Love is?

Sometimes love was simple, sometimes it was complex. Sometimes it was full of flowers, sometimes it was full of thorns. Sometimes it was kind, sometimes it was evil. Sometimes you gave, sometimes you received. Sometimes it hugged you, sometimes it rejected you. Sometimes it was easy, sometimes it was difficult. All of that complicated things was still one beautiful entity called love.

Despite the complicated thing that they pick along with the love they were so wished for, more than half of the people in this world still longed for love. Despite the pain and sadness, they still chased after love, as if it was the only thing that could make them feel truly alive.

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"Fear isn't a reason when it comes to love. It was just a sad excuse. When you love, you don't think about the consequences. You won't care even if you break. You will do anything for them," I told him what I thought about this matter after I sorted my thought. He looked at me, and I looked back at him. I can't lie that a thread of disappointment already creeping into my heart by now.

"You probably feel disappointed at me. But what could I do though? This is just how I am." George said bitterly.

"I... It's true that I'm a little disappointed, but I also know that I shouldn't. My love for you has nothing to do with you anyway. This is not your fault at all. Just remember that even if I am disappointed, it didn't mean that my love is any less than before. I love you for who you are. I should wait until you fall for me."

"Uh... you really are quite honest with your love. I admire this side of you. Well, I admit that I'm not the bravest when it comes to love. But will you wait even if it takes a long time? Just be friends for a while until I'm ready, then we can go to the next step." He held my hand with incomparable gentleness. I put my other hand on top of his.

"I will wait for however long it takes. Sorry, I was too impatient. I didn't consider your feelings at all and cried shamelessly like that." Now that I think about it, it was quite an embarrassing sight.

"Hahaha, I don't mind that at all." George laughed, it seemed that his spirit is back now.

"I'm being serious here. I know that I shouldn't ask for more, I shouldn't feel so let down for all the times when you didn't call me. We aren't a thing yet after all. We don't own each other," I said to him with a downcasted face.

George chuckled then rubbed my head gently. He didn't say anything, but I was happy, this is exactly what I need. I don't need comforting words, just silently stayed by my side was enough for me. It was strange that he always seemed like he can read my mind.

Just like nothing had happened in this past hour, we started talking about other things again. I felt relieved that things didn't get awkward. It didn't get awkward, but I could feel the subtle atmosphere permeated the air.

George went back to his own house when it was six past thirty. It was not even seven, but in the winter it was already dark at this hour. I told him that he can just stay in the guest room, but he refused me firmly. I was a little disappointed, but this time we changed contact numbers properly, so I didn't have to feel stressed when I want to contact him.

I wanted to accompany him to the bus stop, but he again refused me. We bickered around for a few minutes before I gave up and obediently stay at home.

"This time I will properly call you when I get home," he said jokingly. We laughed for a minute, then he went just like that. I saw his back walking through the snow-filled street until I couldn't even see his shadow anymore. I think I will miss him right away.

I walked into the house when my hands felt frozen from the cold air. I saw aunt stood at the door frame to the kitchen with an apron. She smiled at me.

"Did George go home already? What a pity, we could have eaten dinner together. Aunt just finished cooking for dinner," she shook her head slightly. I also thought that we could have eaten together before he went home.

"Yeah, what a pity," I mumbled.

Me and aunt ate the dinner together. The dinner was lavish. Aunt thought that George will join us on dinner, so she made a lot. I tried to ate as much as I can. Aunt teased me incessantly the whole time even after dinner was over. It was true that I had been acting stupid for the past weeks, and now that the source of my worry has shown up, aunt felt happy for me.

We chatted over coffee after that. Aunt's complexions looked so much better. I felt bad to make her worry all this time and glad that now it was getting better. I told her all that I and George talked about before. She gave me a few pointers about what should and what I should not do. I listened silently and kept her words in my heart. She had a whole lot of experience than me, after all. We talked until ten. Then we went to our respective room after saying 'good night' to each other.

In my room, I checked my phone. There was a message from George: 'I got home safely :) xx'. I smiled wide, he really didn't forget to text me. I wanted to reply right away, but I didn't know what to say. I typed a few words, then deleted it. Then I typed again, then deleted it again a few more times.

'Good. Now go rest and sleep, it's late. Night :)' I finally replied with a short message.

'Yeah, night :D' He replied quite fast and short. I didn't know what to text him again, so I just went to sleep right away. I slept soundlessly that night.

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Author's side note:

I will upload my new story tomorrow !

The title: Memories of Us

Genre: Psychology, romance, mystery(?)