“Arrek!”
Arrek turned as he heard his name being called. His sister had gone back to the consulate, and Arrek was now walking past the Empire State building. Just being alone was not something he liked, there always had to be someone with him. It turned out that that was the case now.
“Taka!” he said, pulling her into an embrace and making squealing noises along with her. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you for so long. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I came for a job interview. I want to work in America,” she replied, a huge smile on her face. It has been too long. Arrek could tell what she was thinking, he was thinking the exact same thing.
Holding hands, they started walking to the nearest Hard Rock Cafe, talking and catching up on what each had been doing for the past few months. Arrek neglected to give any information about what he was doing now. He trusted her with his life, but if anyone found out she knew, he would be in big trouble.
Taking a seat towards the back of the café, they kept talking about their experiences, old friends and the time they had spent together. They had both been at college together until she had moved away. Like so many of his other friends, she had filled a void in his life and then created a new one by moving away.
Arrek could still remember when she had left, the pain that it had put him through. They still kept occasional contact, though, and neither of them expected a surprise encounter to be the next time they met. Sometimes life was good. Sometimes the beautiful things in the world really hit you. Taka was one of the most beautiful things in Arrek’s world.
Arrek had fallen hard for her during the past summer, actually spending six hours on a letter to her in Japanese. It was a shame he had been too afraid to show it to her. With a start he remembered that it was in his wallet. Arrek kept everything sentimental in his wallet.
Taka caught him smiling and started to smile herself. Arrek loved meeting old friends again. He almost wanted to cry. It’s strange how emotional I can be sometimes, he thought. Clasping her hand, their eyes met, and Arrek felt that the spark was still there. Having changed so much since they had last met Arrek knew that this was the perfect time.
Taking out his wallet, he grabbed the letter and gave it to her. She started to read as Arrek sat there with an icy feeling in his stomach. His head felt light and his knees were like jelly. Nodding at some points, smiling at others, she unwittingly took Arrek on a roller-coaster ride of emotions and thoughts.
Then she started to cry.