I Saw The Fireworks: Part 1

Image Copyright of Sayoni

This is co-written by Yee and Qin, a love story which began in Sayoni through the Personals section… all it takes is an email, ladies.

Another normal day at work, Yee was at her desk sorting the emails in her mailbox.

*Click* *Click* A mail caught her eye from a sender named Qin.

Little did they know that this email would set the clockwork in place to spin a tale of two souls whose paths crossed through the wonders of cyberspace; brought together by a forum which they frequent, Sayoni. They have never met, do not even know each other but somehow they were brought together which I would like to believe as serendipity. It was the beginning of a new chapter in their lives and hopefully, in the following chapters of the book, imprinted by the footprints of these two characters who met by chance.

Two persons with diverse backgrounds. Two persons with diverse interests. Two persons with diverse trail of thoughts.

Yee always associated herself as a dork, interested in nothing but academics and was a total workaholic.

Qin was dreamy, interested in the arts, and had loads of aspirations.

Was it because of the Qin’s forthcoming attitude? Or the uniqueness of the name “Qin”? Yee was drawn and as the days went by, the virtual contact became more frequent. From emails, it escalated to Instant Messenger via MSN and thoughts, ideals were thrown back and forth sparking an intense and intriguing conversation/s on their beliefs, perspectives and ideals which little did they know, would form part of an amazing connection that came from two people from seemingly different walks in life and whom have never met.

The little conversations worked magic and Yee was surprised by her forthrightness in sharing about her personal life with Qin which she would never have done so with the people she mixes with. Perhaps, this is what happens when two people who are meant for each other is supposed to feel like. It was not long before Yee had a silly grin whenever Qin popped into her mind, it became a habit to re-read all of the emails and chat histories before her bedtime.

At 9 Sept 2008…that night, another email from Qin came. When Yee realized that Qin was involved in a minor car accident, her heart froze and at that point, Yee knew that Qin had a place in her heart; it meant something and she was taken aback by how much a virtual character could mean to her. So here came a dumb crush, a crush on someone who Yee had never even met before. Yee knew that she was silly, but such good emotions just ran, she had no control over them, or maybe subconsciously, she did not want to suppress her emotions.

Somewhere along the lines of conversation, Yee realized that she had a little wish of meeting Qin in person and thus, plucked up the courage to ask Qin out for coffee. It was not an instant yes from Qin but eventually Qin texted Yee if they could meet up for lunch on a nice sunny Saturday. Just to make the date, Yee cancelled out on her prior arrangements with her sister.

Yee was an hour early and sat there waiting patiently for Qin with a book at hand. As the minutes drew nearer to the meeting time, she started to get nervous and ordered an espresso to soothe her nerves. Bad choice; the caffeine rush was causing Yee to be constantly glancing towards the cafe’s entrance. A few minutes later, Yee received a text from Qin, “I’m crossing the street…”, thus, relieving Yee of possible neck aches due to her anxiousness. Moments later the cafe’s glass door opened, and in came Qin, dressed casually in comfy tee and jeans. Yee stood up and extended her hand for a retarded handshake.

[In Yee's mind - She's finally here... Woah. Leopard prints spectacle frame...she's loud...errr she's an art student...]

It was as though virtual reality came to life. Even in real life, Yee felt pretty comfortable in Qin’s presence. After they have placed their orders, they started to chat and were happily engrossed in their conversation that flowed from family backgrounds, ideals, childhood experiences, schools, families… the conversation just flowed for over 5 hours straight. In between, Yee was captivated by Qin’s dreamy eyes and it seemed as though her attention was not on Yee. Was it due to the boring topics like the usage of the HAM radio? To Yee’s delights, Qin was actually paying attention to all that she had said although appearing totally dreamy. Nearing to the end of the dinner, Yee braced herself and asked if Qin would like to go for a movie some time over the weekends, Qin agreed (but the date not fixed).

Over the next 2 days, Yee would be found happily waiting for Qin to get online and was looking forward to the movie date. On the second day, Yee stuttered, flustered and out of nowhere told Qin that she liked her through a phone call. Due to the bad reception of the phone line, Yee was not sure if Qin understood what she said and hence sent her a text message. Guess that Qin was taken aback but the two of them remained as good friends. Then came the movie date, both went with no expectations. The date was memorable and marked by popcorn spillages over Yee and flying fries over dinner, all taken in good heart. It had been sometime since Yee had laughed so heartily and she could feel a close connection between them forming. As Yee was afraid of scaring off Qin, she assured Qin that they could be the best of friends. To Yee, this was the only way to still be able to get to see Qin and feel her presence.

Days went by both of them totally enjoyed all of the chats and conversations that went on between them. Qin told Yee that she will be attending an Iris gathering and will be heading off to Sentosa. While on MSN at night after the event, they were sharing about what happened during the gathering. The IRIS members got Qin to pass a Sayoni card to one of the service crew in the restaurant who looked queer. When Yee learnt of that, she felt a little uneasy somehow, Qin followed to tell her that she saw fireworks. Yee’s heart sank as she thought that Qin liked the member of the service crew, hence sparks and fireworks flew. Yee knew that she was already madly in love with Qin, and throughout the rest of the conversation, Yee was down, very down. After almost 2 hours, it hit Yee that at Sentosa, one can literally see fireworks?! She went on to clarify with Qin and YES! Qin really saw fireworks in the sky. A case of misunderstanding, but Yee was relieved and felt like a fool; a fool that was just silly in love.

A few days later, Yee had to know how Qin felt towards her. While at work, they exchanged text messages and chatted on MSN. After rounds of random chats, Qin admitted that she did like Yee, but Yee closed the message window before she saw what Qin had typed. When Yee got home, she felt that everything was hanging in the air and needed answers, it was then she realized that Qin had feelings for her too; it was mutual.