Only Human

            by Anh Van Pham

 

A little boy panted as he ran towards a girl on the frosty hilltop. He offered her his heart in the form of a tiny handcrafted box. He had planned for weeks prior to her birthday, December 18. There was no ecstatic scream or even a simple thank you instead she pushed it away. He began opening it and displaying its mysterious contents. A gold chain with a ring dangling effortlessly glowed brightly through the fog. He held it in midair for her but she shook her head. His rosy face frowned as he placed the heartfelt gift into the palm of her hand.

The chain twirled around in the air as she played with it. “They say I’ll get cooties.”

            “Why?”

            “You touched me.”

            “That doesn’t make any sense,” he said shuffling his feet in the snow. “Girls are supposed to have cooties.”

            “We are?” She asked, happily fastening on the necklace.

*          *          *          *          *

            The pitter-patter of footsteps signaled the start of a new year. The students of Class 2A sighed as the teacher greeted them in a monotone. A teenage boy peered out the window in search of his best friend. He spotted her in no hurry to get to class as usual. All the students jerked up when the monotone changed into a squeak.

            Her arrival set off the perverted minds of almost every boy. The classic uniform had been altered into a low cut dress shirt, blue mini skirt, and the final touch a pair of black pumps. The teenage boy pretended not to notice as she took her seat.

            The following days were the same. The girl tried her best to gain his attention but with no luck. On the third day, the uniform had been altered again. This time the shirt was not as low cut, the skirt was longer, but the pumps still remained.

            “I like you better this way,” the boy finally said.

            “Really?” She asked.

            He nodded and paused before continuing on. “Why did you even do that?”

            “I wanted to attract someone.”

            “Who?” He asked curiosity.

            “You.” She replied kissing him on the cheek before heading off.

*          *          *          *          *

Bees buzzed outside and birds chirped happily when she broke the news to him. The young man thought she was joking with him and laughed it off. Neither of them brought up the topic again for the rest of the summer.

            He picked through the pile until he found his acceptance letter and registration packet. Without a second thought, he ran a block down to her house hoping to pick out their fall semester classes together.

            His heart dropped when he saw the moving van. He watched as she hugged and bade her parents goodbye. Once she turned around, her feet ran towards him.

            “It wasn’t a joke.”

            And with that she left. He didn’t have a chance to say much beyond, I’m sorry.

*          *          *          *          *

He sighed loudly in the window of the bridal store. A girl emerged from behind the dressing room and twirled in front of him. She scrunched up her face upon seeing his passive reaction.

“Do I look that bad?”

Turning toward her, he smiled and shook his head. She beamed and began rambling on about their wedding arrangements. And once again, he pretended to care.

The chiming of the welcome bell rang loudly as a pair of boots clunked inside. This girl stood at no more than five foot two and wore a low cut green blouse with knee length black pants. Her brown hair lied untidy on her shoulders due to the wind. He scooted over on the couch to make some room.

“You guys started without me?”

“Ara Kim, you’re late!”

Ara smiled faintly and tousled the man’s hair playfully. “Were you actually expecting me to arrive on time?”

He chuckled allowing for his fiancée to intervene. She grabbed a hold of Ara’s hand as if they were the best of friends and let out a deep sigh.

“Would you help me find the perfect dress? We’ve been at this for an hour now. And you know Minwoo is no help in this department.”

Without much hesitation, Ara agreed and they began their search. Ara looked through all the racks and pull out ones that she thought would be sufficient enough for the bride to be. Yet none matched her taste.

Minwoo watched the scene unfold. He worked  hard to stifle his laughter. Ara was not the girly type nor was she tomboyish.

Ara looked like a little kid carrying all the rejected dresses. She fumbled her way back to the wedding racks but miscalculated and stepped on the train of one of the dresses and flew forward dragging down all racks around her. Minwoo came running over to her, panicking when he couldn’t see her. He dug through the pile. Swarms of wedding dresses were casted away while the workers hurried to gather them all. Ara was hidden underneath a dress with a lacy trim that was now stained with blood. He pulled her up examining her wounded knee.

“Give me your first aid kid,” he said to his fiancee. She hesitantly rummaged through her purse. Meanwhile, Minwoo began to blow on Ara’s knee while she rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry for the mess I created. I’ll pay for damages,” she announced as she got up and hobbled over to get a bandaid. Ara thanked his fiancée and grabbed her purse.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Minwoo asked.

“None of your business,” Ara joked as she headed out the door.

*          *          *          *          *

            Her slim silver cell phone vibrated urgently on her night stand. It interrupted her deep slumber as her hand fumbled for it. She was about to silence it when the name on the caller ID came into focus.

            “Ara sorry to wa- wake you but ca- come get me?” Minwoo hiccupped.

            The bar was on the outskirts of town. She hated the area but it was all too familiar. He had a weakness for bright lights and loud music. Ever since he was sixteen, he’d sneak here and drag her with him. He seldom drank but came for the music, lights, and atmosphere.

            The luminous green and red lights hung all around the walls became tangled with each other. The skylight brought in the moonlight and heightened everyone’s simple features. She made her way through the sweat-pouring crowd and bumped into someone’s chest before she made it to the bar.

            “Ara, yo- ma- made it! Come joi- me!” Minwoo grabbed her arm and pulled her to a different spot. He started dancing crazily in his drunken state as she shook her head.

During a break between songs, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the bar with all her strength. He sat down in a bar stool and pouted when she stopped it with her foot.

“Why are you still here?” Ara pressed urgently. “Your party ended hours ago. Shouldn’t you be sleeping? Tomorrow is the big day.”

He paid her no attention to her as he ordered a martini. He didn’t drink but rather played with the olive, poking and prodding it. Ara grew tired and turned on her heel to leave but he grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t leave me again,” he said turning his attention to her as he dropped the toothpick on the floor.

She pulled her wrist out of his grasp. “I had to for school. I came back, didn’t I?”

“A little bit too late.” He mumbled turning back to his drink.

Ara scratched her hand and looked over at his hunched state. “How so?”

“Nothing…” He took a pause before turning to face her. “Aren’t you upset at all?” She shook her head even more confused than ever. “You’re not upset that I’m getting married on your birthday?!”

“Should I be?”

He couldn’t believe that was all she had to say. He was hoping for more of a reaction from her but she was still so clueless. There was no other way. He swallowed all his doubts and leaned over and kissed her.

At first, there was no reaction. He opened his eyes about to admit defeat until she kissed him back slowly. But when her eyes reopened, she pulled back quickly. Ara didn’t say anything but grabbed her purse and turned away.

“You still want that ride, don’t you?” She finally asked getting up from her stool. He held on to her wrist to keep her from heading out.

“Do I have a chance?”

Ara froze. Her heart beat as she searched for the right answer. But she herself didn’t know what she wanted. Fortunately, Minwoo had blacked out and now all she had to worry about was carrying him out of the bar. With the help of the bartender, they were able to get Minwoo into her car.

She placed his arm over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs slowly to his apartment building. They slumped over at his door and before she could properly knock, the door swung open. His fiancée glared at them and extended her arm to released Minwoo. The door swung shut and opened again in a few seconds.

“Next time, have him call me instead of going,” his fiancée bellowed.

*          *          *          *          *

A woman sat on the frosty hilltop alone. An object glowed brightly as she played with it. The golden chain twirled around her arm. Her phone sat in the snow in front of her. The wedding was to take place in less than an hour but she had already decided not to go.

Ara picked up her phone and set it down, picked it up, set it down; she finally tucked it away into her white jacket pocket. But then she felt something cold hit the back of her head. She turned around and there he was dressed in a black tuxedo. He joined her and rested his head on her shoulder.

“Shouldn’t you be somewhere?” Ara asked.

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. “I’d rather be here. It’s warmer.” They cuddled for awhile until he suddenly sat up. “You know you still haven’t answered my question.”

She reached into her pocket and took out the necklace. She placed it into his gloved hands, turned and pulled her hair up. He fastened it back around her neck and then she placed her head on his shoulder.