A Wine Story
“I am sorry, Miss, but we are closed.”
He called out, “It’s all right.”
“Ok...I shall get going then. Bye!”
He raised an arm in acknowledgement, then beckoned her in. “I have been waiting for you.”
She stepped in, and surveyed her surroundings briefly, before proceeding to the bar.
“You have come for this, haven’t you?” he asked, producing a glass container with a bottle of wine in it. “I thought you weren’t coming.”
She smiled. “I almost forgot about it. You are closed already right? So I should get going. Thanks for waiting…”
“Well, you can stay if you want to.”
“Really?”
“Uh huh.”
“Can I drink it here?”
“Sure.” He took the container from her.
“Will you drink with me?” she asked.
“Well, technically, I am not supposed to,” he replied, handing her the rolled-up message kept with the bottle.
“But you are the boss. Make an exception today. For me. Please.”
“All right,” he said.
She unrolled the message and read it silently. Then, she put it aside, stifling a tear.
“Everything all right?” he asked casually, placing a glass of the wine in front of her.
She smiled and nodded. She took the glass and raised it. “Cheers…”
“Cheers,” he acknowledged.
“Happy Birthday to me. Belated,” she added on.
“It is your birthday?”
“It was my birthday.”
“Still, happy belated birthday.”
“Thank you. You know, this is my birthday gift for myself.” She swirled the wine in her glass. “I am not sure if I deserve it.”
“Do you remember the you who came in here a year ago?”
She looked up.
“A year ago…”
“A year and a day ago,” she corrected.
“A year and a day ago. I still remember the girl who walked in here that day.”
“What was she like?”
“She was sitting right here, sipping her wine.”
“She was crying right? She was just breaking down…a pathetic sight, right?”
“She was trying her best not to cry. She was trying to be strong.”
She sniffed and looked away.
“In the end, she let it all out. She felt much better after that. Before she left, she reserved a wine to be opened a year from that day. She promised to come back for the wine, happier.”
Her eyes were shut.
“Tell me, how have you been this past year? Do you remember the promise?”
“I thought I could leave him. I thought I could end it once and for all. But I couldn’t. The moment he called, the moment I heard his voice on the phone again, everything fell apart. It’s like walking along a dark road, and you have been warned to never turn back when your name is called, or you will be just sucked back into the darkness. I turned back.”
“Uh huh.”
“He told me he would leave his wife. He told me he would divorce her. We would go somewhere else. Start afresh. Just the two of us. I listened to all his words and believed him. But they were all lies. I woke up one day to find a note he left behind. He told me he still loves his wife, and they would try to make it work. For everyone’s sake, he would be taking up an overseas posting. He wouldn’t take my calls. I tried looking him up at his office, but they told me he was on leave, because he was leaving soon. I managed to find out the date he was flying off. I went to the airport, and saw the two of them. Smiling, laughing, hand in hand, walking through the gate. That was when my world fell apart. The moment someone is gone, that’s when you realize you love him.”
“You love a man like that?”
She laughed, “I am the mistress. Do I have any right to criticize?”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know. He’s gone. Really gone. Just like that. 7 hours ago. His plane… must be somewhere over the Pacific now.”
He sucked in a breath of air.
“I am a loser right. Deep down, you must be laughing at me. A year ago, I came here, promising to move on. And one year on, I am back here again, same old story.”
“You were just trying to hold on to something dear to you. It is the inevitability of goodbye that hurts, isn’t it? That is why we are always trying to prolong it. Trying to stay awake for one more moment, because if we close our eyes, it will just end. A lingering gaze; a lingering touch of the hands... We don’t want it to end. We want to capture that moment, that magical moment forever. Like in a vial, or a time freeze. So that it becomes trapped forever. Eternity. But it is a paradox. How can it be eternity, if it is just standing still?”
She stared at him.
He laughed, “Ok, not exactly the topic to talk about at 3 a.m. But to cut a long story short. The magic is not in eternity or the moment that we try to freeze. The magic lies in the fact that it comes and goes. That there is a beginning and an end. Only when we accept the inevitability of goodbye and embrace it, can we treasure the memory and find peace within ourselves. And move on with life.”
She was still staring at him.
He smiled. “Think about it. Now, you have to go.”
She realized their glasses and the bottle were empty. “I guess I have to get going, huh. Get on with my life. Thank you for keeping me company. Do you think I could reserve a bottle to be opened a year from now?”
“I am afraid that is impossible. You see, yesterday was the last day. I am closing this place for good. I wanted to close it last year. But a girl came and made a reservation. So I waited for her. My work is done. It’s time for me to get on with my life.”
He called out, “It’s all right.”
“Ok...I shall get going then. Bye!”
He raised an arm in acknowledgement, then beckoned her in. “I have been waiting for you.”
She stepped in, and surveyed her surroundings briefly, before proceeding to the bar.
“You have come for this, haven’t you?” he asked, producing a glass container with a bottle of wine in it. “I thought you weren’t coming.”
She smiled. “I almost forgot about it. You are closed already right? So I should get going. Thanks for waiting…”
“Well, you can stay if you want to.”
“Really?”
“Uh huh.”
“Can I drink it here?”
“Sure.” He took the container from her.
“Will you drink with me?” she asked.
“Well, technically, I am not supposed to,” he replied, handing her the rolled-up message kept with the bottle.
“But you are the boss. Make an exception today. For me. Please.”
“All right,” he said.
She unrolled the message and read it silently. Then, she put it aside, stifling a tear.
“Everything all right?” he asked casually, placing a glass of the wine in front of her.
She smiled and nodded. She took the glass and raised it. “Cheers…”
“Cheers,” he acknowledged.
“Happy Birthday to me. Belated,” she added on.
“It is your birthday?”
“It was my birthday.”
“Still, happy belated birthday.”
“Thank you. You know, this is my birthday gift for myself.” She swirled the wine in her glass. “I am not sure if I deserve it.”
“Do you remember the you who came in here a year ago?”
She looked up.
“A year ago…”
“A year and a day ago,” she corrected.
“A year and a day ago. I still remember the girl who walked in here that day.”
“What was she like?”
“She was sitting right here, sipping her wine.”
“She was crying right? She was just breaking down…a pathetic sight, right?”
“She was trying her best not to cry. She was trying to be strong.”
She sniffed and looked away.
“In the end, she let it all out. She felt much better after that. Before she left, she reserved a wine to be opened a year from that day. She promised to come back for the wine, happier.”
Her eyes were shut.
“Tell me, how have you been this past year? Do you remember the promise?”
“I thought I could leave him. I thought I could end it once and for all. But I couldn’t. The moment he called, the moment I heard his voice on the phone again, everything fell apart. It’s like walking along a dark road, and you have been warned to never turn back when your name is called, or you will be just sucked back into the darkness. I turned back.”
“Uh huh.”
“He told me he would leave his wife. He told me he would divorce her. We would go somewhere else. Start afresh. Just the two of us. I listened to all his words and believed him. But they were all lies. I woke up one day to find a note he left behind. He told me he still loves his wife, and they would try to make it work. For everyone’s sake, he would be taking up an overseas posting. He wouldn’t take my calls. I tried looking him up at his office, but they told me he was on leave, because he was leaving soon. I managed to find out the date he was flying off. I went to the airport, and saw the two of them. Smiling, laughing, hand in hand, walking through the gate. That was when my world fell apart. The moment someone is gone, that’s when you realize you love him.”
“You love a man like that?”
She laughed, “I am the mistress. Do I have any right to criticize?”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know. He’s gone. Really gone. Just like that. 7 hours ago. His plane… must be somewhere over the Pacific now.”
He sucked in a breath of air.
“I am a loser right. Deep down, you must be laughing at me. A year ago, I came here, promising to move on. And one year on, I am back here again, same old story.”
“You were just trying to hold on to something dear to you. It is the inevitability of goodbye that hurts, isn’t it? That is why we are always trying to prolong it. Trying to stay awake for one more moment, because if we close our eyes, it will just end. A lingering gaze; a lingering touch of the hands... We don’t want it to end. We want to capture that moment, that magical moment forever. Like in a vial, or a time freeze. So that it becomes trapped forever. Eternity. But it is a paradox. How can it be eternity, if it is just standing still?”
She stared at him.
He laughed, “Ok, not exactly the topic to talk about at 3 a.m. But to cut a long story short. The magic is not in eternity or the moment that we try to freeze. The magic lies in the fact that it comes and goes. That there is a beginning and an end. Only when we accept the inevitability of goodbye and embrace it, can we treasure the memory and find peace within ourselves. And move on with life.”
She was still staring at him.
He smiled. “Think about it. Now, you have to go.”
She realized their glasses and the bottle were empty. “I guess I have to get going, huh. Get on with my life. Thank you for keeping me company. Do you think I could reserve a bottle to be opened a year from now?”
“I am afraid that is impossible. You see, yesterday was the last day. I am closing this place for good. I wanted to close it last year. But a girl came and made a reservation. So I waited for her. My work is done. It’s time for me to get on with my life.”
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