Ring
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Sitting in a little black velvet box was a plain satin-polished platinum band. Some might find it too plain, not eye-catching at all. But she would not. A smile spread across his face as he took the ring out of the little box, examining it with a dreamy look in his eyes. He tilted the ring in an angle and looked at the inside of the band. A tiny diamond had been embedded inside the metal, not visible from outside at all. "Diamond is forever," he chuckled softly as he remembered the slogan. "Forever..."
Carefully, he placed the ring back to the box and put the box in his jacket pocket. He wandered around his apartment mindlessly, hoping he could fast-forward the hand of time. Waiting did not calm he at all. With the extra time he had, he was able to do some thinking. Up to this moment, he still could not believe what he was about to do. For the thirtieth time in the hour, he checked his watch once more. In about half an hour, he would be sitting in the café a few blocks away from his apartment, looking straight into her eyes, and for the first time, telling her what had been on his mind all these years...
He frowned as he thought of those three magic words he had to say. Why was it so difficult for him to say those three words?
He shook his head. "Lack of courage..." No, he was not afraid of being rejected. He would understand and respect her choice, if she chose not to be more than friends. What he was afraid of was losing her. Losing his best friend...
Letting out a heavy sigh, he sank down to his sofa. Leaning his head against the back of it, he closed his eyes, trying to push all the negative thoughts away. Somehow, he had a very bad feeling about something; yet, he could not put a finger on it... He hanged his head and rubbed his temples with his palms. "Stop being so nervous," he scolded himself mentally.
He opened his eyes and looked at his watch once again. It was time for him to go. He rushed to the bathroom, checking his image reflected from the only mirror in the entire apartment. Satisfied with what he saw in the mirror, he closed his eyes to say a silent prayer, hoping that everything would work out fine...
**************
He walked fairly quickly through the streets, despite the pouring rain. No, he was not late. In fact, he could make it to the café on time even if he walked in a slower pace. However, he would want to be there early; to calm himself down as much as possible before she arrived.
Carrying his umbrella with one hand, he held onto the little velvet box inside his pocket with his free hand, as if it would somehow calm his racing mind. Very soon, he'd be able to say those three magic words... very soon...
Rain kept pouring from the dark gray sky as he continued his fast pace. Two more blocks. His heart started to pound heavily in his chest; taking deep breath could not calm himself down any longer. His hands were shaking slightly; and he was even a little light-headed. What's wrong with him? The last thing he needed right now was to be nervous.
"Calm down!!" He yelled to himself mentally as he saw the pedestrian light turning green. One more block. Just one more block... He stepped out of the walkway and continued in a fast pace. Perhaps his mind was somewhere else, perhaps his umbrella had blocked his view, perhaps the road was too slippery, or perhaps the sports car driver was speeding; it was already too late when he heard a loud honking sound from his right side. Instinctively, he turned to the source. The last thing he remembered was seeing a pair of bright headlights rushing towards him at top speed, and the unbearable pain that spread across his body with the speed of light...
A little box flied out from his pocket, bounced from the wet dirty ground a few times before it stopped. A small object flied out of the broken box and landed in a dirty pond of water.
A satin-polished platinum ring.
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Continue to Part 2
Email: vinnyvalentino@hotmail.com
Written on: October 1999.