that summer
Summer is ending, which also means the end of the summer vacation approaches. But it will all end tomorrow, this vacation which has turned out, contrary to my expectation, to be unforgettable.
I have never really liked joining guided tours; I have always preferred to explore a place on my own, decide when to do what. And after a hectic semester, when my friends had suggested taking a holiday abroad, Taipei was the last place on my mind. The majority won. And so, when we boarded the plane for the short trip to Taiwan with our tour group, France was on my mind.
She is our guide, a young lady of our age. In fact, all of us were quite surprised when she met us at the airport. It turned out that she was working as a guide during her own summer vacation.
My first conversation with her took place on our second day, when we were given time to wander among natural rock formations at a place called Yeliu. I was sitting alone on one of those rocks when she approached me. We made small talk, the kind between guide and tourist.
“Are you a Leo?” she asked suddenly.
“Huh?” I was somewhat taken aback. “No, I am an Aries.”
She looked surprised. I felt around my neck. “This belonged to someone else, who is a Leo.”
“That someone must be very important then.”
“She was my first love. We parted when she went to France to pursue her dreams... I guess i am just too used to wearing this.”
After that, we spent more time together and talked often. Her Japanese was decent, but sometimes we could not really understand each other. Nevertheless, I enjoyed talking to her. And for the first time in a while, I briefly considered the possibility that someone else could touch my heart again.
But it is ending all too soon. A goodbye tomorrow, and maybe promises. But what good are promises? Come the end of summer, we would have forgotten them, we would have returned to our normal routines, this summer vacation a mere memory.
I would be all alone again then.
I have never really liked joining guided tours; I have always preferred to explore a place on my own, decide when to do what. And after a hectic semester, when my friends had suggested taking a holiday abroad, Taipei was the last place on my mind. The majority won. And so, when we boarded the plane for the short trip to Taiwan with our tour group, France was on my mind.
She is our guide, a young lady of our age. In fact, all of us were quite surprised when she met us at the airport. It turned out that she was working as a guide during her own summer vacation.
My first conversation with her took place on our second day, when we were given time to wander among natural rock formations at a place called Yeliu. I was sitting alone on one of those rocks when she approached me. We made small talk, the kind between guide and tourist.
“Are you a Leo?” she asked suddenly.
“Huh?” I was somewhat taken aback. “No, I am an Aries.”
She looked surprised. I felt around my neck. “This belonged to someone else, who is a Leo.”
“That someone must be very important then.”
“She was my first love. We parted when she went to France to pursue her dreams... I guess i am just too used to wearing this.”
After that, we spent more time together and talked often. Her Japanese was decent, but sometimes we could not really understand each other. Nevertheless, I enjoyed talking to her. And for the first time in a while, I briefly considered the possibility that someone else could touch my heart again.
But it is ending all too soon. A goodbye tomorrow, and maybe promises. But what good are promises? Come the end of summer, we would have forgotten them, we would have returned to our normal routines, this summer vacation a mere memory.
I would be all alone again then.
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