La Vie En Rose
It was a starlit sky, he noticed.
A man sat on a nearby bench at a park, a hand holding a bouquet of roses. The park’s lamps lit up in yellowish hue, while red autumn leaves floated harmlessly down from nearby trees.
A couple passed him by, talking to each other, their hands clasped tightly. He looked at them and smiled sadly. There were people venturing the park at the late hour, looking around, looking occupied and deep in thought.
A woman, looking at the starry sky, noticed the man on the bench. She watched as the man fish something out of his pocket. It was a small box.
She looked as he gently opened the box, stared at the silver ring inside. She looked down, deep in thought. Then she approached the man gently playing with the small box, his eyes staring ahead.
“Hi,” she said. The man looked at her, and nodded. “She didn’t come?”
The man smiled sadly, looked back at the sky. She walked to the other side of the bench. “Mind if I sit beside you?”
The man said nothing, so she sat down. They looked at the sky for a long time.
Finally, the man spoke. “It was our anniversary. We always meet here, me with the roses, her in a beautiful silver dress…” He sighed. “We always met here and went out to dinner on that restaurant right there.” He pointed at a small figure from the horizon.
The woman looked at him. “What happened? She didn’t want to come?”
“She did. She was on her way here…” He looked at the box with the ring, thumbed it. “But the taxi she rode… there was an accident… the truck driver said he lost control…”
“Oh my God. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” The man said quietly. He looked absentmindedly at the ring, clutching it tightly.
The woman stared at him intently. “How long has it been?”
“Three years.” He exhaled deeply. “I go here because we always go here… I leave these roses… because… I just always do…”
He lifted his ring to his face. “And this… this is the only thing I have of her…”
They were silent for a long time, looking at the stars. The woman, looked at him, said, “Can I stay here with you, and keep you company?”
He smiled. “I don’t mind.”
They looked back at the sky, the breeze blowing gently at them. For one moment, the man suddenly looked at her, looked down with a smile. Then he looked back at the sky.
The moon shone brilliantly above them.
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