Chapter 8
“If you have one chance to go back to the past and correct one thing.
Which date will you go to?
Right…
Before your final exams?
Before both of you went separate ways?
Before you made the decision to take on certain things, certain responsibility and certain commitments?
Before the girl of your dream knows her current boyfriend?
To go back in time?
Though we’ve seen it on television and big screen and we all know this is not impossible.
But our little wondering minds somehow always raise this question when we are in the moment of doubt.
Can we change the past?
Can we redo the things that were wrong?
So what if we can?
Won’t we make another mistake again?
To live through a decision is a life experience gain. We will not know what will happen if we chose the wrong thing.
But we will overcome, that’s make us special.
As none of us live our life the same from the other.
I know I can’t do anything to save you.
But I will live well for you,
Because I love you.
Mark looked at Christine with the strangest pair of eyes.
It was unbelievable but there’s stopping him in asking the obvious.
“Is that friend of yours happens to be called Yang?”
Christine looked at Mark really surprised.
“I don’t know… I know him as Glen during our poly days. That was like Three years ago.”
“Three years ago? Then why are you reading this book now?”
Mark couldn’t understand.
“Oh... This book, recently we had a class reunion and people were asking about him as he was not around. Then we talked about old times and this book just appeared as we talked. I bought it out of curiosity as I’ve never read it before.”
Mark didn’t answer.
“Any problem?”
Christine looked at Mark.
“Is there any way that you can contact this Glen person?”
“Oh… I have his phone number in my organizer. You can help yourself.”
Christine pointed to the back of her car.
Mark flipped through the pages of her organizer.
“Glen Chong?”
“Yeah that’s him I suppose.”
Mark took down the numbers in his mobile phone.
As the car approaches the restaurant, Christine couldn’t help but asked.
“Mark, is there any problem?”
“No.. it’s no big deal.”
Mark replied as they went for dinner.
It was about nine when Mark reached home.
After washed up, Mark went online.
There wasn’t anyone who tagged on his blog.
Mark then decided to post an entry.
“I was often view as a weak person by those who don’t know me well enough. Being emotional and sensitive doesn’t make you a weak person. In fact if you ask me, I would say it takes greater courage for a grown man to cry in public than those who think they are really strong.
You don’t determine a person’s strength based on the reactions he developed.
I fell and am currently very determining to pick myself up.”
With that, Mark went to bed.
When he woke up in the morning, he saw a short message on his mobile.
“Sorry Mark, don’t think I can pick you up today. I scratched the rear of dad’s car when I parked yesterday night. Got a bashing from him and banned to use the car until further notice. Sorry”
“Women I know sure are bad in parking...”
Mark let a smile out.
Mark heads for the train as usual.
He chose the front cabin hoping to see Jade.
But his wish didn’t came true as Jade was nowhere to be seen.
Mark reached the office a disappointed man.
The pile of presentation slides he had to do for his project made his day worse.
All the concentration in his work made time go faster then before.
Mark was still digging when Shaun tapped his shoulder.
“Bro, since when are you so workaholic?”
“Why?”
”It’s almost seven already!”
“Wow… “
“You are wicked! You knew appraisal is coming next month eh?”
“Nah... Not really interested in the appraisal anymore”
Mark lay back on his chair and stretched himself.
“Arrrgghh.. I’ll call it a day then!”
As Mark left the company, he picked up his phone and dialed the numbers Christine gave him.
No one picked up.
“It’s really sucks man. Can’t even get a person that I want to find”
Mark head home after eating some finger food on the way.
As it was a tiring day, Mark fell asleep the moment he lay on his bed.
However his dream was rather short lived as his phone kept trembling on his table.
Mark got up and looked at his clock.
It was 3am in the morning.
“Yeah? Who’s that?”
Mark answered without looking at the caller.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Mark, who the hell are you then?”
“You asking me, didn’t you called me earlier?”
“I did?”
“Yes, I just dialed back a missed call.”
“Oh.. Are you Glen?”
Mark suddenly remembered.
“Yeah.. Do I know you?”
“Well.. You don’t actually but I know you”
“What is it regarding?”
“Hey Glen, I got your numbers from a colleague of mine. Christine”
“Ok, what do you want?”
“I need to ask you regarding a book, the title is calling ‘The book of life at 15’?”
“It’s a nice book, what about it? I wasn’t the author”
“No.. I just want to ask you… Are you Yang?”
There was no immediate reply this time.
When the reply came, the voice became hoarsen.
“Someone finally found the book. You found it?”
“Sorry I don’t understand you”
“I hid it well enough in between the shelves. Nobody would know the book is there unless the whole library is tearing down and the shelves are moved.”
“Hey Glen, can we meet up? I need to ask you something.”
“Regarding?”
“Regarding Ying….”
“Her name was June..”
“June?”
“Yeah, tell you what. Let’s meet at the park near Bedok reservoir tomorrow evening?”
“The park is so big, how do I find you?”
“Don’t worry, you look around the surroundings when you get there. You will know where to walk towards”
“Alright…”
Mark replied as he hung up the phone.
The night was long as he tossed around in bed.
What should he ask him?
“How did he manage to let go?”
Or is it simply because he wants to know the person who went through the same ordeal as him?
Mark sped through all his work in the day.
He had to leave office early as it was quite a journey from Yishun to Bedok.
It was evening when he got there.
The sun was setting and the park was rather quiet.
As Mark walked around the park, he kept looking high and low for the directions.
Something caught his attention.
It stood quite a distance from him.
As the sun continued to set, the rays set upon it and caused it to let out a glowing scene.
Mark walked towards it as he admires its beauty.
He had never seen such a thing in his life.
It was a tree full of red leaves.
[To be Cont]
