80 Photo

The two stood there in silence while holding hands. They shared the warmth passing through their hands as both found a way to confirm each and their own feelings. The air might be cold, but their hearts were filled with the warmth of each person brought to his and her life.

The fireworks finished, and yet both did not move from their spots. The wind blew and Mia's hair could be seen scattering with the air, she used her other hand to neatly put the strands of hair at the back of her ear. This is when she realized, she was still holding William's hand. She suddenly became nervous as her heart beat rapidly. She knew her hands had started sweating, but she did not want to pull away from his hand.

Why?

She did not have the reason to…

*beep beep*

Static suddenly sounded at the zoo's speaker.

"All guests are kindly reminded to leave the premises in 15 minutes." The prompt repeated three times before ending in complete silence.

The first time Mia heard the sound, she suddenly let go of William's hand in surprise, like a startled cat which got her tail stepped on. She held the hand was earlier holding William's hand, she linked both her hands and looked downwards.

William could not see Mia's reaction due to her sun hat, which covered the entirety of her face as she looked down. Though he too was surprised, the suddenness of Mia's hand leaving his own made him feel a sense of loss. He wanted to hold her a hand a bit more, the moment felt long for both of them, even though the firework display only lasted for 15 minutes.

After the long silence, Mia finally took up the courage to say something. She slowly lifted her head and faced William head on. "Thank you for today William. I enjoyed it." She said while facing William with her heartfelt sincerity exuding in her eyes.

The softness of the gaze that Mia showed left William speechless, he continued to stare at her beautiful face. She might have worn make-up, or changed her clothes, but she was the same person with the same heart. Her outer appearance might change, but her inner beauty did not. She might be shy or even awkward at times, but that was part of her charm. She might not be perfect but in William's eyes, Mia is special. His eyes that were fixated on Mia were full of gentleness as his lips curved upwards to a smile.

He slowly approached Mia's beautiful face and lightly gave her cheeks a kiss. "You're welcome." His smile was the same, warm and gentle. His eyes were calm yet bright, with the lights of the lamp and the vast sky with the twinkling stars. Williams' eyes drew Mia in while forgetting the kiss William planted on her cheeks.

She could only stare at William's eyes as though she was hypnotized.

William drew back and started taking a couple of steps. "Let's go home. The zoo is about to close."

He walked with a slow pace while waiting for Mia.

Mia finally awoke from what happened. It felt surreal, like a dream as everything happened so fast.

Her cheeks were blushing red up to her ears. She knew she was heating up, but she followed William's steps even though she wanted to hide due to embarrassment. She did not have the courage to walk beside William as she walked behind him.

Doing so, his prominent back can be seen in full view. She thought it wasn't large but looking closely she felt safe just being near him.

She suddenly remembered William's face as he approached and kissed her cheek.

Warm and soft.

Those were her thoughts as she tried to remember the feeling after the embarrassment passed. She suddenly remembered the pair of bunnies in the petting area. She forgot to take a picture as a memento and felt sad. It was a memorable day and yet she totally forgot to take a couple of pictures. Mia gave a deep sigh of disappointment.

William who was a couple of steps ahead heard the sigh, "What's wrong Mia?"

Mia hesitated, she knew there were only a couple of minutes before closing so there was nothing she could do. Her face was filled with bitter disappointment and William could see her glum face even in the dim night.

"Did you forget something?" He did not know if there was something he did wrong as he slowly approached her side.

Mia finally spoke of her disappointment, "I forgot to take some pictures of the pair of bunnies." Her voice was so soft that it would be difficult to hear without listening intently.

However, there was a soft chuckle as William took out Stephanie's phone from his pocket. The bedazzled phone which looked exaggeratedly designed was conspicuous. William first thoughts as he held the phone was it was useless as he would never use it today, but he was proven wrong as he took every opportunity he could get to take a photo of Mia. With a couple of swipes, he showed Mia the screen.

Mia's eyes opened wide as she saw the picture. It was a clear photo with a good angle of her looking surprised at the bunnies. This was before the fireworks started.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa.