It has been awhile since I've talked to Hiiragi. He seems to have changed. More tired and haggard than before. Many unfortunate events have happened since I last saw him. Events that kept me from thinking and writing, but, I believe that the path will be lucid once the fog clears.
Hiiragi soon began to share yet another of his love account. This time, it was a fairytale of distance and faith.
During his teenage years, when the cyber world was beginning to boom, Hiiragi got to know Heiwa. It was quite a fad back then to know more people through the net, and Hiiragi was no exception. It was also through one of these chat rooms did he find her. It started out in casual chats with the intention of having fun. Little did Hiiragi know it would become part of his love life. Each time they chatted cyberly, their feelings deepened. It was only a matter of time before they would exchange phone numbers. And they did. They continued their romance over the phone and with the freedom of expressing their feelings through voice, their love intensified. Soon, they were planning of meeting up. This was when their relationship hit the rocks.
They had decided to meet at a shopping arcade near the causeway as Heiwa wasn't local. She told Hiiragi that she would give him a call once she has crossed the causeway. So Hiiragi waited at home, patiently and yet impatiently. He was all dressed up for this very first meeting. Shaved, clothes pressed, shoes shined, hair styled, body cologned and feeling excited. But his spirits was dampened as hours and hours passed. 4 hours have passed and still not a sound from his beeper. He became worried and disappointed. Did something happened to her? Or was it all just an illusion? His mind was filled with unanswerable questions. Then it came. "BEEP!", a message came through his beeper. Before he could read the first, "BEEP!" came the second. Another 2 messages came through momentarily. He read them frantically, but was dumbfounded upon reading it. 'I've crossed the causeway, and I'm so excited!', 'I'm at the shopping arcade, where are you?', 'Are you avoiding me? Where are you?', 'Hey, I'm on my way back. Why didn't you appear or reply me?'. These were the messages he received. Hiiragi called Heiwa straight away to explain what had happened. Why did the messages only arrived after 4 hours? Neither of them knew. Dispite the incident, they continued their romance and to meet up again soon. Yet again, something happened. This time, they were supposed to meet at the airport before Heiwa flew overseas for her studies, but, just hours before Hiiragi was leaving home, Heiwa called. She was crying when she told Hiiragi that she was already in Melbourne. Her dad had changed her flight to an earlier time without informing her and she had to rush to the airport. She further explained that she didn't have to the time to inform Hiiragi till only when she was off the plane. Hiiragi was bowled over. He didn't know what to say or what to think. Was it all just a coincidence? Then, something in his heart told him to believe and have faith. "Heiwa, we will meet up, someday. Dry your tears now. If fate wants us to go through all these before we can finally be together, so be it." Heiwa replied, "Thanks Hiiragi."
They continued their distant love through phone calls. It was really a hard time for the both of them. Many occasions, their love was cliff hung. There were times when they held strong yet also periods when love faded. Their love survived for a long period of time and distance, but, in the end, Hiiragi surrendered. He was too tired in holding on to something so dear yet so vague. Or maybe, he just did not want to hold on anymore. Heiwa was devastated and disappointed upon knowing this. Yet till this day, she has never blamed him in anyway. "Why?", I asked. Hiiragi smiled and said, "In love, there's no blame."