Orange-Coloured Sky

“How are you?”

Sitting at the grass, enjoying the blue sky slowly turning orange, I turn my head at the familiar sound. In front of me, a man stands with a white short-sleeve shirt and khaki pants. Black rectangular-framed glasses sit on the bridge of his nose, covering his dark brown eyes. 

I blink my eyes twice, making sure he is the same man that I know. “Kevin?”

The man flashes a wide smile. “You still remember me?”

“Of course!” I answer, still feeling surprised. I did wish to meet him, yet it never occurred to me that we could ever meet again.

“Here, flowers for you,” Kevin stretches his hand, putting a red-coloured bouquet in front of me, along with a white plastic bag.

“Oh, thank you! Rose? It doesn't match the vibe here, though,” I peek at the bouquet while gesturing him to sit in front of me.

“Whatever with vibes. I just know for sure that you'll like it,” Kevin answers as he crosses his legs to sit down beside me.

Beaming with joy, I nod at his statement. This behaviour of him never stops to make my heart flutter. 

“You look the same as I last saw you,” Kevin states.

“Still pretty?” I jokingly ask as I put my palms under my chin, moving my fingers playfully to resemble the flower petals.

Kevin lets out a chuckle at my action. “Yeah, yeah.”

“You look different,” stopping my fingers from moving, I reply.

“Different like, how?” Kevin gets his face closer to mine.

“Like, these lines at the corner of your eyes weren't there last time,” I stretch my hands, trying to reach his facial features.

Kevin lets out a faint smile, moving his head backwards to avoid the touch of my hands. “Well, ten years have passed by.”

Understanding the uncomfortableness that the guy in front of me is feeling, I pull back my hand, suppressing the wish to caress his face. 

Avoiding the awkward situation, Kevin grabs the plastic bag that he brought and takes out the two white-coloured cans. “Your favourite drink.”

My eyes widen at the familiar-looking logo pasted on the can. “You still remember.”

Kevin pops the can, letting the fizz out, “How can I forget when you always bought the same drink over and over again?” 

“You'll drink it?” I ask while observing the man beside me.

“I have bought it, so might as well,” Kevin gulps the soft drink, letting my jaw drops in surprise by the action.

“I thought you hated this drink? Remember back then in high school?" 

“That was then. At this time, I have grown quite a liking to this beverage,” Kevin excuses himself, then turns around and lets gas out from his mouth.

I mouth 'WOW' in silence as I watch Kevin pour the liquid and swallows the beverage once again. “Since when, though?”

“Since you were gone, I guess?” Kevin replies in a playful tone.

“Oh come on, I know you have already moved on,” I throw another question to corner him.

“No?” I could see Kevin avoids looking at me when he states his replies. The habit that he always does when he is lying.

I cross my arms, about to ask him to spill out his life story for the past ten years, when he pulls out a white envelope from the back pocket of his pants. “Anyway, I've got a letter for you,” Kevin stretches out, “From your parents.”

I nod my head a couple of times as I observe Kevin opening up the envelope, putting the piece of paper in front of me, ready to be read. “How are they?” I ask as I skim through the writing on the paper.

“Healthy and well. From time to time, I drop by your house and have a chat with them,” Kevin puts his left hand under his chin, waiting for me to finish reading the letter.

“Oh, that's good to hear. I feel better knowing that someone is caring for them in my stead,” I lift my head from the letter, looking at the guy in front of me once again. 

“That's the least that I can do,” Kevin forces a smile. 

“Is this the only letter for me?” I ask abruptly.

The guy in front of me is taken aback by my question. He opens his mouth, but he chooses to close it again. Instead, his hand reaches out to the white plastic bag, pulling out another envelope. This time, a golden-coloured one with his name embedded on the front.

Along with a girl’s name beside his.

“This is what you come here for, isn’t it?” I observe the decoration on the corner, as well as the heart ornament in between the two names.

“I’m sorry,” Kevin says in a soft voice. He averts his eyes from mine, and I could see that smile no longer exists in his face.

“Don’t be,” I shake my head, trying hard to push back the tears from falling. All the memories when I spent the time with him comes flooding back.

And silence falls between the two of us for a good few minutes. I am drowning in my thoughts, and so is Kevin.

Until a ringtone from Kevin’s phone breaks it.

Kevin answers the video call, displaying a girl in a red dotted dress on the screen. “Babe, I am here. Where are you?”

“Oh, I’m still inside,” Kevin replies. He glances at me, with a pained expression.

“Are you done? I am at the gate. Come on out please, this place is rather creepy,” the girl ends the call.

Kevin bits his lip as his phone screen turns black. “I feel bad about leaving you.”

“Go, Kevin. Be happy.”

---

“Babe!” the girl in the red dress waves her hands to Kevin.

Kevin turns around to look back at me. “Can I ever meet you again?”

“I don’t think you can. I am leaving. My wish has been fulfilled, after all.”

Kevin nods his head. “Move on, Bella. You deserve to be happy too.” Kevin gives me another smile before walking closer to the girl who is standing near the reddish brick gate.

From afar, I could see the girl wraps her fingers around Kevin’s arms.

From afar, I could see the diamond ring on her finger that shines brightly under the sun’s reflection.

From afar, I could see the two walk side by side, chatting at each other happily.

---

“Who did you meet, Babe?”

“My ex.”

The girl in the red dress frowns. “Here? What a weird place to talk with your ex.”

Kevin lets out a chuckle as the girl turns her head, looking around between the countless tombstones, trying to take a glance at his so-called ex.

“Don’t be jealous. She already died a long time ago.”

---

It was one Sunday evening when Kevin drove his father's car. We were eighteen, did not even have a driving licence, yet we courageously took off for our date.

The beautiful views on the way to the observatory on the mountaintop distracted our eyes from the road. But during one of the sharp turns, without quick reflex behind the wheel, our car skidded and fell off the cliff.

And I could remember the sunset that I watched with pain all over my body, up until the last moment I closed my eyes.

And today, under the same orange-coloured sky, after meeting the love of my life for the last time, my soul can finally rest.