Sunday, August 26, 2007

Forbidden love: a short story

This story is fully fictionalized. Any character with resemblance to any living persons is coincidental and unintentional.



It’s been 6 months and 10 days. It sounded silly but Alice actually counted. She counted how long she has been missing him; how long he’s been crawling in and out of her heart.
She knew the both of them had a low chance of being together yet it was so difficult to let go.

He was Mark. He was 30 years old. And he was 12 years older then Alice. You know they say when it comes to love, age doesn’t matter. But that wasn’t it. Mark was Alice’s teacher. They have known each other for more than a year. But it was only until recently that Alice realized that she has grown to like Mark. 6 months and 10 days to be exact.

You can’t call it lust. Alice wasn’t really into Mark’s looks. It was only after she got to know him better and as they grew closer then did she find him to be attractive. In fact, each time she sees him, he seemed to be more and more attractive than before.

It began with something so simple- a bus ride. Then it turned out to be something Alice never expected. Mark knew so much. He told her so many stories, taught her many things. He was experienced. Alice knew she always had something for older man but this seemed to take a toll on her.

You see, Mark was a sweet talker. His words were like sugar in tea. But then, Alice always doubted them. She never knew if there were any traces of truth in Mark’s sweet-nothings. Before you ask, no, there was nothing serious going on between the both of them. Maybe that’s one thing that was bothering Alice.

Was Mark leading her on? Alice’s mind was never at rest. She was always thinking of the thousand and one “what-ifs”.

6 months and 11 days. Alice boarded the bus. There he was. Nothing could describe the feelings inside of Alice. Her heart was doing somersaults. You might think it sounds stupid but maybe you’ve never had that feeling. The feeling of liking someone and then being able to see and spend time alone with that person; jittery feelings all sprout out.

Alice walked towards him and sat down on the seat next to Mark. He smiled at her. The smile that was always flashing in her mind; the smile she knew she would never forget. They talked like always. They talked about everything under the sun. The chemistry they had was amazing and each time they met, Alice felt that she liked Mark more and more. The words he spoke pulled her closer to him each and every time. Alice couldn’t help but succumb to Mark’s flattery and charm.

One day, two days far too many; it’s been a week since Alice rode the bus with Mark. Emotions were intense. Finally, for so long now, Mark asked Alice out. Alice kept quiet. She wanted to say yes. But what would they say? What was the outcome? Two minutes and Alice relented.

Almost a year they’ve known each other; Alice thought she knew Mark well. But at times she couldn’t help but doubt. Mark’s always exclaiming how special Alice was to him and Alice would always wonder if he was the same to all other female students. Was she really that special?

First date; it seemed normal. Movie, dinner and a romantic stroll down the beach. At that moment, everything seemed so perfect, so sweet. Alice wished the time would never end. She wished it would stay like that forever. They stood facing towards the open sea hand-in-hand. What was their future together? Was there even a future to begin with?

Suddenly, Mark held Alice by the shoulders and made her turn to face him. His eyes spoke every word. Alice’s mind was a blur. She was supposed to be happy but somehow something inside of her didn’t feel too good. Mark leaned forward and pressed his lips against that of Alice. She remained stiff. She wanted to push him away but it seemed like all her strength had left her body. She was weak; every part of her. Alice felt possessed. Her first kiss given away to someone she was deeply in like with; someone who was 12 years her senior; someone who was…her teacher.

The kiss seemed to take forever. One word- passionate. Lifting his lips away from hers, Mark smiled sweetly at Alice, he then hugged her tight. Alice searched her conscious but failed to find any. She hugged him back. Something deep inside of her knew this was not the beginning of something. It was probably the end.

Two weeks; a month; no sign of Mark. That night was the last time Alice say Mark. It seemed like he had also resigned from his position as a teacher. Alice felt numb. No one knew of the “special” relationship they had besides Alice’s best friend, Lynn.

“See, I told you already! Why do you even believe the things he says? He made use of you!” exclaimed Lynn as Alice dazed dreamily into the sky. Alice was in no mood to hear the nagging of Lynn. Alice evident feel cheated at all, surprisingly. Somewhere in her heart knew all along that the whole scandalous “affair” was heading no where. She laughed at herself.

4 months down the road, Alice was on the road of recovery. Recovery of that broken heart she hardly even had. As she was walking down the streets near her home one day, Alice thought she saw Mark. But then again, she thought it was her eyes playing tricks on her. Its not surprising since ¼ of Mark was left in her head waiting to be erased.

As she walked nearer, her uncertainty became certain. It was Mark. And in his arm was another lady’s arm; a pregnant lady to be exact. Mark eyes met that of Alice. He forced a smile on his face. Alice smiled back, turned around and continued on her journey.
Alice never felt happier. Well, at least she was loved by Mark even if it was for that 7 hours they were together.


- The End-

If you have the time please watch this video. It might help you get a clearer picture of my story. (: and it was pure coincidence this video existed. Even better, its by my favourite singer, David Tao. (:






1 comment:

Anonymous said...

this helped me with my short story for school thanks heaps