BeNaCom - Beginners’ Narrative Compilations

Track 2 – Red Roses for the Angel’s metaphor

The prices of flowers increased up to 300% during Valentine’s period. Not only red roses, which appeared to be the most popular flower. The other flowers’ prices have also doubled, and even tripled up.

This phenomenon is unavoidable and must be faced by all of the coupled guys annually. Anyway, a Valentine’s Day without a bouquet of flower is just like eating a great T- bone without a 90’s red wine…

Mick stared at the screen, in front of the ATM machine.

The amount of money he had in his account did not satisfy him. He was so regret to buy so many CDs all at once last week. He muted for couple of seconds, and withdrew some money out from his pathetic bank account.

Having an audio conversation over the MSN is one of those cheapest ways to have audio chat. Even though the mobile service operators launched some whatever plans to encourage users to chat using their service, but cell phone chat had never seem to be affordable for undergraduate students.

In front of two different computers, in two different rooms, linked by the same cyber world…

Mick plugged in his headphones which equipped with a microphone.

“Hey Lynn, can you hear me?”

“Yes dear… Louder please…” Lynn answered. But she could barely hear him.

“Alright…” Mick adjusted his microphone’s volume higher, and said,

“Guess what, Valentine’s Day again tomorrow. One of your happiest day other than your birthday…”

Lynn smiled and said,

“Ha… it would not be happy if I was not celebrating the event with you… It must be you and you only…”

“So at which place you want to hang out tomorrow?” Mick asked.

“Mmm… SP, alright?” Lynn suggested.

“Huh… alright. No problem. 12pm, in front of Starbuck…”

“Okay…”

After the confirmation for their plan tomorrow, they continued their lovely chat linked by the internet.

February, the 14th, 11.50am.

Mick was holding a giant bouquet of red roses. He could almost buy 5 or 6 imported CDs with the amount of money he spent for that bouquet of flower.

The bouquet was huge enough to block his sight. Mick could barely walk with his cool style maintained. He was thinking of how surprised Lynn would be if she saw what he was going to give her.

Standing like an idiot with the bouquet in front of Starbucks. Mick took out his 4 year old cell phone. At the top right of the phone’s screen, the time showed was 12.05pm.

“I guess I’m not late. She is still not around…” Mick was thinking in his mind.

The clock ticked the time, a second by a second… 12.37pm.

Mick began to lose his patient. He was that kind of hot tempered of person who dislikes waiting. But somehow he had never showed his temper in front of Lynn. Except the time where they involved in road accident. But he was not really mad though.

He recalled that there was an invention called cell phone. And the phone was not only displays time, it could be used to call too.

Just the moment he attempted to call Lynn and to ask what took her so long, his cell phone rang with the traditional monophonic ring tone.

He answered the call. He could hear Lynn was talking loud over the other side.

“Mick! Where are you now? How much longer do you want me to wait?”

“What…?” Mick was triggered as he thought that he was the one who waited over there for that long.

“Hey Lynn, I’m already in front of Starbuck. And I’ve waited for the past 30 minutes! Now, where are you?”

“What? I’m in front of Starbuck. I’ve waited since 11.55am until now. Standing still and never walked away!” Lynn fired back.

“How could this happen? I don’t see you around! You said Starbuck right! In MV isn’t it?”

“Oh god!” Lynn got frustrated.

“I said SP, not MV! Sunway Pyramid! Not Mid Valley…!”

“Damn! You’re in Starbuck of Sunway Pyramid!” Mick got slightly pissed.

“Alright Lynn. Just wait me for a second. If you feel hungry, have a piece of cake in Starbuck first. We’re going to eat something greater after that. I’m flying to Pyramid now”

He apologized for his mistake.

Mick ran to the underground car park. To seek for a car in Mid Valley’s car park was such a pain as the parking lot was so huge, and so hot.

Fortunately, it was still a lucky day for Mick. Quickly he paid the parking fee. He spotted his car seconds after he got out from the escalator.

With the speed of light, he ran towards his car. He rammed on the accelerator and tried to get to Sunway Pyramid as fast as he could, without forgetting the importance of road rules and his safety.

He disliked waiting. But at the same time he disliked people to wait for him. Especially the one he loved.

Mick did not look at the car’s clock, neither the time displayed by his phone. Without knowing how long it took for him to reach at Pyramid, eventually he made it.

He took out the bouquet of flower, and ran out from the parking lot. When he entered the mall, he slowed down. Running with the flower was not cool for him. Even though, he tried to walk as fast as he ever could. It was the first time he walked with such a fast pace.

When Mick was going down by the escalator, he saw Lynn was standing in front of that coffee shop. Mick guessed that he knew the reason which made Lynn looked so unhappy.

He began to run towards her, but slowly.

His Nike Air Max starting to untie. Mick stepped on the shoelace. He fell.

He was not cool this time…

“Mick!” Lynn witnessed and ran towards him.

“Ouch… This really hurts…” Anyway, Mick was still smiling.

He stood up, tried to regain his cool imagine back from Lynn. They walked from the spot he fell to the other side. From that instant, only Lynn noticed the flower which Mick brought. It was for her, of cause.

“Lynn, I’m so sorry for this… I…”

Flesh red blood started to spill out from Mick’s noses. It showed how badly he had fallen just now.

He bled profusely, like running tap water from his nose. His blood dripped onto the flower which he was holding.

Again, Mick scared Lynn off.

“Hey! Are you alright?” Lynn was shocked and tried to take out some tissues from her little Guess handbag.

Mick stopped the blood from flowing by holding the tissue paper at his nose, and pressed it hardly to trap the blood which flowed out. A basic method to prevent backflow of blood, and avoid dry blood in the airways.

“I’m so sorry for being late, Lynn. And I’m so sorry for this flower too. My blood stains on it…” Mick looked embarrassed, and hand over the bouquet to her.

“No… it’s alright. I should have not said SP as it was so confusing. Instead I should just say the word ‘Pyramid”…” She looked down and stared at the red roses, which infiltrated by her love’s blood…

“20 roses for you, for the 20 months we have been together. There will still be more and more flower for the coming 14th of February…” Mick started his line which he tried to come out with last night for half an hour.

“And yes, I guess there were 20 drips of blood onto the flower too…” he joked.

Finally, Mick had succeeded to make her smile.

“So… where’s my Valentine gift then?” Mick asked, even though he did not want to.

“Erm… The tissue papers that I gave you to wipe your blood just now…” Lynn replied.

- End - - Or to be continued…. –

Driving with the speed of 90kmph, Mick was not distracted though his hands were on the wheels. At the same time, Lynn was listening to the song she played at the audio player.

Mick looked frustrated to the song that Lynn kept on playing.

“Lynn, can you please stop playing “Tong Hua” again and again? And please don’t sing it while listening to it! Because you are disturbing me from driving!”

“Why not? I like this song so much! You are cleared with the lyrics don’t you? So why don’t you sing it to me instead of I sing it to myself?”

“Oh please… I can already memorised the whole lyrics because you kept on playing it 24/7. Why are you girls so fascinated to the lies in the song? It’s impossible to have such a person who will open his wings to protect you…”

“At least you are protecting me. But you are not an angel though…”
Lynn replied sarcastically.

Mick did not talk after that. He remained silent and continued to drive. The song mentioned was too popular and Mick could hear it everywhere. He could not stand that phenomenon where a pop song infested the girls’ minds so easily and so seriously.

Lynn sensed that Mick was not happy. Quickly she charged the CD to Mick’s favourite BoA songs.

“Alright my dear Mick, BoA’s Girls on Top. Track 4 - “If you were here”. Your favourite at all time… Satisfied?”

Mick smiled.

They were the way back home from the university. After spending 8 hours in the university, both of them were exhausted and lost the energy to quarrel. Therefore Lynn took a step back before Mick goes crazy.

Mick’s car was turning at the roundabout.

Suddenly, a Hyundai Coupe appeared at the left of Mick’s car. Mick already put signal that he wanted to turn to the left, and obviously the Coupe driver did not notice it. But it was too late; the Hyundai was too close.

Lynn, who sat at Mick’s left, yelled when she saw the Coupe, which almost crashes, onto her side.

Within 0.1 second of thinking, with no hesitate Mick turned his car to the right to avoid the coming Coupe. Unfortunately, his car crashed to the huge signboard’s pillar.

He knocked his head on the steering. Blood leaked from the wound on his forehead. He lost his conscious.

Lynn, with her safety belt fasten did not get hurt. But when she saw Mick lost his conscious, she began to cry and yell for help. She called the ambulance.

Mick was then sent to the nearest hospital, with Lynn at his side. Hand held by hers and infiltrated by her tears.

‘Doctor, how is my boy friend now? Can he be saved? Has he wakes up?”
Lynn asked nervously to the medical officer on duty.

“Don’t worry lady. He is fine. His MRI shows no damage on the brain. I just sew his wound on his forehead with 4 stitches. When recovered, the scar will not be obvious. He will still be handsome, so don’t worry so much…” Answered by the doctor word by words…

She wiped her tears and stopped crying. She ran to Mick who lied on the bed when he woke up from the sleep.

“Mick, you are scaring me, my dear…”

“Don’t worry… I’m fine. So sorry that I can’t sing Tong Hua to you… But one thing for sure… is that I will protect you forever…”
Mick exhaled a big breath. He closed his eyes and began to lose his conscious.

“No… No…! Mick! Wake up…! Doctor! I need help…!”
Lynn yelled as she thought that Mick was going to die.

“Hey… Give me a break.” Said Mick.

“I had only 2 hours of sleep yesterday because of the exam…”

End