I checked the dates on my tablet. 25th October; a public holiday, that meant no work. 25th October, it also used to bear special significance to me. It was her birthday.
It seemed that as we grew older, we tend to forget the meanings and purposes of birthday celebrations. They become troublesome dates where we have to plan outings, and think of gifts to give. Often, we forget how they are a celebration of a person being born. An appreciation that if they weren't, our lives wouldn't have been so great.
I remembered the best birthday I've had yet. It was not extravagant, or were there many guests; there was only one person, but her presence, and the efforts she made to make it memorable, was something I will never forget.
That day, she made an effort to go to the nearby Secret Recipe to buy me a slice of cake. She hid it in the fridge, and while I was showering, attempted to light the candle on it. She did not know how to use a lighter however, and ended up having to light the candle using the fire from the stove. I was very touched, extremely touched. To most, this may sound like a minor effort. To me however, this was pure love.
I also remembered the worst birthday I've had so far. Again, it was not something extremely devastating, but because of her, I will never forget this too.
We were in Taiwan, the second last day of our trip there. We knew that this would be our last trip together. Come tomorrow, after we land in KL, we would no longer be a couple. This last trip was supposed to be our last "hurrah", and we both made an effort to enjoy it. Yet somehow, in my heart, I still held on to a sliver of hope, that somehow, tomorrow will never come.
We walked through a busy night market, savoring the sights and sounds and sampling the exotic and unique food of Taiwan. Halfway through, I grabbed her hand and asked, "So? Did you have fun?"
"Yea of course!" She replied with a smile.
"Do you still want to break up with me then?" I asked.
She shook my hand off and walked on. "We've talked about this haven't we?" She said, "We agreed to have fun this trip because we would break up."
I did not know what to say. We walked slowly back to the hotel. She walked 10 meters ahead, not looking back, and not giving a care about me. I hung back, as tears streamed slowly down my face. I guess, it was the anticipation of breaking up with me that made her happy then. I had never felt more dejected in my life.
When we reached the hotel, I took out the piece of dry chocolate cake we had bought earlier and ate it piece by piece by myself. "Happy birthday to myself" I whispered.
That was the worst birthday I have ever had.
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