The Waiting Game

Contributed by Fungus
I.
Straining to see beyond the furthest horizon, I squinted my eyes to catch the first visible sight of the person I was waiting for. Thousand thoughts raced through my mind:

"Does she know which bus-stop to alight?"
"Did she get my directions right?"
"I better step out of the shade into the sun to make myself more visible."

My heart thumped faster as the seconds ticked by. A glance at my mobile phone clock and a search into the faraway junction became a ritual that I repeated with increasing frequency.

"Should I give her a call to find out her whereabouts? Hmm... no, she'll call me if she's lost."
"Why on earth is the bus taking so long?"

The much-awaited bus came into sight. It crawled towards the bus stop and finally stopped. Passengers streamlined out. I waited in anticipation. But there was no sight of her. With a sigh and a quickened heart pace, I once again took position at my watch stand.

Straining to see beyond the furthest horizon, I squinted my eyes to catch the first visible sight of... ai, wait a minute, that silhouette looks familiar. The shadow crept closer. I caught the colour of her dull uniform and that distinctive saunter. It's her!

In that moment, I wondered...
"Should I walk towards her so that she doesn’t need to cross that long distance to reach me?"
"Where shall I fix my eyes now? If I look at her, will it embarrass her for being late? Aiyah, too bad she can't catch my smile to see that it's okay."

I waited with a ready smile. During that spilt second, anxiety was replaced with gladness. I am glad that she has found her way. She came.


II.
Oh no! I am running late and the stupid bus never seem to come when you must urgently need it to.

Bus 88 came. I boarded it. My ordeal began. The pangs set in... stomachache!

S***!!!!

The bus trip was much faster and shorter than expected. I was early. Without further delay, I walked into a nearby school in search of a place of relief. Found the room... but it was a false alarm. No output. Checking the time, I speed walked towards the waiting place.

Hope I didn't keep her waiting.

Beep beep beep. My handphone sounded. I have received a sms. "Sorry, I will be late", it read.

Settling down on a seat at the bus-stop. I pretended to look busy while I waited. Beep beep beep. My handphone sounded again. This time, it read: "Walk towards the Mental Hospital. Turn right at the junction. I am there walking towards you."

Haha... this is fun. It's like a game.

I followed the instructions. As I round the corner, I saw her. Our eyes met and I waved to say "hi". As I inched towards her, I found myself picking up pace and ended up running towards her.

The physical distance was short but it presented an immense psychological distance for me. I feel awkward. I don't know where to look... I simply can't let her wait any longer.


III.
The waiting game is a common activity that we all play. In my life, I realized that I have an elastic scale to my patience thermometer when it comes to waiting. For some, a mere five minutes wait proved too much a stretch to my tolerance level while for others an whole hour is fine. I guess this reflects the importance of that person in my life and my perception of him or her in relation to myself. So, it would seem that the waiting game is more than just a harmless activity that we are engaged in; a silent message has been sent each time we make someone waits.