Short Stories

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Morning came. They had breakfast at the restaurant and enjoyed every single moment with each other. Afterwards, they took a walk at the park.

“How was the food?” Dewey asked.

“Very good. By the way, thank you for paying my share.” Rheanna replied.

“Well, thank you for letting me be a gentleman.”

She giggled.

“Hey, you said you will be joining a short-term mission in Hong Kong during our Christmas break, right?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Are you excited?”

“Yup.”

“I have never been to Hong Kong. May I visit you?”

“Sure.”

“Which part of Hong Kong?”

“They call it Yau Ma Tei.”

“Yau Ma Tei?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing a gazebo ahead, he asked, “Would you like to sit in the gazebo?”

“Sure.”

In the gazebo, Dewey lowered his head and became quiet - his mind wandering; his heart pounding.

Rheanna felt uneasy and asked, “Hey, why do you suddenly become quiet?”

He glanced at her and then back down. “Um…Um…”

She did not say a word but waited for him to speak.

Taking a deep breath, he looked back up at the girl. “Rheanna, I love you…”

He had never dated any girl until he met Rheanna. He did not have any skills to express his feelings especially for a girl as gorgeous as she. Just as he was, he said to her plainly.

Shocked, she blushed, turned her head away, left the seat, and stood with her back facing him. She also lowered her head with downcast eyes.

The young man walked to her. “I am sorry if I have said the wrong thing. I…I am deeply sorry.”

She shook her head. “No.”

“I know that I am just an average-looking guy, and I don’t match with a beautiful girl like you…”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” And she covered her face, crying.

“I…I…I am sorry. I…I didn’t mean to hurt you…” Then he wanted to face her but she turned away from him.

Not knowing what to do, Dewey just stood still. The girl kept crying, trying to release all her emotional pain once and for all. Her wail was so piercing that he felt broken in spirit as well.

After a moment, she quieted down and glanced over her shoulder. “Are you playing games with me?”

Astonished, he stared at her. “NO! …Why?...What I have just said is from deep inside my heart. My love for you is real!” Then with concern, he stood in front of her. “Rheanna, can you tell me what has happened? I might have hurt you in some way that I am not aware of.”

She looked into his eyes and raised her voice. “Every boy that I met was the same. They all said that I was beautiful and that they loved me. No, they did not love me. The first one lured me into temptation. Then he left me when he found another girl. The second one did the same to me. When I met the third one, I thought he really loved me but eventually we broke up just because I was not tender enough for him, and I was very hard to please.”

Then she lowered her voice. “About two years ago, my friend took me to a Christian crusade in Chicago. The Word of God touched me. I realized that Jesus Christ is the True Love and that only He can fill my heart. In the crusade, I accepted Him as my personal Savior with my broken heart. Half a year ago, through a Christian organization the Lord called me to minister to those who are hurt in their relationship, and I felt the need to pursue a theological degree…”

“The short-term mission that you will be going to is to help those people and to bring them to Christ, right?”

“Yes.” Filled with emotions once again, she looked down and back up to him. “Three more guys wanted to date me but I rejected them because I did not want to get hurt again. Dewey, I have known you for two months and come to realize that you really love me. You are different from all the others, and I have also found myself loving you. I tried to hide from the fact, but I just could not hold back my feelings; I prayed to the Lord that I would never date any boy again if our relationship ended up broken…” And tears rushed to her eyes.

He said in a soft voice. “Rheanna, I do love you; my heart for you is real. The past is the past. Please don’t hold onto it; otherwise, you will never come out of it. I believe that the Lord has changed you. When your previous boyfriends saw something in you that did not match with their own desires, they just did not take the chance to further understand you. To me, you are tender and caring. God does not look at your past. I see that you have a heart for Him, and that is what counts. To me, you are very easy to get along with. Also, we can never please anyone; we should please God instead. I am willing to take further steps to understand you. Would you please give me the chance?”

She gazed at him and shook her head. “Please don’t force me. I am sorry.”

“I’ll wait.”

“Please don’t. I want to go home now.”

“Okay, let me drive you home.”

“No, thank you. I want to be alone.”

Then she turned to leave.

Dewey called out, “I’ll wait; I‘ll wait!”

Copyright Dicky To

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