Dazephyr

He stood staring out into the gentle open waters, his hands pressed on the railings while his body leaned forward. The cool breeze blew into his face, tickling behind his ears like a playful lover. The soft lapping of the waters against the side of the reservoir was a calm rhythm that hypnotised him.

It was beautiful up here on the mountains. The reservoir park was cut into the side of the mountain near its peak and overlooked the city below, while the mountain runoffs and waterfalls fed its lake. A hidden treasure buried deep away from civilisation. Only the locals who knew of its secrets would ever find their way here.

His eyes wandered down in front of him, tracing its way from where the grass sloped downwards to the water, becoming mud and stone where man’s construction replaced nature’s growth. There was a family of tortoises sticking their heads out of the water, eagerly awaiting morsels of food thrown to them by children and passersby.

Like him, they were not natives here, but strangers introduced to the place by some locals, and had multiplied to fill the lake. He overhead the park keeper saying that they would soon be crowding out the reservoir, and would need regular culling to keep the numbers down.

He couldn’t help but wonder if he would eventually wear down his welcome too.

In the distance, he heard cheerful laughter, and a chorus of chirpy voices drifted towards him. Turning his head to his left, he saw a family of three walking towards the stone benches beside him and gradually settling themselves down.

They were an energetic bunch. The parents, in their late fifties, making exaggerated walking movements in what some might consider exercise, while their daughter, a young lady in her early twenties, was twirling about a homemade hiking stick. Soon, they quietened down as they sat on the stone bench, enjoying the silent breath of fresh air.

On the spur of the moment, he decided to walk over.

“Hello Uncle! Hello Auntie!” He greeted cheerfully. “Blessed wishes to you this New Year!”

The couple looked at him and smiled back warmly. “A friend of yours?” They asked their daughter after returning his greeting. She looked blankly at him, her mind racing to recall their acquaintance.

“It’s been awhile,” he cut in before the bewildered girl could reply. Pointing at the bridge a short distance away, he continued, “Uncle, Auntie, do you mind if I borrowed her for a second? We’ll just be taking a walk over there.”

“Sure, go along now, we’ll be relaxing here,” her mother answered as she gave him a knowing smile, while her father laughed heartily.

Left without much choice, the young lady stood up and followed the young man who was waiting politely for her, while she struggled to match his face to any distant memory she could summon. Eventually, she gave up.

“Have we met before? I’m not quite sure I know you,” she asked guiltily, embarrassment turning her fair features a shade of pink.

“Well actually, we just met a few moments ago,” he replied with a cheeky grin. “I wanted to chat with someone my age and couldn’t think of another way to talk to you, hope you don’t mind?”

“Oh… That makes sense now,” she responded slowly, as realisation dawned upon her. “At least the part about why I don’t know you.”

She paused in her steps, hesitating.

“Walk with me, just awhile. I promise it won’t hurt,” he smiled and invited her forward. She took a few haltering steps, and then relented.

The two walked on in silence, him taking long casual strides, while she half walked, half skipped till they reached the bridge. Hoisting herself up, she sat on the side of the bridge and stared down to city below, releasing a sigh as she stretched her arms behind her. The wind caught her hair and tugged it playfully, lifting it up and letting it fall again. He pushed himself up and sat down beside her.

“Lovely weather, isn’t it?” he murmured, his eyes faraway into the distant skyline, a hue of yellow, orange and gray in the approaching dusk.

“Yes, a little chilly though,” she whispered back, still mesmerised by the city lights below, gradually coming to life in the creeping darkness.

The evenings came slowly this time of the year, and it was still bright despite the hour. Joggers made their way across the bridge, following the jogging trail around the park. Every now and then a family with children would stroll by, an evening walk after dinner.

“You know, a bridge connects two places together. Two places that may have been strangers to each other, yet now joined, brought together by this connection.”

“Uh-huh,” she replied half-heartedly, her mind still somewhere else.

“And here we are, sitting on this bridge. Poetic, isn’t it?” he concluded, as he turned to look at her expectantly.

She pulled her gaze away from the sights below and looked at him, her black eyes staring questioningly into his. “Is that some sort of cheesy line picked out of a romance novel?”

He let out a laugh. “No, not at all! Just saying that we don’t need to know each other to share a moment.”

Sighing, he gestured at the city below. “It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” Then he turned back to look at her. “A little selfish, I know. But it’d be a shame to share it alone.”

She stared at him a little longer, and then returned her gaze to the city lights. “You’re a strange one, you are.”

In the distant, a jogger in a blue t-shirt and black trackpants was making his way towards them. Beads of perspiration sprinkled his face while his t-shirt was soaking wet. He waved as he neared, a broad smile on his face.

“Hey, kor!” she called out, waving back. “Only the first round? It’s getting dark!” She mocked him jokingly.

“Mei, I’d like to see you try it then,” her brother huffed back at her as he went past, giving her strange companion a nod. Soon, he disappeared out of sight into the trail, swallowed by the trees.

“Slow and steady–” he started.

“–wins the race. I know. I was just teasing him.” She cut in. “Geez, you sure are full of aphorisms.”

He looked behind him and chuckled to himself. “Can’t help it, they’re all over. Look!” He replied, pointing to the tortoises crowding the side of the bridge that stretched into the water. A boy was feeding them breadcrumbs, and they were climbing over each other to get a bite. One of them toppled over and slid back into the water. Her eyes followed in the direction he was pointing, and she laughed as well, slapping him on the shoulder.

“Shall we sing a song?” He asked suddenly.

“A song? Why?” She looked at him curiously.

He smiled at her and started humming a tune from his childhood days. Before long, he was moving his body in time to the beat, while he snapped his fingers. She could only stare at him in amusement at his comical act.

“We’re coming to the chorus, sing along now!” He announced.

She finally shrugged her shoulders in mock defeat, and joined in softly as he loudly sang out the jumbled lyrics in the way he remembered it. Some of the passersby looked on bemusedly as they walked past.

“That was totally all wrong!” She cried out in between laughter as they came to the end of the song. “It’s been awhile since I heard it, but I’m quite sure that’s not how it went.”

“It’s funny how something so familiar can feel so strange sometimes, eh?”

In jest, he gave her an accusatory look. “You should have sung louder then, would have saved us both the embarrassment.” She merely poked him in the shoulder, unable to find her voice.

Soon, darkness descended on both of them. What little sunlight left soon winked out, replaced by the pale glow of the moon and the twinkling of the stars. They sat quietly beside each other on the bridge for a little while longer.

“It’s time for me to go,” she spoke up at last. He nodded, and helped her down the bridge.

“It was nice meeting you,” he said softly as he walked her back to where her parents were waiting for her.

“It was nice to meet you too,” she replied shyly, as he turned and slowly walked away. From the fading voices, he could vaguely hear her telling her parents that he was an old friend she hadn’t met in a long while.

As he reached the bridge again, he pulled out his notebook and scribbled something onto it. It didn’t seem quite right, but he supposed it would do.

Strangers in time unspent
Partners in crime unplanned
Together
Like words that rhyme
Two souls entwined
No need for reason
Coz ‘tis the season
For cheesy lines
And magical finds

Time stops
Hops
Tops it off
With an indelible feeling of
Something left behind

He tore off that piece of paper, and folded it into a paper aeroplane. Looking out into the city below, he threw the paper aeroplane and watched it glide into the darkness. He wondered if it would be found by someone walking up the mountain, or if it would be lost to the elements of nature.

Glancing at the lake, he could barely make out the silhouettes of a few tortoises slipping into the waters, their shapes merging into the shadows. It was time for him to go, too.

– The End –

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