Be With You Read online

  Chapter 1

  Save That Day

  The day had been September 16th 2009.

  Save that day.

  She was merely a girl of only 18 years of age, fashioned a short bob and clad her black-framed glasses. She wore a white shirt with a plaited grey skirt and strapped a brown sling bag over her.

  It had all begun with her pair of white school shoes.

  Not that they were really white though, more of stained with a greyish tint of dirt and moss.

  Adelie Claire had been walking around in her pair of shoes for the past few days, ignoring the holes that had formed on them from wear and tear.

  Then, they finally reduced to rags today and she found that she could hardly walk around in them no more.

  She had not known of what to do. She would never tell her parents about buying a new pair. She was from a poor family. Her father had been jobless for the last quarter of the year. Her mother was a housewife, doing some sewing embroidery at home to make ends meet. Yet, it was never enough. They had given her some pocket month to last for the month and to buy school shoes or stationary if needed, but she had spent them all on food and games. Shoes were expensive at the village. She wished she hadn’t wasted all her money away.

  Adelie walked with a stiff gait in her broken shoes back to her house, straight after school. She carried her shoes into her room, placed them in a box, and then begun crying to her pillow.

  It had been a humid afternoon that day where the suns’ rays beat into her room.

  Just then, she heard a faint tapping on her rusty blue window. Adelie stopped sobbing, and peered curiously at the window.

  There was a pale yellow envelope on her window ledge. Abbie blinked. Who had left the envelope there? She leaned her head out of the window, and peered around. No one.

  She took the envelope from her window ledge and stared at it.

  It had a yellowish tint and appeared to be a little musty. She wondered if she should open it, since she didn’t know who that letter was addressed to.

  She flipped to the back of the envelope and was stunned to see that it seemed to have been addressed to her.

  Adelie slowly opened the envelope, and with a churning stomach, she began reading the letter.

  “ To Junior,

  I end at 12pm everyday. Since you start at 1pm, I can lend them to you before school starts.

  Your Senior”

  She felt a warm sensation in her throat. Who had written that for her? Who had been so kind to want to go the extra mile? She also felt something warm in her heart. Like a fuzzy kind of sensation. The gesture had been so kind. The person must had been a very kind person who was also very observant to notice that she had needed help. Adelie couldn’t help but wonder who that person had been.

  The next morning had arrived. The air was crisp and fresh! She had already got dressed. She was all ready to get to school. She wondered if the kind person would actually remember and come at all. The time then was 12:20.

  Adelie was feeling a little nervous and excited at the same time. Meeting a stranger who offered a kind deed was slightly nerve-wrecking. Who could the stranger had been?

  Then, she heard a bicycle ring from afar. That jolted her back to her senses, There were the sounds of a bicycle moving along the dirt track, towards the direction of her window.

  She sat on her bed and waited, feeling a little shy.

  Again, there was the gentle knocking on her window.

  She stood up and she approached her window.

  An older boy stood before her. He looked to be around 19-20 years old. He had light brown hair, almond-eyes and some freckles. He was clad in a dark green uniform. She had recognized it. It was the uniform from the school not far away from hers.

  “Hi, I am Danny. You can have my shoes. I will come everyday”

  Danny said as he took off his shoes, wore his sandals instead which he had brought along, and handed his shoes over to Adelie.

  “ Hi I am Adelie”

  She smiled shyly.

  He was cute alright.

  “Actually- I feel very bad about you lending me your shoes. Even though I really really appreciate it!”

  Adelie said.

  Indeed, she had felt that she was troubling him.

  “ Not to worry at all. I live just behind your house-you know”

  He chuckled.

  “ Really? So you were my neighbour before? I have never realized that! Thank you so so much! I will wear them and I will go off now!”

  She carefully wore Danny’s shoes and bowed slightly to

  him. She realized that Danny was a head above her and was very tall.

  This went on for a couple of months. Danny never failed to show up at her window ledge every afternoon, no matter how humid the weather had been, or no matter how hard it had rained.

  On a particular Wednesday afternoon, things proved to never be the same again.

  “ Let me send you to school by my bicycle.”

  “I can actually walk to school.. It is quite near…”

  “Just let me..”

  Adelie never knew why she never asked too many questions when it came to accepting help from Danny. She had not known that many things about Danny other than that he used to live behind her house once. She hadn’t even known how old he had been. What was his full name. There were so many things to Danny which were a mystery. She just knew that she trusted him.

  It was the strange, inexplicable sensation, she got, when she looked into his eyes, and felt a bond with him. She felt something growing in her, but felt that it had already been there when she had seen him.

  Adelie nodded her head. She felt that it was natural of her to agree- but she didn’t know why.

  He stretched his hand over and signalled her to come over to him by going over the window ledge. She hesitated for a second, then she smiled, reached out for his hand, and pulled herself over the ledge.

  “ There you are!”

  He smiled.

  That warmed her heart.

  “Come aboard my bike?”

  Adelie gently lifted herself onto the bike. She held onto his waists. As if it were a natural thing for her to do.

  He smiled.

  The scenery seemed different that day although the weather had been hot and humid. The usual trees seemed so beautiful and old, the off beaten track which she had never taken seemed so nostalgic and she had held him like she had held him before. It all seemed like a well-rehearsed day where everything was so familiar and yet so novel.

  They hadn’t said a word. The gentle wind beat on her face as her short bob bounced along as he rode his bike.

  He stopped at the gates of her school. That was when she realized that she had been holding on to his waists so tightly all the time. Why hadn’t it come to her before? Why did she only realize it now? She felt herself blush and a tingle of pink lit her cheeks.

  He gently lifted her off the bike.

  “Have a good day in school. See you tomorrow”

  He waved goodbye and rode off in his steel blue bike.

  Adelie had been distracted in her lessons. Her mind was filled with images of Danny. She heard nothing of what people told her, other than his voice echoing within her. Why was Danny starting to have such an effect on her?

  Before she had realized it, she had scribbled his name ‘Danny’ all over her textbooks and her notebooks.

  “Adelie Claire! What are you doing?”

  She looked up, nearly jumping in shock when she saw her Mathematics teacher, standing before her with those bulging eyes. If looks could kill, she would have died there and then.

  “Very well. Do the questions written on the board”

  She nodded, feeling stares on her. She went over to the board and bega
n attempting the questions. The thing about her was that she had been known as a prodigy. She could easily solve all questions regardless of subjects, even though she had not studied for them at all.

  She had got all the answers right. Her Mathematics teacher plastered a smile, and told her to return to her seat.

  She slumped onto her seat and sat thinking about that mysterious boy…that boy who had made her feel that way..

  “You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,

  Love like you'll never be hurt,

  Sing like there's nobody listening,

  And live like it's heaven on earth.”

  ? William W. Purkey

  Chapter 2

  Piano

  The rain made a pitter-patter sound as it hit onto the rooftop. Heavy torrents of rain had slashed the window panes, and the wind was howling.

  Adelie was drenched from head to toe. She had reported to school early in the morning, was dismissed early and had been walking back home, when there was a sudden heavy rain.

  The thunder boomed in the distance. She struggled to keep her pace. She was terrified of the thunder. It was then when she caught sight of Jefferson College. Hadn’t that been the school of which Danny came from?

  Seeing a shelter, she dashed into the school. She hoped that she could stay there until the rain was over.

  Was Danny in school? It had always been him finding her at her house all along. She decided to pay him a visit as well, to feed her curiosity about the mysterious boy.

  The rain had drowned the raucous laughter in the classrooms filled with rowdy boys. So many boys. But no Danny in sight. She had walked around the classrooms for two times and yet still no Danny. Had he been sick and was absent from school?

  She felt a tinge of disappointment. She walked around the school and found herself along the corridor of which all the special rooms were.

  In the piano room, she saw a forlorn figure sitting by the piano, with a look of melancholy. She took a closer look and found that he had resembled Danny.

  She pushed the door gently.

  “ It’s you Danny!”

  He looked shocked to see her. She would never forget the look on his face. He had turned almost pale white.

  “ Hi Adelie. Why are you here?”

  He asked. His face clearly showing of concern.

  “Why are you not in class, Danny?”

  “I was excused from class, Adelie”

  He said. She wondered why he had been excused.

  Adelie walked towards the piano. She didn’t know where she had learnt that tune but it had always stayed in her mind. She played it on the piano, though she could hardly read a musical note at all. It was a simple melody which she knew by heart.

  Danny placed his fingers onto the piano keys and then he started to play as well. His music sounded vaguely familiar, until she realized that it sounded like an accompaniment to her piano piece. They placed in unison- with their 4 hands, and came to the same dramatic ending of the piece together.

  Adelie stared at Danny in astonishment.

  “You know the accompaniment to that! I had never known that there was an accompaniment to it!”

  She got so excited that she gave Danny a hug, before blushing, and pulling away.

  It always felt so easy to be around him.

  Adelie felt a sense of awkwardness. She got up and pretended to look at the theory books around her.

  What had made her do that?

  “You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”

  ? Dr. Seuss

  Chapter 3

  The Marathon

  February 16th 2010- Adelie had been selected to take part in an intra-school marathon. She would be competing against all the students from schools around her vicinity. It was a day which she had been looking forward to and had been training so hard for.

  She was feeling so nervous about the race. The prizes were all sponsored by Nike: the First Prize would be a badminton racket, the second prize would be a haversack, and the third prize would be a pair of shoes. Adelie knew that if she were to clinch for the third position, she would get the shoes, and she wouldn’t need to trouble Danny anymore.

  She awoke that Monday morning feeling the excitement within her. She knew that Danny would be coming soon to bring his shoes over to her. He was always so punctual.

  She decided to go have a wash first.

  When Adelie returned, she saw no Danny by the window but instead there were a pair of shoes on the ledge.

  She stood a step closer and realized that they were brand new. There was also a small note beside it which had read ‘A Present For Your Race’.

  The uneasy feeling crept to her. Where was Danny? Why wasn’t he here? Why had he given her a pair of new shoes?

  She felt so unsettled and a wave of anxiety hit her.

  Nevertheless, she knew that she had to go for her race right now. She tried hard not to think about it, put on the new pair of shoes, and trudged along the winding path to the start of the race.

  Fourth Avenue Road had been thronged with people all morning. There were boys and girls- around Adelie’s age. They had been doing their warm-ups, stretching their calves and their arms. Everyone had been so geared up for the race. There were Milo trucks around and cheerleaders were doing their pre-race routines.

  She found her peers and together they joined the rest at the starting line. She couldn’t help but feel lost and confused. She had taken part because she had wanted to win the pair of shoes. But now that she had them, there wasn’t much of a point any longer. It felt as if all the determination in her had been drained. Most importantly, where was Danny? Why hadn’t he appeared that morning? She had told him about the race and he had assured that he would bring her the shoes. For an instance, she felt the fear of losing Danny.

  The more Adelie ran, the more confused she felt. She ran along the meadows, along the canal and passed by all the paths which she had never taken before. Yet, she seemed to know exactly where she was going.

  She felt a light tap on her shoulder. Taken aback, Adelie turned around.

  It was Danny.

  He was clad in a sporty outfit and he looked as if he was one of the participants.

  “Hi Adelie, I have taken part in the race as well”

  “Danny, where were you this morning? Why have you given me a pair of new shoes?”

  “I had to arrive early for a briefing. My parents had bought me a pair of new shoes. I decided to give them to you”

  “You shouldn’t have…”

  “Adelie, we shouldn’t be lagging behind. Let’s go”

  They had ran past the gardens and the meadows. The flowers were in full bloom. Tulips, sunflowers and daisies. It was such a sight to behold. All of these had seemed so surreal to her.

  “Come on Adelie, last stretch to the finish!”

  It was the final stretch. There were just 10 meters to the Finish Line. The crowd had cheered on for them.

  He held onto her wrist and he geared her towards the end. She felt herself drifting forward as if it were a dream.. She had finished the race in 1st place..

  The crowd had gathered around her and offered their praises. Adelie was so overwhelmed. Without Danny, she wouldn’t have won the race.

  “Danny”

  She was just about to find Danny when she realized he was no longer there. Again, the happiness within her had crept to fear.. Where was Danny again? She shouldn’t have won by right.. He had pulled her forward.. he was supposed to be the 1st.. So where was he?

  She had been crowned as the Grand Winner of the race. They had presented the medal to her and Adelie had to go up on the stage to give her speech.

  She felt tears brimming in the corner of the eyes. Overwhelmed by the race..her thoughts…Danny…

  “I would like to thank Danny.. Without him, I wouldn’t have won this…”

  She looked around for Danny in the crowd. He wasn’t there.
She took a bow, received her prize, and headed back home. She thought she had heard a faint melody in the air…

  “We love the things we love for what they are.”

  ? Robert Frost

  Chapter 4

  Answers

  Day by day, she sat by the window ledge. She waited for Danny to come by, but he had never came. Soon, autumn had arrived. Looking from her ledge, she could see that the fallen leaves had formed into a heap outside her house. The weather was turning cold and Adelie wrapped herself in a warm blanket.

  Then, she remembered. He had told her that he had stayed behind her house, remember? She felt so inspired, then she changed into her warm clothing, and headed to look for him.

  Where exactly had he meant by staying behind her house? There was a cluster of houses behind her. It was autumn and not a single person was in sight along the alley.

  She peered into the windows of the houses. No sign of Danny. She knocked onto the doors of every unit there and she asked if Danny had stayed inside. No, they said. Then they asked for his full name, so they could ask around for him. She said she didn’t know. Then, she walked away. If Danny didn’t stay there, why did he tell her that he did? Why didn’t she even know his full name?

  She looked at the brown leaves filling the sidewalk. They looked as crestfallen as her. Was there really no hope of finding Danny anymore?

  She thought she had heard a faint piano melody in the background.. the melody which had always stayed with her.. ever since she had known that she had existed.. it had followed her..haunted her.. and it was now possessing her..

  She followed her heart and it was not before long that she had reached that school..where Danny had enrolled…

  It was a heavy step… when she stepped into it.

  Not a single soul in sight. It was cold, dark and gloomy. The hallways were poorly lit. There was dust everywhere as Adelie walked towards the piano room..

  She had closed her eyes as she walked there. She hoped that when she had opened them, Danny would appear right before her. He would be sitting by the piano, with the same melancholic look he had. She would then sit by his side, and play the piano with her..