wonderful moment . They beamed at their cameras , looking very happy . Yet , I stood still in the theatre , watching props , chairs , and tables being collected . The theatre looked emptier and emptier . More and more photos were taken . There were fewer and fewer things I could do . Then everything that we built was gone . So were my friends .
Since then I had a recurring dream . In that dream , I was still learning about contemporary music in Cheung Chau with all my buddies . Chatting . Laughing . Going down the hill to grab some local street food . Returning to the campsite and thinking about the final performance . I then heard the swirling sound of water . It continued to get louder until it became unbearable and woke me .
The traffic lights turned green , and I soon found the restaurant . My friends were already sitting and chatting there . I greeted Connor , George and the others . Then , we ordered some dishes and drinks . The drinks arrived sometime later . The liquid on the surface moved and reflected lights from certain angles . In the restaurant , our chatters became indistinguishable . I later finished my tea and refilled my cup .
“ Hey , Petra ,” Connor turned to me and started , “ if it wasn ’ t you , we ’ d never see each other again . Thanks for inviting us !”
“ Of course that ’ s not true ,” I said , squeezing out a smile . “ But thanks .”
“ Seeing all your faces reminds me of our group performance ,” Connor continued , giving a chuckle . “ I still listen to the background music we used in the performance sometimes , and I couldn ’ t help but to think about it .”
The performance …
“ I wish we had more time to make it better ,” Connor rested his chin on the right hand .
These words hit me like a hard wooden stick against a copper bell . A sudden surge of anger took over me . “ No ! The performance was perfect just the way it was !” I stormed . “ The reason I invited you all here is to try to relive the moments when we were preparing for the performance .
The performance is the best , best , best memory I have .”
The indistinct chatter died away . On a table near us , the beer was poured from the container , again making a resounding swirling sound . And then I couldn ’ t feel myself , as if fading .
“ This will be ,” I swallowed and said , “ the last time I invite you all .”
Connor and George looked at me but remained silent .
“ Well ,” George finally said , “ we can certainly gather somewhere when we ’ re free .”
“ Yeah .” “ Of course we can .” “ After my exam , I ’ ll have plenty of time .”
We began to head home . Waiting for the traffic light one road away from the station , I saw some vehicles drive to the right and some to the left . The scene repeated hundreds of times . The light turned green . Finally , we came to our point of departure and took some group photos as always . I said goodbye to Connor , George , and the others and watched them go for some moments . Meanwhile , the traffic lights turned red and the cars stopped , accumulating on the road . I took a deep breath and entered the station . While descending the stairs , I heard cars revving their engines .
Tyler majors in English at EdUHK . He established his own blog , tylerhhwong . wordpress . com , and writes for the EdUHK Editorial Board . He enjoys writing for the expansion of human knowledge with a cup of chocolate sundae at McDonald ’ s .
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