Kiss the Rain Short Story Essay

While waiting for my bus home in the pouring rain, I felt the rain suddenly stop. I looked up to see an umbrella covering me. I looked beside me to see a girl, about my age, kind enough to share cover with a soaked stranger. After a few moments, she moved the umbrella closer to me, motioning me to get it as she skipped on the waiting bus. My bus had come seconds after the girl’s left. I never got a name. I had forgotten about that incident days after only to see the umbrella in my room. Hovering over just to see a small paper attached to the handle, â€Å"Kang Eun-Mi† was written in graceful handwriting. While on my way to the bus stop in the pouring rain, I see a silhouette of a girl, about my age, standing there waiting for her bus. I opened the umbrella, stood next to her and looked down on her. Her face as beautiful and as graceful as her name, â€Å"Kang Eun-Mi†. I gave her back her umbrella and hopped on my bus home. I didn’t expect another encounter with the beautiful and graceful Eun-Mi but just the next day, I saw her again. Standing where she always stood. I smiled at her like an old friend and she smiled back showing her perfect smile. Her smile as beautiful and as graceful as her name, â€Å"Kang Eun-Mi†. I got on my bus, but to my surprise she got on as well. We easily got to know each other and as each day passes, I got to know more about the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi. She was perfect to me, I couldn’t see any flaw in her. She was beautiful and graceful like her name, â€Å"Kang Eun-Mi†. Years pass and the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi and I had grown to become the best of friends. No secrets were kept between us. No secret but one. I loved her. I didn’t love her like a best friend or a sister. I loved her like how Romeo loved his Juliet, like how Jack loved his Rose. No, I didn’t love her, I WAS INLOVE WITH HER. I was in love with t he beautiful and graceful Kang Eun- Mi ever since I had laid my eyes on her. I couldn’t tell her in fear of losing out friendship. One day, I didn’t see her. I couldn’t call her. She didn’t reply to my messages or return my calls. I was worried, maybe something had happened to the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun- Mi. I rushed to her house but I was told she wasn’t home. I took the next taxi I saw to her school. My heart was racing so fast. I was afraid that something bad had happened to the Kang Eun-Mi I had loved so much. When I reached her school, the first thing I saw crushed me. It felt like swords had pierced my heart, cut it in a thousand tiny pieces. The beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi was with another man. She was in the arms of another person. She loved someone else. I was not sure how to react. I was not sure what to do. Should I take her away from that man? Should I punch him in the face for stealing someone who wasn’t even mine from the start? I knew better than to cause trouble. I had to accept it. I had to cope with the burning feeling in my chest. I have always known that she would never love me that way. She would never love me like how I love her. I am nothing but her best friend. Just a best friend. I had tried to cut any ties with her. I didn’t return her calls, I didn’t reply to any of her messages; I tried everything to take my mind off her. But I would always find myself drifting to places where we used to go, bringing memories of the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi. But of all the places, I tried my best to not set foot on the bus stop where we first met. Seeing that place would always bring painful memories. It would always bring the happy moments we had. The happiest memories would always hurt the most. After months of not being with her, I received a call from her. She wanted to see me at the bus stop, she said it was important. And from the sound of her voice, I could tell that something was wrong. It was pouring heavily, I grabbed an umbrella and rushed to the bus stop as fast as I could. I could not think of anything else but the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi. When I got there, I saw a silhouette of a girl, about my age, standing there waiting for someone. I opened the umbrella, stood next to her and looked down on her. Her face as beautiful and as graceful as her name, â€Å"Kang Eun-Mi†. As soon as she noticed an umbrella over her head, she turned to me and whispered the words â€Å"We broke up.†. I dropped my umbrella and hugged her like I have never hugged her before. I was lying in bed later that night with guilt in my heart. I was guilty because the Kang Eun-Mi I loved so much broke up with her boyfriend. I was guilty that I was happy about it. But I then realized that she would never be mine, that I was just a best friend. The next day, everything was perfect. Everything was how it used to be. We did everything like we used to, we rode the bus home like we used to. Everything was in place. It was only the two of us. But just when everything felt in place, I got a call from her. She wanted to see me, she said it was important. And from the sound of her voice, I could tell that something was wrong. I ran as fast I could. I felt my heart beat faster. By the time I got there, I was out of breath. She told me to sit down next to her. I can read the worried expression on her face. The way she acted told me that something was wrong. I knew Kang Eun-Mi like the palm of my hand. I could read her like an open book. I was getting worried at what she would say. I was getting quite nervous just looking at her expression. She opened he mouth, words came out. But I could not believe what she was trying to tell me. Her father was transferred to California. They were migrating to the United States. She was going away. Kang Eun-Mi was going to leave me. The Kang Eun-Mi I had loved for so long was going to leave me. I pretended to be happy for her. But I knew that she read the expression on my face. I excused myself, stood up and went home. I couldn’t accept the fact that the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi was going to California. I didn’t see her until the day she was going away. I would always remember that day. October 5th, the day Kang Eun-Mi promised me that she would call often, that she would e-mail me everyday and that she would be back soon. That was the last time I saw the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi. She had kept her promises. She has kept it all but one. She still has not returned. She has been sending me e-mails every single day. But then, it stopped. She didn’t reply to my e-mails or return my calls. I was worried, maybe something had happened to the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun- Mi. It has been 3 years since I last heard from the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi. I still think about her everyday. I always wonder how she is doing. Who she is with, what she is doing. And i’ve been regretting not telling her how I feel. I am a fool for not confessing to her. After years of not being with her, I received a call from her. She wanted to see me at the bus stop, she said it was important. She had kept her promise! She was back!   I felt so happy that I felt my heart skip a beat. I was finally going to tell her how I feel. I was finally going to tell her that I was in love with her. I was in love with the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun- Mi ever since I had laid my eyes on her. When I got to the bus stop, I was greeted by a silhouette of a woman my age, standing where my best friend always stood. I smiled at her like an old friend and she smiled back showing her perfect smile. Her smile as beautiful and as graceful as her name, â€Å"Kang Eun-Mi†. She invited me to sit and have a cup of coffee. She told me everything, from her exciting trips to her heartbreaks. She wasn’t a girl anymore, she was a woman. She told me that she is not the Kang Eun-Mi I used to know, she is now Jennifer Kang. But she is still the beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi I still love so much. I was about to confess my love for her but she said she had another thing to say. I was excited to hear what it was. Maybe she won’t be going back to California. Maybe she was going to stay here and be with me. She inhaled deeply and extended to show a large diamond ring on her finger. My heart sank. She was engaged. She is to be wed to another man! It was then I realized that Kang Eun-Mi has returned to get married here. Then and there, a man appeared and sat down next to my Kang Eun-Mi. The beautiful and graceful Kang Eun-Mi was engaged to another man. She was in the arms of another person. She loved someone else. I was not sure how to react. I was not sure what to do. Should I take her away from that man? Should I punch him in the face for stealing someone who wasn’t even mine from the start? The painful memories of the first time I lost her to someone else flooded my mind. I was in shock. If only I had told her how I felt in time, would this happen? Everything felt like it was in the movies, everything felt like it was in slow motion. But I got dragged back to reality when I heard the words â€Å"best friend†. She wanted me to be at her wedding! I pretended to be happy for her. The day of the wedding came and everyone was happy. Everyone but me. I saw her walk down the aisle, she was beautiful and graceful like her name. It was the prettiest I have seen her. How I wished that it was I who was waiting for her at the altar. The way she looked at him crushed me. It felt like swords had pierced my heart when I heard them exchange their vows. My heart was cut it in a thousand tiny pieces when I saw them kiss. They were to have their honeymoon in Hawaii the next day. Eun-Mi asked me to accompany them to the airport. How I wish I declined. May 12th, I saw her for the last time. I gave her the tightest hug I could give her. I didn’t want to let go. I wanted it to be just like how it used to be, just the two of us. I have been in love with the same woman for 60 years. I just wish she knew. Eun-Mi, I have never married. I am going to wait for your return, no matter how long it will take. I will wait at the bus stop for you, no matter how hard the rain pours. The rain will just remind me of you. And even the slightest memory of you makes my heart jump with joy. But I always knew that you would never love me that way. You would never love me like how I love you. I am nothing but your best friend. Like how Jack never got Rose in the end, like Romeo who never got his Juliet. I will never get my Kang Eun-Mi, the woman who is as beautiful and as graceful as her name. Every time it rains, I think of no one or nothing else but you.