The Meeting Place

The Meeting Place(Im2good) It was an absolutely freezing night; I sat in silent dejection waiting for him to arrive. I checked my wrist watch once more, seeing if I was not early. Of course I’m not early, he’s seven minutes late. I stood up from my cosy position on the step, wandering around the dark alley ways, double checking that this was the meeting place.

‘Hey, there’, I heard a flirty voice that sounded familiar. Footsteps sounded closer. I turned around, and without a moment passing, I was squeezed in to a tight hug. I pulled back. He motioned his lips into a kiss. I pulled away. ‘You’re late’, I replied coldly, taking another step back. He gave me a sly smirk, and started walking along side me. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to act firm for long, but I had to try. He knew it too. How weak and obvious I felt when I sensed him. As I quickened my pace, not even knowing where we were going, he slowed down.

Before I knew it, I was having several fits of laughter. As he began to tickle me, my laugh grew louder. ‘Shh’, he whispered in my ear, and then softly kissed my cheek. I giggled slightly, still lightly furious of his lateness. Never the less, Minutes after, we were deep in conversation, hand-in-hand, walking towards my ‘surprise’.

It wasn’t like I had to introduce myself to him, or vice versa. We’ve known each other since 4th grade. He understood me, and I understood him, making us enjoy every time we spend together. I was now begging him to even spill a word about where he was taking me. He knew me well enough not to take me to a cheesy, romantic diner. I wasn’t the type. But not a movie, I wouldn’t call that a surprise. Maybe the beach. Na, he’s scared of salty water. Ideas and thoughts were rushing through my head, but none of them matched the occasion. Maybe to other lovey-dovey couples, but not us.

He blind-folded me, allowing me only to observe the pitch blackness. He gripped my hands lightly, reassuring me that he wasn’t leaving me. Thank god for that. We walked in silence, although I sensed that his lips were positioned into an excited smirk. I giggled quietly, feeling the anticipation. He gripped my hands tighter in reply, releasing one of his hysterical laughs.

We walked for what seemed like several hours. He took off my blindfold. I understood instantly that this was not the surprise. In front of me was a car, his car, looking a bit cleaner than usual. He motioned for me to buckle-up, afterwards blindfolding me once more. I released a sigh, as I stared into the darkness. He turned the engine on, and we hit the road. Now I was clueless about where we were going. The normal noise of the radio I heard was not present this time around. The complete vehicle was silent, except for the monotonous jingle of the keys clashing towards the car.

And then he parked. I assumed that he was better a driver now, as he parked flawlessly. He opened the passenger door, allowing me to step outside. Even though I didn’t know where we were, I felt something familiar about the surroundings- the smell of eucalyptus, the noise of a distant car passing by- it all seemed so acquainted. He entwined his fingers with mine, as he began to move once more. I heard a creek of a gate door open, but that only brought back a couple of words into my mind, Primary School. He wouldn’t bring me here. No way.

We walked for several minutes more, only stopping after I mentioned the soreness of my feet. He removed the blindfold. It took a couple of seconds to see properly. After apprehending where I was, I clutched my mouth with my hands, in absolute awe. I turned around, to see if this wasn’t a dream. I saw him standing there, absorbing all my emotions and feelings. I wrapped my arms around his body, my shoulder leaning against his chest. How he ever became taller than me, I am not sure of. He hugged me, rocking me back and forth. ‘Thankyou’, was all I could say. I was speechless.

In front of me, was, in fact, our first meeting place. Sure it evolved through the year we attended primary school, as the years that have passed after that. But the feelings we shared then, inside our hearts, are still alive today. We sat on that slight step that was visible, still not another word crossing our minds. He put his arm around my shoulder, staring into my dark pupils. I stared into his, so lightly golden. I knew he was expecting the three words, but I wasn’t going to prove that he knew every essence of me. Since he had no choice, he whispered, but loud enough for me to hear him properly, ‘I love you too’. The cheekiness that I fell in love with is still there, hidden under his maturity and adulthood.

'I always knew you were the one', I whispered back, my head, now leaning against his head.


-THE END!!