On Tulip Avenue

They say it is better to confess your feelings to someone before regretting them. But in the eyes of Bethany, she never did come into lamenting over the thought of not admitting her feelings towards the boy that he liked back then when she was in high school.

She never regretted one thing in her life.

The afternoon sun has become hotter than usual. Bethany just arrived in her home country followed by traveling from another one for vacation and leisure time that she sweetly enjoyed before returning to work which she could not even enjoy anymore. The only thing that motivates her was money, and that is all there is to it.

She heaved a heavy sigh before going into the taxi that was waiting outside of the airport and taking her home. She immediately missed the country that she visited while feeling the longing for the familiar sceneries and sights of her home country. Bethany was also thankful that the driver of the taxi is not forcing her to engage in small talk.

It was just them, silently watching the road as the cars in front of them advanced while listening to the radio playing a ‘90s song, feeling the nostalgia all over and soothing the soul.

She did not notice it, but it took an hour and a half for the taxi to take her home and she immediately paid the money to the driver. Silently, and without words, the driver got out of his seat and helped her remove her baggage from the trunk, to which she was she said a thank you and watched as the vehicle got away from her.

With a struggle, Bethany dragged her belongings until she reached the house that smelled like old furniture already, probably because there was no one else living with her and taking the house in her stead.

She turned on the lights and slightly missed the interior of her house and the familiar sight of the things that she bought for herself and the ones that she dreamed of while she was still in college. Bethany ran a finger across her belongings and felt that they were a little dusty. She squinted her eyes and immediately rubbed the dust on her fingers. She then thought that she will clean her room tomorrow immediately.

It was at that moment when she felt that her eyes were getting heavier, and tiredness has kicked into her system. She dragged her feet towards the couch near her and immediately fell asleep, letting her body shut down and rest for the night.

The next day, she was woken up by a phone call from a familiar name that flashed through her screen. It was Amy, her friend from work and her only trusted one when it comes to telling her secrets and her life that her other colleagues do not know.

It was as if she is already acting like her family and a sister at that.

“Amy?” She greeted her friend in a hoarse voice. Bethany forced one of her eyes to be open to be able to look at the time and it was already seven in the morning.

“Wow, you sound like you just came back from the dead.”

“I am,” she chuckled and sat, staring at the wall. “What is it that you have called me? I will be going back to work tomorrow.”

“I am not asking you to come by now at work,” Amy replied while Bethany is hearing the flipping of pages at her end. “I am asking you to come with me for an afternoon coffee after my shift.”

“You have something to tell, don’t you?”

There was a brief silence at Amy’s end and both of them then giggled, agreeing on what they are going to do this afternoon. When the call was over, Bethany finally rubbed her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She has all the time from morning until the afternoon before meeting up with her friend.

“I will clean the house then,” she said out loud to herself, finally deciding what to do. With a tap on both of her thighs, she ventured out and made the dusty house shine as if she was never gone for two weeks. She did not notice the time it was already three in the afternoon, and Amy might be waiting at four. Bethany then quickly took a bath and dressed up in a simple green long-sleeve sweater and jeans with the sneakers that came with her from the trip abroad. She quickly looked at herself in the mirror and was satisfied with her appearance, with her hazelnut eyes paired perfectly with a mole under her eyes.

With a smile on her reflection, she went out and set on a walk towards the coffee shop where she waited for almost fifteen minutes until Amy finally arrived. She was wearing a ruffle-hemmed, button-front, square-neck orange blouse with her black pencil skirt which suited her nicely. They excitedly hugged each other like they have not been sending updates on one another for the past two weeks.

“I am so glad you are back,” Amy excitedly squealed when she broke their hug. “I have been so alone in the office with no one to talk to.”

“Really, now?” Bethany responded, wondering if that was a lie or not. “I thought that you were just talking to one of our colleagues that you mentioned to me last week.”

“It wasn’t really much, we just had a small talk and I just found him a little interesting,” she responded, dismissing the supposed to be teasing from the friend. They then entered and ordered their coffee, with Bethany having her macchiato and Amy with her latte. They also had their doughnuts as part of their snacks while talking and catching up with their lives.

“We were in the same school when we were in our teenage years, right?” Amy opened up the talk about their past after half an hour of talking about their lives in the corporate world.

“Yeah, we were. We were only assigned to different sections back then,” Bethany confirmed what she said and looked at her. “What about it? Do you recall something about those times, perhaps?”

“Have you heard about the Tulip Avenue?”

Bethany stopped sipping her coffee and froze at the words spoken to her by the friend. Of course, she would be aware of the famous myth of that road. She almost believed in it once.

“Yeah, of course, I have heard of that,” she said after a few moments of silence. “It is that road beside the garden of huge tulips, right?”

Amy chuckled, amused, and was as if taken back to her younger years as a lady. “Yes, that is the one. We also believed that if you confess your feelings to someone there, you two will be together for a lifetime.”

The description of the place was already corny in the ears, but they still managed to smile. How the times have passed, and they would like to hear it all over again with the stories from different adults saying that the place was the best place to confess their feelings.

“Have you tried to confess in that place before?” Bethany asked Amy, wondering about the sudden opening of the topic.

“I did actually,” she chucklingly replied to her, then sipping a little of her coffee. “It was also the first time that my heart has been broken.”

“Oh,” was all Bethany could respond to her friend after knowing what happened to her in that place.

“What about you? Did you –” Amy stopped midway through her question and opened her mouth in realization. “– wait, you did not even confess your feelings to the one that you liked back then.”

“That, you are correct,” she replied and took a sip, getting sick of the conversation.

“Did you not regret it?” Amy asked her, wondering about her feelings at the moment.

“You do know that I don’t regret any of my actions,” Bethany proudly responded with a smirk. Both of them talked a little more until they called it a day when they said their goodbyes. She does not know what was in her mind and lets her feet take her anywhere they went until she found herself in a familiar place.

It was Tulip Avenue, what they were talking about earlier. Bethany smiled at the tulips that were ever so beautiful that were still being taken care of by the old owner. It was then that she recalled the day when she was about to plan on confessing to the man that she liked when she was in high school, Kevin. She was about to cross the street and run to him when a woman suddenly went by and confessed to him, taking her aback and decided not to do it anymore.

Thinking about her past and what happened on that day still brings her a bitter smile, but she only thinks that whatever she did back then only brought her the character that is present right now.

“I wonder what he is doing right now?” She mumbled and decided to walk away, she then crossed a man that was running in her direction. Normally, she would ignore him and will continue on her path, but Bethany stopped and froze where she was standing.

She turned around at the same time the man has been doing and they crossed visions. Her eyes were directly looking at his green eyes, sparkling in the afternoon sun.

“Bethany?” The man said his name, still knowing her after all these years.

“Kevin?”

Her heart suddenly beats faster and stronger than it used to be, it was as if she is back in her younger years already.