A Shiny Moment

It's one of those out-of-the-blue moments... like a bright ray of sunlight on a cloudy day. And I'll keep the memory, although it means nothing to him and to me it is but a half-wish that I've long given up on.

He was the first who caught my eye, a long time ago it seems now. But I got through that unscathed and he blended right back into the background... a face in the crowd.

This afternoon, as I was flipping through the pages of a newspaper, he approached, asking teasingly how much I charged for tutorial sessions. He wanted to borrow the newspaper so I handed it to him. As he flipped through the pages, he caught sight of an ad about an OR in a prestigious hospital.

"That's you," he said, pointing to the female surgeon. "That's me," he added, pointing to the male surgeon beside her.

I looked at the picture and I felt that ray of sunshine. But it was not without a touch of sadness. That picture will be the only place we'd be together. And it wasn't even us.

It takes so little for me to stir up a dream. But I don't have my head in the clouds. And although at odd moments, I do wish his girlfriend would hurry up and become a beauty queen and leave him (note: she is a ravishing beauty), I know very well where I stand.

The dead embers, which sparked for the briefest of moments, died again.

And all is well.