you as part of my life since that day and I feel it hard to undergo days without seeing your charming and innocent smile, without hearing your sweet voice, without worshiping your jet black hair. I… I… want to say I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, but don’t know how to tell you, so only to send you my wishes through every line in this letter, whether you know my feelings…???” Han chuckles softly to herself, mumbling: “Oh! His words sound so sweet that I get flesh-pimples but I love it so much. Why haven’t I known this before? Maybe, I am a little insensitive, causing him to suffer. Oh! I have had a haircut and worn short hair now,… but probably it doesn’t matter.” How ashamed! How happy! Han holds her head up a little, grinning, then pretending to turn away, waiting him to say what all the girls would like to hear over and over. Han waits and waits but hears him say nothing, he silly! What to do now? Keep waiting or not? And then Han also hears his voice: “I am sorry, bye.” Then Han hears hurried footsteps out of the room. “Why…? Why doesn’t he say anything but leave? Heavens! He,… why is he so foolish? Oh, no! I have simulated no interest to the wrong person…” Han half wants to run after him, half not just because she is a girl and so feels a bit hesitant. “No, no, I don’t want to be lonely this Christmas again, I am really touched after reading his letter…” Han’s heart urges herself. Han hurriedly runs after him when seeing him nearly reach the elavator. She moves more quickly, then slipping and falling. “Ouch! It really hurts, these ****ing shoes hurt me, go away you shoes.” Han takes off the shoe with a broken heel. “Oh, God! He is walking into the elavator”, Han slowly gets up, crying loudly towards the elavator: “Hey,… hey, wait a minute…” He turns round, he hears it. Han, with a reproachful look, slowly gets up and walks over to him: “Hey, where are you going? Why do you leave without saying a word? You make… make me fall down this… then… go away…” Han both lowers her head and says, one hand holding his hand tight, adding. “Silly” This moment, the guy opens his mouth but says nothing except for a stammer: “Han, I… I… want to say…I…” Han giggles, then covers his mouth with one hand: “Hush, no need to say, I know, you have written what you want in your letter, haven’t you? You… you timid.” Han continues to giggle with one hand covering her mouth, holding his hand, winking: “Ha ha, let’s go but you have to get me a new pair of shoes.” “How happy! This Christmas is the best of mine, I have got an unexpected gift, there is nothing better than love. I have got it now.” ***THE END***
<bài viết được chỉnh sửa lúc 27.08.2008 11:23:21 bởi Steven Le >
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