When Summer Left Me

for my sweetie

My hands feel cold now as the summer breeze quickly passes by leaving only marks of dull shadows. I’m afraid I may not end this piece with the thoughts of sitting outside, but then I love the fresh smell of the weather, something in between deceitfulness and chivalry. Well I never considered writing my heart out upon deciding to keep certain things to myself. I was quite sure that my translucent personality would give justice to my entire character: an ever mischievous yet tolerable woman, or vice versa, as one may prefer.

But I am twenty-five. Who knows, it can be near the end, the half or (hopefully) the quarter of my whole life. It seems promising to be able to express my mind into something tangible. Yet of course, words are as cold as this fleeting summer breeze. In words, I am often vain and mostly reluctant. Should I continue, I think I have seen quite several wonders. Some of it, one can really set his feet on, and some even farther than any one’s imagination. I often say that when I reach twenty-five I’ll probably be married and contented on a single career that would last until my retirement. Little do I know that it could be a twisted reality as I stand now above some foreign grounds; innocent, peculiar and untouchable.

A year and a half ago, I sat beside a pointed-nose man who saw me as a potential anxiety. He was too busy minding his own business, mending his broken heart and all his travelling-alone blues. Meanwhile, I was occupied thinking, how can I survive a 13-hour trip with a stranger, much more, a foreigner? So I gathered all my courage (and English back-ups) to ask the simplest question I had in mind: ‘From what country are you?’ And out of all the places in the world, how could a stranger next to me happen to be from a country that I only know one thing about: Tulips. It was crazy how I dealt with the rest of the trip trying to dig the innermost corner of my brain just so I can talk more about his country, and to keep his eyes on me. Because I know, and only me knows, I liked him. And to my surprise, keeping it up never really was the whole point. We we’re getting along well. Far from well.

For a couple of times, I was dazed with the idea that I had the best definition of falling in love and staying in love. However, just like this summer which quickly departs, I think that each good memory is meant to last so we can welcome a brand new season and appreciate its true beauty. So please let me say goodbye to this summer, as I bid farewell to the past. And allow me to welcome autumn, as I welcome my new season and my forever love.