The noun “felicity” refers to a state of extreme happiness, or a source of blissfulness.
[Please refer to my previous essay VE16 for part two of this story.]
Mizar: No more hesitation, Master. It is now or never!
Beacon: But … it is getting late. I should give her a call tomorrow.
Mizar: No time is a good time. Trust me: Christmas Eve is the perfect moment to jump-start a relationship!
Beacon: Okay! Right now I am going to give it a shot — the one and only shot!
Mizar: Fantastic. I wish you the best of luck. Goodbye, Master.
Beacon: Wait … wait a second ….
The entire body of Mizar glowed golden yellow, again. Beacon had to temporarily close his eyes to deny the potent irradiation.
Seconds later, everything returned to normal. Mizar, intact, was sleeping on the floor right in front of the warm-keeping oven, as he usually did.
Knowing that Gabriel, the messenger sent by mother nature, had left, Beacon realized that he had to do it on his own and had to do it right away! The love fire in his lonely heart was burning more ferociously than ever; he now had only one thing in mind: Show his dream girl the secretly-hidden romantic context of that eternal flame!
Beacon took a deep breath. Then he picked up the phone and made the most important call in his life ….
Neumann: Hello.
Beacon: Hello, may I speak to Wiesława Neumann please?
Neumann: Speaking. Who is this?
Beacon: This is Beacon. Remember me?
Neumann: Of course. You are the IT guy that developed our Personnel Database Information System almost a decade ago. And I remember seeing you a couple of times in our Youth Center for system upgrades over the past few years. Right?
Beacon: Yes, I am glad that you do remember me.
Neumann: So, what is up?
Beacon: Sorry for my intruding question. But … do you have any plans for the coming Christmas holidays?
Neumann: No. Nor do I have any plans for tonight, the Christmas Eve. Actually I am home alone right now.
Beacon: Really? Where are your family members?
Neumann: I am the only child. And my parents are on vacation to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Beacon: What a double-coincidence!
Neumann: You are the only child in your family, and your parents are on vacation too?
Beacon: Exactly!
Neumann: Then I guess you are also home alone.
Beacon: Bingo!
Neumann: What a triple-coincidence!
Beacon: You have got a sense of humor!
Neumann: I will wholeheartedly take your remark as a compliment.
Beacon: Well, since we are both members of the “Home Alone Club”, may I dare to suggest that we spend some time together?
Neumann: Yes. I would love to. How about tomorrow morning at the City Hall? We can certainly enjoy the festive atmosphere there.
Beacon: Hmm …. I cannot wait any longer. How about right now?
Neumann: You are so funny. Well, the weather outside looks dreadful, and it is getting late.
Beacon: It does not matter at all. I can drive to your place within 15 minutes.
Neumann: Come to my place in 15 minutes? How did you know my residential address?
Beacon: Hmm … I must admit that I acquired your address, which is, of course, confidential information, … kind of … illegally ….
Neumann: Through our Personnel Database Information System, right?
Beacon: You are smart. I am terribly sorry.
Neumann: Then I guess you have been having a crush on me for quite some time. Right?
Beacon: Definitely.
Neumann: Let me tell you something, something that I have never told anyone before.
Beacon: What is it?
Neumann: It is a story about a teenage girl having a crush on a young man. It was one fine holiday in early Autumn back in 1995. The weather was so perfect that a teenage girl and her classmates decided to go biking together in the countryside. They did so many fun activities: chatting, chasing, scene-visiting, photographing, and so forth. They had a really, really great time. But the most unforgettable memory of the bike trip was the shining image of a slender young man, without mustache, posing, in a cool manner, on a huge rock. The girl had to confess that he was a genuinely-handsome hunt! He looked pretty like the lead male character of the music video of an extremely-popular ballad back in the early 1990s. Even though she had only a glimpse at him, her heart almost stopped at that split second. She believed that such an “exotic” experience was — what people called — love at first sight.
Beacon: I do not want to jump to any conclusion here. But my intuition suggested that you were the teenage girl and I was the young man in the aforementioned story. Correct?
Neumann: Affirmative. You are brilliant. You know, I recognized you right away when you first came to our Youth Center on the system project about a decade ago, despite the presence of your sexually-appealing mustache and the noticably-different build. Again, my heart almost stopped. But I felt too embarrassed to take the initiative to break the ice with my dream man in the work place. Thus I just said a routine “hello” when our center supervisor introduced you to the colleagues.
Beacon: I am your dream man. Well, I am truly flattered.
Neumann: Maybe we are meant to be together; perhaps we are star-crossed lovers.
Beacon: Is that a line from a poem? You are so romantic.
Neumann: Thank you for your kind remarks.
Beacon: Wiesława, could I come to your place — I mean — right now?
Neumann: 100% yes! Be careful and drive safely.
Beacon: See you in 15 minutes!
Neumann: See you.
Beacon, in seventh heaven, embarked a short voyage to his love nest. Seat belts, red lights, and safety rules were all behind him. Under such scaring weather conditions, the traffic was understandably-light. His chariot sped through two-thirds of the journey in less than 5 minutes. He could almost see the destination with his naked eyes. But then ….
Bang! A garbage truck, out of thin air, violently hit Beacon’s car sideways at a crossroad. Everything blacked out; it was a complete silence.
Precisely at the instant the truck hit Beacon’s car, Mizar, comfortably lying on the floor before the warm-keeping oven, suddenly suffered a heart attack and died right away.
Proverbs are usually true: “Felicity brings calamity.”
[To be continued.]
(1098 words)
YONG SIR 