Autumn Romance

In the season of fall, when every leaf turns into a flower
Is like a magical fantasy that may last a minute longer
A dreamland filled with bliss blessed by Heaven above
Isn’t it autumn is the perfect time for romantic love?


It all happened during autumn, when I actually least expected it. My life had suddenly changed; a really huge change. I never intended to look for love, for i had just recovered from a broken relationship. I really wanted to stay single for a while. But instead, love found its way directly to me. As if, I never knew I was looking for love until I met this guy.

If my memory served me right, I was then at the park, taking a break from a tiresome work. I was just sitting on one of the benches of the area. Giving me a chance to unwind by watching flock of birds flew freely from the vast indigo sky while listening to my favourite songs from my MP4 player.

I was enticed on how the sun set smoothly into the horizon, as if giving way for the night to rule the skyline. Its last rays of yellow-orange light gave a dramatic brilliance to the colours of the autumn blaze maple trees standing vigorously within the place.

I never noticed that I was sharing a seat with this guy, I didn’t even recall if I was the first one to seat on the bench or he came first and I just shared with him the seat. I was never minding it at all and I knew so did he. But what I had noticed from him, he was wearing that six-pocketed cargo shorts and a plain white thin shirts complimented with a white Adidas rubber shoes. I guessed he had just finished his jogging or whatsoever, because I had seen his face filled with droplets of sweat and his shirt was totally wet with his off-smell perspiration. And he was wiping off his sweat from his light-blue-colored towelette.

The leaves suddenly fall gracefully as the wind simply passed by. Fallen colored leaves were like swarm of butterflies as they flew down from to ground. They danced to the floor as they touched the ground. It was really enthralling to be marveled at the splendor of this autumn. It was a magical moment.

I was about to get my camera from my bag to capture this rare event, when suddenly the wind swiftly blew toward me and had flown all my papers away. I immediately got up to my feet and tried to catch my papers in mid air. So did the guy beside me, he sprung to his feet and saved some of the papers taken away by the gentle autumn breeze.

“OMG, my papers are now unorganized! I have to check them one by one and rearrange.” I said to myself as I gathered all the papers.

“I hate it! I really do! Another work for me!” I continued in a low-irritated voice.

“You wrote this one?” asked the voice behind me

I just remembered that the guy had offered some help to save my papers too. I turned around immediately to face him.

“Thanks, Mister?” while extending my hands toward him to get the pieces of papers he collected.

“Are you the one you wrote this poem? I mean, not to interrogate or something,” he continued while showing me the poem written in the paper.

“You are actually good! It seemed that this one was written by a professional. Looking and waiting for the right love. Very well done. It says it all.” Hearing these compliments from him while I just stared at him blankly.

‘‘Thanks a much for help, can I have my papers back?”

‘‘Yeah sure, sorry. I’m Leo by the way.” as he hand me over my papers back to me.

‘‘Thanks Leo, I’m Mae”

”I know, I’ve read it at the bottom of your poem. Ummm, do you mind if I ask you to give me a copy of this poem? I wanted to put it in my blog, but of course, I ‘ll acknowledge it coming from you” he asked.

‘‘Which one?”

‘‘The Untold Destiny”

‘‘Not at all, you can have it, as a sign of my sincerest gratitude ” I said while giving him the poem.

From that moment, I felt something rushed through my system. I really couldn’t explain it, but I felt good about it. We somehow managed to have a smooth flow of good conversation. Discussing about the poem I’ve written. We made a connection out of it. That was a pretty good start for both of us.

I never realized that it was already late night, and we were one of the few people left at the park. I told him that I had to go because I had work tomorrow early in the morning. He offered to drop me at my house since it was his fault actually that I stayed late at the park. But I refused to his offer, though I could feel that he would do no harm for my sake. Instead, he asked for my digits so he could call me up or send me text messages from time to time. So, I gave him my number and we parted ways.

The next morning, I received a text message from him saying

”All of my life I’ve been so alone
Waiting for someone to call my own
Someone I know that really exists
Someone who I can truly cherish

When will you come into my life?
How long will I wait for time to be right?
And experience with you the perfect love
the right love I am always dreaming of

When will you spend with me forever?
And share the rest of our lives together
Or is it really just a matter of time?
Before you walk into this life of mine

Sometimes I wonder if I’m going to find you at all
The very special dreamed-mate for lonely soul
Until when am I going to patiently wait for you?
And be a dream that really comes true?

Where in the world could you be?
Am I going to search for a lifetime endlessly?
Am I meant to have a happily ever after?
Or will I spend my life lonely and bitter?

I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life
I needed someone to be there by my side
May heaven help you find your way to me!
So we can fulfill our untold destiny”

I just found myself smiling from his text message. He really liked my poem, and he even wasted his time typing it down in his mobile and exerted an effort to send it to me. So I texted him back saying,

‘‘Nice piece of a message you’ve got there, hehehe”

Then, my mobile beeped again indicating that I had received a message. I opened the message to see who texted me and it was coming from Leo.

”I’m now a fan of yours, you should have signed that poem you gave yesterday, anyway, are you going to the park again later?”

‘‘No plans of visiting the park today, I’m so loaded in my job actually” I replied

‘‘Walk with me to the park, please gorgeous?” he texted back

‘‘Okay, I’ll met you in the park after work, same time and same bench” as I sent message, I was grinning. I couldn’t explain it, but there’s something me in that urged me to see him again. I knew love came quietly, the moment we met that day.

Later that day, we met again. He was already there, waiting for me.

‘‘You’re late” he immediately casted when he saw me coming

‘‘Yeah, I know, I told you I have no plans of coming here because I’m packed with things to do in my office” I explained

‘‘It okay baby, and thanks for meeting me up here”

‘‘You owe me one then” I joked in his reply.

We walked around the park, talking, getting to know each other while following the curved lane lined with old maple trees. We talked about our past relationships. He had just faced a terrible broken relationship. His fiance had recently broken up with him for no vivid reason. He told me that she had just runaway one day. Their wedding was canceled because of that. He was devastated that time. And I could even feel his pain. That’s why he kept on coming back to this park because it reminded him of his fiance. They were always here taking a walk in the park just like what we were doing right now. I stopped walking for a while and so did he as well and I gave him a tight hug to comfort him from the pain. Somehow, it helped. Then, as I was embracing him, colored leaves began to fall on us gracefully.

I was impressed much seeing the tree’s beauty no matter how many times I’d seen them. Trees developed stunning colored leaves during this season and covered the lane with palettes of colours. It seemed the yellow leaves danced to the ground, mixed with oranges and reds while brownish leaves come tumbling down.

I could also see different faces as we continued to walk around the park. Some were happy maybe because they were in love and some were sad, for I didn’t know the reason. On the other side of the park, the children were playing. Some of them were playing touch and go, while others played hide seek. And some tossed the double-winged maple seeds into the air to watch them fall and spin much like a “helicopter”. This was the magic that autumn brought to people.

I grabbed a handful of colourful old leaves from the floor and threw them to Leo, but he evaded the leaves. He got a packful and tried to throw them at me but I immediately ran away from him. He ran as well to catch me. I went from one maple to another, but he run so fast and he caught me in his arms and fell off on the blanket of mixed coloured leaves. We laid for a minute to catch our breathe. My head was leaning on his well-built arm. I was looking at the sky and I could see the branches of the trees above me. What a perfect view down from here. A gust of wind passed by swiftly and leaves had burst from the trees, their colours filled the sky as they fall over us.

”I really loved autumn, for me it is the most magical season.” he said

‘‘Why did you say so?” I asked turning my head to face him. He was still looking at the sky.

‘‘Simply because it can turn green leaves into a beautiful golden brown flower”

He was so serious. I only met him but it seemed I knew him for so long. I wondered why. But we shared common interests. We both loved the same genre of music to listen to, type of movies to watch, books to read and the like. He also loved my favourite foods.

‘‘Thanks for coming into my life, I only met you but, I know what I have inside is real.” he broke the silence between us.

‘‘Maybe, it’s destiny that lead us to meet. That poem you wrote is like message you put in a bottle and then threw it into the ocean water, and you wrote your wish on a paper, then some unknown incidence, somebody half a world away got hold of that bottle and read what’s in the letter inside the bottle. And that person was
me.” he continued

‘‘Are you the guy I’ve been waiting for so long?” I whispered.

He looked deeply into my eyes. I got lost for a while. But I liked it for no reason at all. I found deep solace looking at his blacked almond-shaped lovely eyes. My senses came back when I heard sounds of footsteps. I immediately got up from the ground and wipe off the dirt from my clothes.

‘‘Can we go home now?” I insisted.

That would be the end of our autumn walk. He got up to his feet and we headed to his car at the parking lot. He drove me home using his black Honda 2000. It took around 15 to 30 minutes to drive from the park to my house. While we on the road, he played the song ”Walang Kapalit” sung by Dingdong Avanzado. He even sung along to the song. I found it corny but I admit, it was so romantic.

When we reached my house, he thanked me for meeting him today at the park and bade me good night. Then, I got out of his car, waited for him to start his engine and left me before I went inside the house.

I took a quick shower before hitting the bed. When I finished my refreshing bath, my mobile beeped. I wondered who could be texting me this late. I opened the message received and it was coming from Leo. I read his message;

”it’s another special day for me, to share intimate moments like this with someone I really like, thanks my baby princess, see you again soon. Good night (xo)3”

After reading his message, I was almost in tears. I don’t know why. Maybe because I’d finally meet the missing half of my life. It was an incredible feeling I couldn’t even put it in words to describe it properly.

‘‘Can’t find a single word to explain how I feel right now, but I’m sure what I feel inside is true. I think I already found love… Because of you…” I replied.

Since then, my life changed. Everyday, we tried to meet at the park after work to spend time with each other. Giving me a reason to leave the office early; that we could share a seat on our beloved bench, his arm wrapped around me while my head rested on his broad shoulder. One piece of the earphone was on his ear while the other piece was on mine, as we listened to some songs stored on my MP4 player. He loved to sing along to every song we played. Or we would just sit there while reading our books. But most of the time, he would read me story until I fall asleep in his arms. I would only see him staring at me when I woke up and then, he would hug me so tight and kiss me on my forehead. Sometimes we share a cup of coffee watching the beautiful sunset as it painted the sky with colourful pink and purple on a particular evening. But what he really loved was to take a walk along the lane of Maple Shade Trees while holding my hand and exchanged an intimate conversation. I realized that simple things really made life beautiful and wonderful. These were the moments I thank God that I was alive. I really couldn’t ask for more than this. I felt complete being with him.

As days passed by, my affection grew stronger, and so did he. What we felt for each other was truly amazing. Nothing in this world could ever compare the happiness I was feeling being deeply in love with him. For he had send me peace and comfort on times that I could hardly get my mind to rest, and my prayers had been heard, that a special person would come into my life at the right time.

Never did I expect things to come my way. I was given the chance to be sent to other country even for 1 month as business meetings. I was so excited of course. This will be a big break for me and proved my competency regarding the job. So I told Leo about the great opportunity. He was the first person that came into my mind to tell the news. Of course, he was happy for me, but something in his eyes that tell me that something was not right. Or probably, it was just my imagination. Maybe, he felt sad because we would be separated for half a month. That would be long enough not to see each other. But I trusted him and I know he trusted me too. I promised him that I would try to contact him everyday.

The day I was about to leave the country, we saw each other and spent the remaining hours before coming to the airport. I could sense that he wanted to say something. I knew in my heart that there was something bothering him.

“Ummm… Contact me whenever you can.” he told me while holding my hands.

‘‘Of course, I’ll do that. Is there something wrong or something you want to tell me?” I responded.

“No, just remember, there are things like the matter of heart and passions that are real, and that’s what we both feel for each other, and am looking forward to hold you again in my arms… soon… you’re the only one for me… I’ll miss you.” he continued.

Hearing those words from him somehow gave me comfort. I know time would fly fast. But we would never know what would happen for a month. I was just hoping things would turn to be okay.

When I reached the place I was heading to, I gave him a call immediately. I told him that I was doing okay and he could contact me anytime with this number. My business trip went perfectly fine. It was a career move for me. And for two weeks, I and Leo had been contacting each other. Somehow, lessen my worries. He often called me but, due to a big time difference, we found it hard to communicate. Sometimes, when he reached home, I was already in my deep sleep, and when I was awake, he was still sleeping. So, it was really hard to talk to him in a regular basis.

After another week, I received a text message from him, that we would just talk and see each other when I reached back home. Anyway, it would be a week more and I would be home again and I would finally see and hold him again. I really missed him so much. I missed the times we spent at the park of an everlasting autumn. I really liked to spend my whole time with him on the bench doing our usual stuffs. Making intimate moments, planning for the future and talking about anything we could talk about.

Within my last week, and I got no messages from him. I tried to send a text message daily but he’s not replying to any of my messages. I felt that something was really wrong. But I stay positive that he might be busy nowadays. Anyway, days from now I would be meeting him up again and be the same as before. As of now, to keep me strong, I was thinking of him and it would make me smile.

I was finally home. And I was so excited to see him. I called on his mobile to tell him I was home but he was not attending my call. Instead it was an answering machine, so I leave a message and asking him to give me a call. I’d waited for him that day but I got no calls. I was starting to get worried. He was never like this before. No matter how busy he was, he would call or message me.

More days passed, but he was not contacting me. I felt this unbearable emotional burden inside me. I really didn’t know what to do now. As if I was in the middle of the road, and I realized that I didn’t know where I’m heading to. I never knew I was going nowhere, that never in my life I had been so stranded like this, never been this far. I felt so alone.

I’d waited on the bench everyday after my work. Waiting for him, that one of these days, he would be sitting there, waiting for me, and would bring back the old times we used to have. But it seemed that I was only waiting for nothing. And I was starting to lose my hope.

Until one day, as I walked toward our favourite bench at the park, I noticed on it a white envelope, and it was address to me. I immediately opened and read what it’s written.

“It was a love triangle, I had to choose. I can only give my heart to one. You will always be in my thoughts and the good memories…”

It seemed a bucket of cold water poured onto me when I had finished reading the letter. I never realized that a tear had already fallen from my eyes. I was petrified. I didn’t understand what he really meant to his letter. I tried to call him but his phone is turn off, I sent him many messages asking so many questions but he never did answer them. Probably, he was still cling to the ghost of his past relationship, idealizing his old love and deciding he’ll never find a person like his fiancé again. And as he said, he had given his heart to one, it’s painful to think that after all what we had right now, he was still in love with her, and when she came back, he chose his fiancé over me. He preferred to dwell in a memory than to face the reality of a present day life with me. I thought our love was strong enough to last. But I was wrong. Our love was just another season to end just like autumn.

Each time I watched every falling leaf on the tree, it turned back the pages of my memory this autumn. As sun set, it mellowed my heart and filled it with fond memories of a special person. He might hurt me and made me cry a river, I would just built a bridge and get over it then. I would just have to learn to accept the things that cannot be no matter how hard I had to fight myself to do so. I realized that I couldn’t beg him to stay if he really wanted to leave and be with her now. I had to admit that love didn’t give me the license to own a person. With this realization, I decided to keep myself moved forward. It might be a simple thing, but what I was going to leave behind was hard for me.

Kissing him goodbye and all the good memories was the hardest thing for me to do. They say that time heals all wounds but all it’s done so far was giving me more time to think about how much I missed him. I still believed that love would bring him back to me, maybe not for now nor for tomorrow, I know it will be someday. But now, I had to let him go, like the old maple tree, letting go of its beloved old amber red and orange-coloured leaves during autumn season.



by Bhelat