SEVENTEEN STORIES (ONE SHOTS / IMAGINES / SHORT STORIES)

Joshua Hong: You, Me & Us

'Why are you holding my hand?'

The returning palm of spring turned the wheat field into a green and blossom's song at her slightest touch. It is a magical thing that only happens on planet earth, and that is why we should be thankful for what mother nature has gifted us. This phenomenon could be seen as a token of life, but also as the invincible power of love. Nevertheless, love is what we encounter everyday, without even realizing how cherished it must be. 

As the footsteps were set on the stone laid ground, the man with gunmetal-grey strokes of hair slightly flinched at the decisive comment while he let go of the somewhat inflamed hand. 'Oh, I apologize for the inconvenience. I must have been dreaming about something.'

The one whose hand was occupied earlier chuckled hearty, hearing the senior citizen stutter in her presence made the air feel somewhat enlightened. 'It is okay. Those deer eyes of yours tell me that you are an amiable gentleman.'

Rough pebbles made crackling sounds beneath their feet while the elder refuted the given compliment with both hands waving. 'Well, if you really think so and do not mind, can I take this opportunity to walk you further onto this path?'

Therefore, the evergreen woman accepted the offer without thinking another second, accompanied by the deer-eyed man as they strolled forward in comforting silence. 

Peace is what they felt from then on and because of that, the woman had to make amends. 'Tell me dear, what is bothering you? I can see this particular desire in your eyes that there is something...'

Sighingly puffing dry air out of his mouth, the sentence was finished by a faltering voice. '...missing. Miss, can I tell you a story?'

Twice. It was the second time that graceful afternoon that the woman was voluntarily laughing. 'Gentleman, you sure have a lot of requests today. I however do not mind cooperating so go on.'

Multiple wrinkles formed around the deer eyes of the elder, forming his hands behind his spine to alleviate the joint pain. 'One more question and then I am done interrogating. Do you prefer a love story or a tragedy?'

Showing her teeth in joy as she clearly caught his humoristic way of forming his speech, the woman said her opinion on this topic. 'I think that romantic tales have their own color. Although, tragedies are in that same condition, nonetheless. In my honest judgement, I prefer the latter as the ones I read got more to the story. A combination would be great!'

He simply beamed, slowly strolling further as rapid as the age allowed him. 'Well, this specific story would be perfect for you. A tale about a youthful guy in his begin thirties who chose to go on a cruise over the Mediterranean with his friends. The beautiful, extravagant ship journey was something he had been anticipating on his whole life, spending almost all of his savings to get himself on that cruise.'

The angelic smile appeared on the elder woman's lips again, slapping one hand on her mouth to desperately hide her excitement. 'Oh my god, I like being on the waters too. The smell of the sea, the colors of the sunset that you cannot see on land and everything else got a special feel to it, doesn't it?'

Nodding at her direction, the weary man gave the storytelling its all as he continued the way. 'Young and free of horrid worries, they all decided to go to the open-decked bar. The youngster agreed to order some drinks after losing the rock-paper-scissors game, idiotically being the one who insisted on playing as he leaned against the counter with one hand raised. And when he wanted to open his mouth, his lips did not want to attach to each other anymore. This guy encountered a mesmerizing woman with the most beautiful eyes in the world. The girl behind the bar looked smart, beautiful, sensuous and had a gorgeous smile that could knock you down. Her style was enchanting, and her lovely eyes could make the rest of the world disappear.'