“Nonsense! I just listen to the Buddhist stories to learn the lessons of life, which makes me feel better.”
“Really?” Troy eagerly asks.
“Yep.”
“Then hurry up and come back!”
“…” Karin rubs her forehead. “No, I have more stories to listen to.”
“What? I can tell you stories if you want. I promise my stories are the best ones that you’ve never heard
before.”
“Save it! Your stories are nothing to the Buddhist stories, okay?”
“What’s wrong with you? How could you look down upon your fiancé? The Buddha won’t forgive you.”
“He will as I’m telling the truth.”
Troy is angry. “Don’t you talk to the fucking monks ever! You’ve been brain-washed by them to argue
with me.”
“I want to be brain-washed. Hope you’d take a chance to be brain-washed by them, too.”
Then Karin breaks off the call.
Troy feels exasperated. Karin has hung up on him for the third time. He instantly makes up his mind not
to call her anymore. He wants her to miss her and calls him.
It’s obvious that he has spoiled her. How can she ignore his husband’s dignity?
Then he lies in the bed with a darkened face.
On the third day, Karin goes to find the monk again, and he smiles at her. “I’ll tell you one last story
today. I hope the Buddha could help you ease your pain.”
“Thanks…” Karin joins her palms in pranam.
Then the monk relates, “When a man waited in her car for the traffic lights to turn green, a little boy in
rags asked him if he wanted to buy some flowers. The moment he gave the boy the money, the lights
turned green, and people behind his cars sounded their horns to urge him to go. Then he rudely yelled
at the boy, “Just give the fucking flowers to me now.” But the boy thanked him politely all the same.
Then the man felt guilty of his bad attitude towards the boy. So he immediately pulled aside and
apologized to the boy for his rudeness and bought another bunch of flowers for the boy. The boy
accepted it with a smile.
However, he found his car broke down when he came back to his car. Suddenly, a breakdown van
came to his rescue when he got anxious. The driver of the van gave him a note, which read, ‘This is the
bunch of flowers you’ve bought for me.’”
This is the last story for Karin, and she thinks, in the three days, the monk’s stories are the best ones to
purify her mind and soul that she’s ever heard.
The monk looks right into her eyes and says, “A brave man is the one can face up the wrong that
they’ve done and apologize for it at once. Your kindness can be in exchange of your repay which set
you free from your guilty past.”
She rises up to her feet and bows to the monk. “Thank you, sir. I know what to do now.”
“You’re welcome. The credits should be given to the Buddha.”
After visiting other temples and places of interests in India, Karin plans to go back to Zurich earlier.
Troy hasn’t called her since their last call, and she doesn’t bother to call him, either. She has told him
she needs some personal time and space to sort out the problems on her mind.
She doesn’t call Troy until she gets to the airport.
Troy is walking out of his office after the meeting when his phone rings off. He’s over the moon when
he finds it’s Karin’s call. He has spent days in waiting her calls but she hasn’t called him, not to mention
any messages. He’d have flown to find her but for his tons of work.
He rejects her call and sits in his chair happily as he has successfully defended his male dignity. Robert
catches his huge smile when he opens his door, and he asks in a teasing tone, “Are you an idiot? You
can’t keep your mouth close.”
Troy glares at him. “I’m your boss and I can do whatever I like.”
Then Karin calls him again, and he gets more happier as he rejects her call again, bragging, “You
know, never should a man spoil his girl. As long as he cares for her, she’ll ignore his love and care. If a
man occasionally ignores her, she’ll came back to you at a fast clip.”
Not knowing why Troy says so, though, Robert nods and butters him on. “So it is.”
Robert’s phone suddenly rings off, and he picks it up in Troy’s presence after noticing the number.
“Hello…right now…Okay, I’m on my way…”
After hanging up, he says, “Excuse me, Mr. Troy. I have to go as I’ve got things to deal with now.”
“What to do?”
“She’s at the airport now, and she asks me to pick her up, because she’s lost her purse.”
“What?”
Troy hastily rises to his feet. Trying to stay calm, he asks, “Does she ask you, Robert Gray, to pick her
up?”
“Yep.”
“But why?”
“Maybe because you don’t answer her call…”
Robert explains in fear as if he’s done something wrong.
Troy quickly gives him a chart. “Sort out all the data now.”
“But Karin is waiting for me.”
“Who’s your boss?”
“Fine. I see…”
After Robert leaves his office, Troy immediately rushes out with his car keys.
The time he gets to the airport, he finds her in a red coat in the crowd. He quickly pulls his car up in
front of her, containing his desire to hold her tight in his arms.
Before getting her suitcases stowed and slips into the car, Karin smiles wryly as she stares at the man
in sun glasses sitting in the car who pretends to not care about her.
“Not picking up the phone?”
“I’m not here to pick you up, okay?”
She’s dumbfounded. “Am I supposed to get off? Fine. Drop me here, please.”
As soon as she reaches out for the doorknob, Troy drags her back to her seat and buckles her up,
whispering through his gritted teeth, “You have no idea what it means to hang up on me.”
He goes back to work after driving her to the Ziteng Garden. Before leaving, he reminded her, “Get
prepared for my rage, babe.”
Karin sighs and hug him, saying gently, “Come back early tonight. I want to talk to you.”
“No more ‘I love you’ can save you from the punishment you deserve. Do you know the opposite of ‘I
love you’?”
She instantly answers, “I don’t love you.”
Shaking his head, Troy retorts ruthlessly, “I torture you…”
The he leaves the house. Karin murmurs to herself, “Troie, the opposite of ‘I love you’ is ‘Can we get
back together…”
He waits for Troy till 6 o’clock, but he doesn’t come home. However, here comes Robert’s call.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda