Chapter: Hon

It must be a dream that me and my darling hon was enjoying tea in our very own house. We were day dreaming about it a lot in our struggling days. We both worked very hard to get what we naturally deserve for each other, a beautiful little house with terrace garden for evening tea, green house in the corner, little pond under the willow tree on the other side, were all kinds of edible and colourful fishes going to swim around in the fresh water, there would be an aluminium net under the water at certain level, so no one could drown underneath, we would try to install aluminium solar power strip in the pond to see under deep, along with we would have our own swimming pool that looks like a floating leaves of water lily in it's ocean green colour, on the grassy green field with white marble and mosaic flooring and the red wine colour water lily would be the jacuzzi, that's going to streaming out the water from the jacuzzi into the pool. The pool with water purifier system which releases the water to our green land for watering it where different types of colourful flowers were laying to give us their company. The white like snow, little two storey house in the middle of the valley with little private garden on their backyard was the house we were dreaming of. Front of the house would be with parking lot, swinger plant in the middle of the ground, that's going to be surrounded with small golden lotus step by step fountain and swinger to enjoy beauty of the garden. The house would have solar panel for energy saving and rain water harvesting system for the whole house water consumption on our backyard along with the green house.

Yeah, we had to work really hard for that little luxury to prevent each other from our jealousy that made us most of the time two strangers in same bed. I was enjoying the evening sunset on my very on terrace. How remarkable! When did we finished our dream house. I could not recall or recollect my memories, probably age was the factor after all. We both met for the first time in the park on my evening walk. I didn't have that kind of luxury then to enjoy my own garden. I was living with my parents then. Three people in two bedrooms, two attached bathrooms, single dinning with kitchen and drawing room. No car, no garden and not even had our own storeroom. That little space was our part of the heaven. It was rented though in my aunt place. She was a good friend of my parents. She was a kind hearted woman who widowed in her early 30's with no kids then inherited that business from her husband. It was a small business at first but because of her hard work, later it expanded. I was working in one of the small branch, the main branch was on the main road, not very far from my office. We needed to go to our main branch for handling the arrangements. It was like we were living in the van like a gypsy just needed to drove away from place to places. My work place was at nearby of my house, I was working as a marriage counselor and a planner where as I didn't have my own lover.

Nevertheless, that job was too given by my aunt and I got my place from the office as an employee, it was good enough for my luxurious life that to treat myself on every evening a walk on the back of my office where a beautiful park laid with stepping stone paths on the green grass ahead to the lake with side walk streets for joggers, there were blue painted iron benches for sitting around for day dreaming, snacks, drinks, icecream van could be founded on the side roads, you could not miss them. Beautiful settings for the people like us, small luxury on my grasp. That day, just like other days, I was sight seeing and walking in the sidewalk when I saw a man in his early 40's, good looking for me, sitting there, he was sobbing on the park bench. He was in his grey cotton trouser and silver striped off white shirt with leather light brown derby shoes, same colour office bag under his arm, silver mobile phone was on his hand, he was shaking by the news that was coming from the other side of his phone. It was a valentine's day evening, people were enjoying eating out hearts everywhere, red velvet cakes with heart shaped chocolate as a decorative, heart shaped fruity candies, heart shaped candied dry fruits and all garnishes of icecreams were available in heart shape, these hearts would be given in any park vans of cafeteria, small little complimentary surprise gifts could be received by every valentine's day order of the customers, little surprising gifts would be sold from the park vans on that lovers day. At that moment when everyone enjoying each others' lovers, all having a great time then it was like, he was the only man who was sulking in hysteria, suffering from innermost pain and agony that could not be seen from distance but I was walking towards him, going to cross him by when I saw him like that. I stood there still and had my seat on the same bench where he was sitting. As a man of his age, he could not afford to crying out loud but it seemed he lost something valuable. As calmly as I could, I took a deep breath to ask him if he was okay or not, then he was just burst into tears, after few minutes of crying, he just said he lost his job that day and his girlfriend was leaving him to rot, because of his being jobless, his childhood girlfriend left him to enjoy richness in her left out life. I said nothing to him because I was use to, of that types of situations. I took the liberty and treated him a strawberry latte with little chocolate hearts and red velvet cake with little small surprising gift. He stared at me as if he was not expecting it. Then pull himself together and enjoyed snacks with me. I was eating threesome icecream with lots of marshmallows, chocolate chips and candied fruits with little surprise valentine's gift to myself. I bought the gifts for each of us. They were selling gifts in genders, there was a male section and a female section of surprise gifts. We talked for hours after having our snacks till the sun set then I asked him to meet me the next day in my office because I liked him. He was not that much of a macho man for himself nor he was a nagging person or prudent one. I liked his companionship. That's why I asked him out to meet me in my office. I couldn't make him feel better but he didn't refused my offer either then before we left, we opened our surprise gifts that I bought from the van, he had a small tiny little silver rose flower cufflinks that he could wear anytime and I had a bracelet named my lady. The next day sharp at 12 o'clock, he came to my office to meet me, I took him as one of my branch wings. Later on, he managed to make himself a manager of the main branch that was not very far from the park or my office as I added earlier. Every day, we loved to spend our evening time on the park then get back to our work. Just like that, as simpler as it could be, we became lovers. Nothing extravagant about us, no fuss or curiosity about our ex past lovers, just two of us, day dreaming about our dream house, thinking of getting married at one beautiful day, having our very own children as many as we could then enjoying them till the end of our time. But I couldn't remember when did we build our own house or buy it. What could be missing? I was wondering with worried eyes when he hold me near and said to go in the bedroom, he was coming. I was shyly smiling with my worried eyes and went back to my bedroom. I took a warm bath, used my silk gown and laid myself on the bed. I didn't realised when did I fall asleep. I woke up by his touch, he loved me very passionately, it was a black dark rainy night, we could not see each other faces.

After spending a beautiful night with my hon, I woke up on my bed. Strange, I woke up in his apartment, then it must be a dream, I guessed. Then my phone started to rang. It was my hon, I smiled a little but when I received the call it was a man, in his apologetic voice, he asked me to come into that park of ours where we both spent lots of evenings. When I arrived at the park then I saw a cute little man at his mid age, with his slim toned body waiting on his dark brown leather jacket and white cotton pant with black loafers. He asked me if I knew that mobile, for security, he even called me with that phone by himself. Then after being confirmed by himself, he said to me that he was taking his morning walk here when he saw a man left his mobile on the bench and went to the end of the lake. He did not followed him but when he was not coming back for a half an hours then he called the first name of his mobile that was me. I was worried at first then I remembered, he called me to say he was coming earlier before the valentine's day, so I should stay in his apartment. I took the mobile from him but it seemed that man was hiding something from me. I asked him anything else that he wanted to say to me then he added, he could be in very dark and cold place. I was in my mild heart stroke, it seemed it stopped beating. He begged me to report in lost and found of police station cases. Then he asked me when did I last saw him, I said nothing because I was confused about last night then I said two days ago before valentine's day, he was on his business trip and that day he was supposed to meet me for valentine's day at his apartment. I was then started to frightened because he left his mobile in the park bench at valentine's day without saying a word to me. I rushed to the police station and reported about his missing. Then after a several hours of searching, they guessed if he fell into the drainage which was in the dark corner of their office front then they started to search there but heavy rainfall from the last night made the drain overflowed, then after hours of waiting when the water level decreased they sent search team again to look for him then after more than three hours of search, they founded him in the sewer drain on the road, infront of his office where drain cleaners were working, my husband didn't saw it because he was too busy the night before the valentine's day. He came back from his business trip at that night, went to his office then left the office at 10 o'clock, as the building guards and front desk staffs gave their statement to the police officers report. When they dragged him out of the sewer drain, they didn't call me at that time. They called me after making him dressed up for me.

When he accidentally fell into the sewer, that place was dark at that night. It was raining, so he couldn't manage to saw it within his urgency. The police drew the accident on the report that where presented to show me was, it was a rainy dark cold night, he came to his office, to report back of his successful meeting, submitted his succession proposal approved and signed by his clients, then when he was rushing out from the office building for a cab, those slippery wet road took him directly into the current of the sewer water of the sewage. That very day, the drainage cleaners were there to make sure so that the heavy rainfall should not be overflowed to make floods on the road. They were working on it. The sewage was opened that day. Everyone should have known it, they even used board to secure that place but still he didn't saw that, probably the board was in mud that's why he didn't saw it and fell down into the drainage and died immediately after having a dangerous smashed on his back of the head then the sewage water dragged him along with the flow and tucked him in the corner of the drain where he was stuck and floating till the drainage cleaners and police officers founded him. I was feeling heavy, couldn't cry or even shut close down my eyes for sleep, couldn't eat anything only could have managed to drink water. I was just could not understand what to believe, I was hoping it would be a horrible dream that I was getting in his absence. All our dreams, with sudden unexpected call from a stranger, vanished in front of my eyes. When I saw his face, he seemed so puffed up, all his veins were water logged, stiff and mushy body, more than 48 hours in the drainage water made him more white in pale but still was handsome enough for me to take me away, some kind of sadness on his face was still there, even after being with me for almost a decade, he couldn't remove that sadness from his past more milder. I was thinking he was happy with me but now it seemed I missed it and made myself to ignore it. I never asked about his past life nor I was curious about it because I thought, it would be better in that way. I could not resist to touch his face and lips for the last time before his final burial and kissed him on his lips to say goodbye. But even so, I couldn't manage myself to believe his death. I thought it would be best in that way not forcing myself to came back to reality because I could feel his arm quietly holding my waist still, just like that evening before valentine's day when he grabbed me close to his chest.