If There Is A Tomorrow

Chapter 5

The early hour of the day was pleasant, particularly when the sun was about to appear. It was cool and calm. Cold wind blew. But with the rise of the sun, the mood of the day seemed to be changing. Heat was felt during the hour. The period between dawn and sunlight presented a lovely sight. The calm and serene atmosphere, the cool and bracing climate and the refreshing breeze gave a soothing effect. The chirping sound of the bird also appeared to be enchanting. The day became hotter as it advanced. It was the most difficult time of the day. At noon the sun was hot red. People avoided going out during the time.

There Maya was, a chameleon, slowly changing colour in the searing heat. While the sun got stronger and hot, she could feel the breeze blowing helping to cool down the temperature a bit.

Maya went for a walk to the Brooklyn Bridge. She wore a beautiful, bright green, sleeveless, maxi dress which clung on to her body beautifully. She had left her gorgeous, light brown hair down. She didn't wear her glasses. Instead she placed them with contact lenses. The green that she wore symbolised hope and a fresh start. She wanted to be a new person. Forget about all the pain of her loving father's death and move on because at the end of the day everyone has to die and that her father will always be in her heart no matter what.

Maya leaned against the bridge's railings and looked at the beautiful river underneath her which glistened in the sunlight. Harris not knowing what to do came to the Brooklyn Bridge too. He heaved himself to the railings too and after a while he noticed a beautiful girl looking thoughtfully into the river. He couldn't recognize who she was but she looked quite familiar. Harris, eager to know who it was, walked casually to her and stood next to her. It was Maya. She hadn't seen him yet but he was standing besides her sighing in contentment. She was beautiful.

'You're looking gorgeous,' he said softly in Maya's ears whilst he gave her a slight hug from behind. She surprisingly turned around in the comment and saw Harris. He was wearing a white shirt and light brown, slim fit trousers. She was taken in shock because that was the comment only her father would used to give to her. 'Thank you,' she replied shyly, blushing. 'So do you.'                                                  'Hmm. Thanks.' He said. 'What are you doing here? Following me around again?' He joked.          'Excuse me; you are the one following me again.' Maya declared.                                                                  'Chill, I was just kidding.' There was a long silence that followed. 'The weather is really nice today.' Harris said breaking the silence. 'Yeah... It reminds me of the days when my father and I would go on walks and go and feed the ducks. Then on the way back home he would throw water all over my head. And sometimes my legs used to hurt, so he used to pick me up and take me home....' Silence again. 'He used to call me the queen of roses.' Maya sobbed. Tears rolled down her check and she quickly wiped them away.

'And in winter, my dad used to wake me up early in the morning, to tell me that it was snowing. I used to get so excited and then I used to give my dad warm, teddy bear hugs. Then we used to make snow angles and a huge snowman. Then we would go for a hot chocolate.' She paused. 'I really miss him...'

'Aww,' was the only thing that Harris managed to say. He was confused, not knowing how to show his sympathy for her. Tears continuously poured down Maya's cheek. Harris came closer and comforted her by giving her a sympathetic hug. 'I don't even know my dad.' He said deeply in thought. 'When my mum was pregnant with me he just left her. He just used her and threw her like a child would love their teddy bear and when it would be old they would throw it away because they would have found a new toy and the teddy was no use to them. My mum and dad ran away from home and got married secretly because their parents didn't approve their marriage but my mum never told me why. My mum had so many dreams and memories. She loved him like mad but he just... left her.' Harris had tears in his eyes and Maya patted him on the back comfortingly. 'It's okay. You and your mother are both strong. You don't need him.' She said softly.

There was silence whilst both of them were in deep thought. 'My mother had a dream. It was to travel the world with my father. But obviously that is not going to happen. So I want to make this my responsibility to fulfil her biggest dream. Hopefully, I will take her around the world.' Harris said.         'It was my father's dream that I become a politician.' Maya said slowly. 'In his childhood my father was very poor. His family would struggle to even get food to eat. It was hard for them to get about three filling meals a day. His older brother left home because he couldn't take up the responsibilities and wanted a good education. He left for the city and left a note at home saying that he was gone for a better life. My father's older sister went and lived in my great grandmother's house because it had better living standards than her own home. The only people left were my father and his younger sister. My father's father got fired from his job because he was an alcoholic. My father couldn't bear to see all this. He was really soft hearted. So he left his school and started earning money just to feed his family. He couldn't get an education and because of that he couldn't get into a university, which made it harder for him to get his dream job which was to become a politician. He wanted to change the world. So, he passed this duty on to me.' Maya took a deep breath. 'Even though he's not alive in this world anymore, I'm sure he will be up there, smiling and being proud of my achievement when I become a politician.' She pointed to the sky whilst she wept like a child. Harris hugged her tightly whilst she cried all over him, making his shirt wet. He stroked her hair softly whilst he kept on whispering word of comfort into her ears softly.

'I've never said this to anyone before. I don't know why I'm telling you all this!' Maya said whilst she pulled away from Harris's warm hug. 'Because I'm amazing and I know it.' Harris joked.                   'Yeah, totally,' Maya laughed wiping the rest her tears off her face. 'I've never told anyone too. Just you... queen of roses.' Harris added. Maya smiled, a real smile. 

For the rest of the day they stood near the Brooklyn Bridge whilst they joked around and shared some of their memories together. They laughed full heartedly, wept like a baby, stood up for each other like a stem would hold up a flower, protected each other as a mother would protect their new born child. And at the end they felt so comfortable sharing their feelings with each other like best friends do.