A short story - The silence- by Emily

I walked straight through my office. Just like every day, I turned on the computer, checked emails to see if I got any luck with my customer whom I met yesterday. "That was a great contract with lots of commission. How can I miss that?" I told myself. I wished that I could accuse someone else instead of blaming myself. But let's call spade a spade, it completely was my error. I argued too much to my customer. But he hardly ever talked to me at all, even in the end, I was like a sandwich short for a picnic. After finishing 3 hours beating around the bushes trying to present my ideas to him, he stated in brief that he would consider concerning it and asked me for the next meeting, together with reminding me that he would send me an email soon. "I will send you an email tonight", that was what he promised. 

Yes, I believed he would agree and persuade his director to sign in that contract but my hope became losing. At the end of the day, there was still no reply from him. "It's ok. Today will be a perfect day and you will gain more potential customers.." I started trying to comfort myself in a way as usual, after checking all emails and reply to all customers. 

But this time was different, I was at a crossroads. I could be fined for not signing that contract. That was my only chance and it was so important to me. Those months I had been struggling with this position, trying to be a good staff in my boss's eyes but it seemed I got bad lucks those time. In 3 months, as time went by, I got no contracts from my customers. And that was ashamed to stand in a meeting alone and was shouted by my boss in front of many staffs. I got so much stress today, but I got no one to share, except my brother. He was always all ears. But now he moved to a different area. "I like cold weather." He used to tell me so. To cut a long story short, he loved Saigon but he must bite the bullet, for leaving this place and pursuit for his studying. So he went to Da Lat. I hadn't met him for months but we still kept close connection through the social network. Those months passed by and bad lucks went with me like my company while my brother always told me his good news. That made me sad enough not to tell him any more about my life. I was in deep sorrow that I got a chance to lose my job now and that wasn't enough, my girlfriend, Linh just texted to me yesterday that she couldn't bear this relationship with me and she must leave. "Why? Please explain to me, darling!" I called her and shouted in a shocking moment. Linh had not been saying goodbye to me before for 6 years. "Are you kidding right?" I asked her continuously. She held the phone call for a while and said she was sorry for all, that she couldn't wait for me anymore. Of course, I could feel her tear was falling and I couldn't bear looking at girl's face in tears. So I told her goodnight and I hang the phone up. 

Turn back the hands of time, I was a hot-tempered man with high self-respect and reliable with my promise. So I seldom controlled myself well in front of someone who argued with me. But I didn't know why I couldn't get angry with Linh. She got something different with others that I couldn't figure it out. She didn't talk much. She was a quiet girl. She smiled much more than talking. And she didn't try to stop me while I was talking. She listened to my story quite carefully with much attention. But that was Linh of yesterday. She gave me a cold shoulder. I tried not to think about her but her images were full of my mind. She said goodbye without meeting me directly. She didn't want to meet me. She didn't text me any messages since the phone ended. I tried to call her in my working time more than 10 times but she didn't receive the phone call. I was angry with my job, feeling so stressful with my current life and then Linh left me. She didn't get in touch with me for a week. I was so disappointed with life. 

It was Saturday and I finished my job earlier than normal days. After work, I decided to go to see her. Linh was living far away from me. It was hard to say how much I missed her. "Will she miss me the same or maybe more?" I wondered, thinking that she was angry a little and she would be cheerful again if she saw me. Linh was living in Da Lat but I was working in Saigon. That was quite a far distance so I didn't meet her more often, especially after changing my job to work in another company, I got busier. I remembered the last time I saw her was last month. I felt so guilty about that. "Just because you got so much work to do. Linh will understand and sympathize that". I told myself again on the way of going to visit her. 

"Will Linh be surprised when she sees me? Will Linh hug me and say she will love me forever like before? " I got some hope suddenly. I stopped by a shop on the street and bought a bunch of Roses. She loves white Roses. I was driving for almost 6 hours. I was really close to her now. I was extremely happy imaging that I could see her face after a long time. Just more than a month but it seemed like I was far away from her by a decade.   

I arrived at her house. I called her again and again. She didn't receive the call as usual. So I texted her that I was in Da Lat and asked her if I could see her. She texted me back with a short phrase: "I was not in Da Lat now. Don't wait for me". My heart felt something weird as if Linh was going with someone else, but then I stopped myself for that thought. "She will not lie to you" I believed her. So I intended to sit under her house for a while and kept my eyes on the window above that she used to stand to wave and smile at me every time I came. But there wasn't her anymore there, only darkness covered the whole white house. I felt sad and cold. A feeling that I got from my heart, not by the wind outside. I turned my motorbike back, looked around for an inn to sleep tonight and I was numb....I got cold feet. It was Linh, walking with felicitous face, wearing the most beautiful dress I had ever seen, looking so charming and gorgeous. But she was hand in hand with another man. She was kissing him and saying goodnight to that man. But she didn't see me.  I didn't want to go back again even if I got a chance to say that I missed her a lot. The one who was with her, it was my brother...

She didn't know that someone was painful and hiding into a corner, just be silent to look at her. I texted to Linh the last words "Be happy!" and I drove quickly without looking back as I was afraid I was hurt. Outside, the wind was blowing strongly and the street was empty as the feeling from my heart...