The white rose (A co-written story)

He browsed through the forum and found an interesting subject: "1001 ways to be romantic," posted by Miss LuvlyBunny.

He wanted to be a romance. All his life, he had been criticized by many that he was boring, that he was too logical, too dry, and that he was so not romantic. He was planning to stay up all night to memorize all 1001 ways, but there were only two posted so far. However, he knew he wouldn’t need all of them when he saw the second suggestion: “Give your lover a dozen roses and do it with a creative twist. Give eleven red roses and one white rose. Attach a note that read: ‘In every bunch there's one who stands out, and you are that one.’”

Oh yes. Romantic he wasn't, but creative, he could be. He had no doubt about the suggestion. After all, it came from a lovely bunny. Who is he to differ? He was thrilled. He was highly exhilarated. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow, when after work, he would go and get a dozen roses as suggested. He would win the heart of the girl he has been so crazy about. Thank you, Miss LuvlyBunny! Thank you! Thank you!

The next day, for the whole working day, he sat in his office and counted every minute until the quitting time. 

When the long handle hit the number 12 at exactly 4 o’clock, he bolted from the office, practically ran through the parking lot, jumped into the car, and took off like a bat out of hell. He was going to get one white rose and another eleven red ones for his lovely lady. He was in love. He felt the love!

On the way home, he stopped by the best Italian restaurant in town and ordered a fancy dinner-for-two to take with him. To richen the mood, he swung by The Spirit Shoppe and bought a bottle of red wine along with a couple of candles.

He had invited the girl over for dinner, and she accepted. He would meet her at the front door, present the roses, expect a big smile on her face, surprise her with the candlelight dinner, and let whatever should happen, happen.

--- o0o ---

When the doorbell rang, he dimmed the ceiling lights and lit the candles on the dining table. The room was instantly transformed by the dreamy and romantic mood, and further dramatized by the soft piano sound of the Moonlight Sonata in the background. He then hurriedly picked up the roses and headed up front.“Thank you, Miss LuvlyBunny. Thank you for such a wonderful idea,” he appreciated quietly in his head while opening the door.

Standing in front of him was the beautiful girl of his dream. She was there with the lovely face and the brightly lit-by-the-sunlight eyes, coupled with a seductive smile that was burning his heart with desire. He looked at her, smiled lovingly, and slowly handed her the roses. She reached out with both hands, and tenderly brought them closer to her heart. Then he seduced her with his low and ravishing voice, “In every bunch, there’s one who stands out, and you are that one.”

She loved his voice. “You can say that again,” she was thinking while smiling and looking at the roses. 

Then her lovely face turned slightly red. Her eyebrows wrinkled a little closer to each other. The smile slowly faded away. He could feel her mood was changing. A couple of seconds later, she looked up at him. With a slightly trembling hand, she handed back the roses, turned around and walked away without a word. 

He was wordless. He looked at the roses, then her, then the roses. When he realized that something was really wrong, he called out, “Wait. What’s wrong?” and hurriedly ran after.

It was too late. She reached her car, got in, and sped away, leaving him standing barefooted on the driveway, looking dumbfounded with a dozen roses in his hand. One white rose among eleven red roses …

(written by Bear lac loi) 


Hesitant for a while, I finally decided to accept his invitation to dinner. I met him not long ago at my friend’s party, and realized we had some things in common. He majored in banking, and I, accounting- Both were business. He loved hall music, and I did, too. Besides, we could talk for hours about some classic novels that we were both interested in. But those common things, I supposed, did not bring our relationship closer than friendship. Sometimes he gave me a call to ask after my health and my job. Some other times, I met him online, and we chatted for a while. But that was all we had done so far and I did not think of him more than a friend. I was not sure what he thought of me, but that was not a matter. It would make no difference anyway. Each time we met, he still welcomed me with a radiant smile and a friendly look that sometimes returned in my mind, but it could not indicate anything other than friendship. It was not that I was playing hard to get. Just, I was not ready to step into a serious relationship. My heart had not healed from the pain of three years ago, and the trauma was still very real. I pulled out my drawer and opened a wooden box that kept my once-upon- a memory. There was a picture of a girl and a boy with ecstatic faces on their graduation day. The girl was me, and the boy was Jimmy, my old classmate, my childhood friend and my first love. I did not recognize my strong affection for him until the day he was taken away from this life forever. It should have been our first date, but it never was for a car had stopped him, and stopped his life before he could reach my place. I could not believe in my ears when I was informed of his accident. I flied to that avenue only to find him lying lifeless on the ground with a white rose in his hand and a small card attached to it. I was too shocked to utter a word. It was too much for me to handle. I held him in my arms and cried like rain. Three years had passed, but the pain did not seem to fade away. It was still real and still hurt me so much though I did not show it out. Not many people knew about my past and neither did him. In their eyes, I was a laid-back person who worried about nothing, and nothing could trouble my peaceful mind. But it was not really, and no one seemed to understand that. “ Ding-Dong”- The clock zapped me into reality. It was 6.30, and the meeting was due at 7.00. I got dress quickly and wore slight make-up. I caught a taxi and went to his house. There I was, about two steps away from the threshold. I heard the familiar melody of Moonlight Sonata from inside the house, and a sudden smile spread over my face. I reached the door and pressed the doorbell. The door opened and in front of me was a guy smartly –dressed in suit. He looked gorgeous that evening, and that really amazed me. He came to me with a seductive smile on his face and a bunch of flowers in his arms. I returned a smile and reached out my hand when he handled me the flowers “: ‘In every bunch there's one who stands out, and you are that one.’ His voice was so sweet, and it nearly melted my heart. I looked at him, and turned to the flowers. It was a white rose…and I startled. I felt dizzy, and uneasy inside. I felt like I could not breathe. The images of three years ago suddenly came back to me. Jimmy was there lying on the street with a white rose in his hand and a card attached to the rose. I was too shocked to think of anything then. I handled the flowers back to him and ran away without saying a word. I heard him call me but I did not turn back. Calling a taxi , I went home right away. Even when I got home, I was still very scared. I did not know what happened, but I could not let the image of the white rose out of my head. I opened the wooden box again, and took out the card handwritten in a careful way: “The red rose whispers of passion, and the white rose breathes of love” *(1) It was what Jimmy wrote on the card, and those words had never stopped haunting my mind since then. I was not sure if my feeling for Jimmy was still so strong that I could feel him everywhere or there was another reason that I could not explain. I was mixed-up with millions of questions running through my mind and could not think clearly anymore. I heard the phone ring, but I did not answer for I knew who would call. He must have been puzzled at my reaction, just as I was taken aback by my own feeling. I could not talk to him now. “Time”- I whispered “ Just give it some time. It gotta be alright.” Alone in my room, I sank into the darkness. My eyes closed, but my mind could not rest. Somewhere I heard the familiar melody of “What happened to me?” I had been obsessed with this song for a while when I first knew it, but today, it seemed to match my case perfectly. The song brought back the image of the lovely candle-lit dinner, of the man with seductive smiles and a sweet voice, of the heart-melted words he had said to me “ In every bunch there’s one who stands out, and you’re that one.” I shook my head, and questioned my mind “ What happened to me? Is this true that I have been touched by such false compliment? No way, it’s not me, and never is” I was just a normal person, not an outstanding like what he said. He might have had a false impression on me, and when he discovered the truth that I was not as perfect as he expected, he must be disappointed. I felt headache at that thought. What was wrong with me? I was thinking of a stranger, not really…but anyway, he could not be someone to me. Was I mad? I did not know. I was just not ready. Three years ago…things still seemed to be present. I could not forget the past, or I had not made any attempt to forget it? I did not know. I was just too tired now. I had to sleep. “Anyway, tomorrow is another day”- The saying suddenly slipped through my head, and it reminded me of Scarlet. She blindly chased after something which was not hers, which was never true to her without knowing that somewhere there was a man who was sincere to her, and only wished her to have the same feeling. Was I somewhat like her? What a silly thought. I gotto sleep now.

Written by Sunflower


He walked slowly back to the house. Though the shock had not settled, he started assessing the situation.

He had no idea what had just happened! What did he do wrong? He had followed the suggestion to the teeth, except that instead of attaching the message in a note, he had told her so in the voice that he had recited over and over throughout the day. He went as far as speaking into the recorder and tried to perfect the tone. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect enough! 

The lighting was still the same in the dining room; the candles were still burning; and the Sonata pieces were still playing in the background, but the mood was no longer dreamy and romantic. Instead, he felt cold and lonely, and the feeling of emptiness started creeping in. The piano sounded flat and distanced, not that he was paying attention, if at all. 

He tried to call her but the cell phone went unanswered. He tried her home, and the answering machine kicked in. After a few times of dialing and hanging up, he gathered his thoughts and uttered few broken words into her voice mail, asking her to call him back. Halfway through the message, his thoughts were somehow dissipated. He clumsily pressed his face against the handset, unsure what to say next. Finally, he hung up.

He sat down at the dining table, but he didn’t feel like eating. He reached for the wine, uncorked it, and fill up the two glasses. He raised his and said “Cheer” to no one in particular then took a sip.

The dry and slightly heavy taste mixing with the tannin’s sensation of the Cabernet Sauvignon calmed his nerve a little. He was not a drinker. He popped out a bottle of wine occasionally, poured himself a glass full, and usually wasted the rest in the kitchen sink. He didn’t drink beer. He rarely touched it after college. However, he had a collection of hard liquor just because he liked the shapes of the bottles and their fancy labels. Once in a blue moon, he did pour himself a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, but he had never formed the habit. The liquor left in the bottle ended up evaporated more than he had drunk. 

He got halfway down the glass of wine, but she still hadn’t called. He thought of calling her again but decided against it. “Time,” he reassured himself. “Just give it some time. Everything will be all right.”

Time has usually been his best friend. Time was the solution of many problems. Sometimes, time was the problem itself, but if given some more time, it’d be all right. Things would be fine.

He sat still. His left elbow pushed against the smooth surface of the dining table. His chin pressed against the palm. Inspiration hadn’t come. He still hadn’t figured out why she left and what he was going to do, but it seemed OK now. He somehow felt better. Thoughts of the girl’s leaving didn’t seem to bother him much anymore. It must have been a simple misunderstanding. 

Occasionally, he took small sips of wine while letting himself hypnotized by the soft piano sound from the CD. His lazy mind followed the melodies, which took him to the places he had been, to the pictures he had seen, and to the feeling he had felt. When the candles gave out the last breath of life and forever turned into the darkness, he pushed back the chair, crossed his arm on the table, and rested the forehead against them. He closed his eyes. He felt fine now. All he had to do was to give it some time… 

(written by Bear lac loi)