Valentine’s day is always very special to people in love. The girls would expect to receive flowers from their heart throb and the guys are always more than willing to give it to the sweet hearts.
I guess the people who appreciate Valentine’s Day the most would be florists. Many of them probably never received nor gave flowers themselves all their life on Valentine’s day but they are the ones who benefit the most on this auspicious day. The price they charge for flowers on this day is absolutely criminal and many of them should be locked up. But for the love sick couples no price is too high to express their love.
I must admit I was once a member of this misguided group of people. Many would now laugh their heads off whenever I told them that I once had a girlfriend but yes, I did. I always dreaded Valentine’s days the because of the pressure it imposed on the guys. We are always expected to give something to the girls, failing which the dreaded silent treatment would be imposed upon us for God knows how long.
But it was not easy to just go and buy flowers. For one thing the price was so high that it burned a hole in your pocket. The other thing is that you get teased mercilessly boy the other guys when they see you with flowers for the girls!
I remember one Valentine’s day when we were in college.
Many of the guys were already making elaborate plans to celebrate Valentine’s day with their girlfriends. Flowers and chocolates were a must in those days plus other gifts as well. Saidin, my room mate, even rehearsed again and again what he wanted to say to his girl.
That night you would see the happy couples at certain corners in the cafeteria , looking into each other’s eyes, head over heels in love. The girlslooking especially radiant. Why wouldn’t they. What with the flowers and the gifts that they would take back to the dorms later and show off to their room mates, especially to those who didn’t get any.
These were the more courageous ones. The shy ones and the cowards would just pass what they wanted to give their girlfriends to a third party, the so called ‘postman’. Sadly I was one of them.
The next day on campus you could tell which girls receive flowers or gifts from their boyfriends or secret admirers. These girls would walk around with a big smile on their faces or walk as if they were floating on air.
I was excited to see my girlfriend. I was sure I would be in for a treat for what she got from me. But when I saw her she gave me a nasty look and wouldn’t even talk to me. I was shocked. Didn’t my ‘postman’ do her job? How could she? Surely she must know the meaning of Valentine’s day.
Nevertheless, when she finally cooled down I gently asked her what was wrong.
“Orang lain dapat bunga! (Other people got flowers) ,” she said.
“Tapi I bagi bunga jugak kan? (But I gave you flowers too, right?),” I said.
“Itu bukan bunga, itu bunga api! (Those are not flowers, they are fireworks).”
Heh heh, I was too broke to buy her flowers that I got her fireworks instead. Cheaper!
by Azlan Rahman
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