Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 279

spend with Kate with the track being so close to our homes. I felt like it was time to tell her what I had
been thinking. So I picked the day before the Grand Prix’s Friday practise sessions, just to get myself
into a better mood before the race. I asked her to spend a day with me. Not knowing my intention, she
agreed. We went to London, had some fine Spaghetti Bolognese together, which is our common
favourite food. We then went to Buckingham Palace to do some sightseeing. Kate actually surprised me
when she told me that she hadn’t visited this place before, she said she wouldn’t do this tourist stuff. It
would’ve been worse if she had been there before anyway, because it wouldn’t be as interesting to her
as it was to me.
We ended the afternoon on the London Eye. Inside the cabin, we got to see the sun set right above
the River Thames. Honestly, the views just wasn’t gonna get any better, “Do you like the views here,
Kate? I would love to spend every day like this, never mind the F1 and everything…”
She replied straightaway, “Yeah… It would be nice if every day was like this…” She wasn’t looking at
me though. She was looking out at the sun, smiling so broadly that almost all her teeth were showing.
That image right there was what got me loving her in the first place. She wasn’t always happy and
optimistic, much like most of us. But when she was, she would be the happiest girl on the planet. That
kind of charm in her is just too bright to be hidden. I could feel that every time she smiled like it was
really coming from her heart. That’s what I like about her. I would trade everything just to see her
smile at me. Because I know that’s her true feelings.
I brought her to a slightly upmarket restaurant that I booked the week before for our dinner. And we
spent our meal just as happily as we had been the whole day. And just when we were finishing our
desserts, Music was playing all of a sudden, it was Ed Sheeran’s “Hearts Don’t Break Around Here.” I
then walked up to the stage, picked up the microphone, and started to sing.
“She is the sweetest thing that I know, you should see the way she holds me when the lights go low.
Shakes my soul like a pothole everytime…” the spotlight panned towards her when I whispered out
the lyrics of the verse…
“What are you doing here, Marcus?! Come back down quickly before we get into any trouble!” She
was of course shocked, but also a bit blushed because of my actions, “You know, we’ve spent so much
good time together before, and we spent some good times together again now that we’re in Britain.
You really make me feel like we were back in the old days again…when were still a couple. I don’t
know if you have the same feeling as well, but I really feel like I’m in love with you again. I’m sure that
there’s a reason why you didn’t love me anymore. But there are very good reasons why we got
together in the first place as well. After so much we’ve been through I’ve become a different man. Will
you take this journey in life with me again?”
“Marcus…. I’m amazed how much you’ve done for me…and I don’t know how to thank you as
well… Yes, we’ve been close. We’ve spent some good time together too. And frankly, I could feel the
vibes flowing through both of us as well. But I just don’t think that we should be together… Having
you as my friend has been a true blessing for me. And I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t know how to
explain it to you, but let’s just say that there would be less of a burden on our relationship if you were
my friend… I’m sorry, Marcus.”
I went silent. In fact, the whole place went silent. I was stunned for a few seconds before I could say
anything, “You know, I’m not gonna lie to you, I am not fine right now, after hearing you say this.
But I know that I can’t force you to love me as well. It’s ok for you to reject me.”
“Could we still be friends, Marcus? I’m really sorry about this…”