"Yes… cooked at last. Come try some, Brian" Celine called happily. She has been learning to bake tiramisu for some time now, ever since she fell
in love with the taste of it, when both of them first got together on the Valentine Day 2 years ago in Italy. "Awww… do i have to be your white mouse again? You’re just not meant to bake tiramisu, accept it" Brian sighed. "And you’re attached to that person who just can’t bake tiramisu but trying very hard, accept it" said Celine, who’s holding the cake. "Ok, ok.. put it in the fridge for now, i’ll eat it after watching this game. And what’s this chunk poking on my back…" Brian said, as he pulled out a mini Italian dictionary from behind the cushion. "i dont know what came over you… after that trip to Italy, you’ve been obsessed with their language and cakes and…" Brian was saying, "And you’ve just been complaining since" Celine interrupted.
One day, a fight broke out between them, when Celine saw Brian dirty dancing with another girl in a club. She confronted Brian later in the night. "Who’s that girl you’ve been flirting with?" Celine asked furiously. "Who.. What? You’ve been spying on me? What the heck is wrong with you.." Brian yelled back. "First of all, i did not spy on you! Secondly, if you were smart enough, you wouldn’t tell me you are hanging out at a friend’s place and take a girl to a club i would possibly go to" Celine said sarcastically. "i’ve had enough of this. i’m moving out". Crying, Celine went into the bedroom to pack her things while Brian sat in the living room, half drunk and still trying to figure out what happened. "Come on baby.. dont leave.. ok, it was my fault i didn’t tell you I was going clubbing tonite". Celine looked at Brian and said "This isn’t the first time. i think we both need some time apart from each other". After that, she left.
Many months passed and Brian has not heard a word from Celine. He tried to call her but she changed her number. Even her close friends did not know where she went. It’s like she just disappeared.
One evening, while walking home, Brian passed by a bakery near his house. And in the display window he saw a tiramisu. At that moment, he really missed how Celine used to bake tiramisu for him and how things used to be. So he walked into the shop and bought one.
At home, while eating the cake, he kept on thinking about the happy times he spent with Celine. Somehow the tiramisu tasted like those that she used to bake. Slowly, he started to cry.
Since that day, Brian would buy himself a tiramisu from that bakery near his house everyday, because it reminds him a lot about Celine. And each night after eating the cake, he would cry himself to sleep, thinking about his stupidity of letting her go that night.
Weeks gone passed and one day, Brian received a call from a hospital saying that a girl named Celine wanted to see him. He wasn’t sure if it were the Celine that he knew, but he rushed immediately to the hospital as he was dying to know what’s going on.
In the hospital, Brian was directed to Room 203. Opening the door, Brian couldn’t believe what he saw. There she was, Celine, lying on the bed looking pale as ever and lifeless. Brian went straight to the side of her bed and held her hands. "OMG! Dear.. What happened?" Brian asked. "Darling.. before i leave you, i was told by the doctor i have stomach cancer. But i didn’t want you to be worried, so i kept it to myself" Celine explained as her tears started rolling down her cheek. "i’m sorry dear.. im so sorry for what’s happened in the past…" Brian blamed himself. "Will you forgive me? We can start off fresh again…" Brian went on. Suddenly, Brian felt Celine’s hands getting colder. She looked at him, smiling, and said "i’m happy you finally realised what i’ve been trying to tell you… yes, i really hope we can start off fresh again…". That instant, Celine’s voice weakened and she slowly stopped breathing. Brian immediately called for the doctor. "No, No… this isn’t happening… this isn’t true! Celine, dont leave me now.. Pls, No…!" Brian shouted. The doctor rushed in and check on Celine. Brian was told to leave the room. Minutes later, the doctor came out of the room and gave Brian the news he feared so much to hear, his heart shattered. Celine died.
On the way home, he passed by, again, the bakery shop near his house. He almost couldn’t believe it when he saw in the display window, a tiramisu with a card on it written- For Brian. He rushed into the shop and told the owner he wanted to buy that tiramisu. To his surprise, the owner of the bakery gave it to him for free. "It was made for you" he said. "Huh?" Brian was puzzled. "3 months ago, a lady came in and asked for a job as an assistant in the kitchen, she said she wanted to learn how to make a tiramisu. She resigned yesterday after making this and requested me to give this to you, if you come by today. i didn’t know how to contact you, so i just put it in the display window" the owner said as he handed the tiramisu over to Brian.
"She was with me all this while…" Brian whispered to himself.
That nite, alone in his house, Brian sat in his sofa, staring blankly at the tiramisu. Then he took the card on the cake and read it "When you read this, i might already be gone… Sorry darling, for making a white mouse out of you all this while. i hope this tiramisu doesn’t taste too bad. i love you!
P/S: "pick-me-up" how i wish you would pick me up and we can start fresh again"
Brian laid back on the sofa and started crying. He felt something poking on his back, so he reached for it. It was the mini Italian dictionary that Celine used to read. Brian noticed that there was a tiramisu bookmark marking one of the pages. He turned to it and there it was, where it had always been…
Italian: "tiramisu" = English: "pick me up"
He just was not listening to her…
Moral of the story;
time is too slow for those who wait,
too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grief,
too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love…
time is infinite.
written and contributed by Adrian Tham
