Yellow

Carla met Tom again a few days before she turned twenty-three. Again, because she has known him before, back when they were still students. He wasn’t someone she was really friends with, but she knew him briefly from being in the same org that Carla left before Tom did. Carla saw him around the campus, yes, but there were no further contacts. Tom wasn’t someone she’d really give a second glance, anyway.

Then she meets him again, on a totally normal day at work. It was a work thing, and in fact, Tom shook her hand firmly when they met even if they were acquaintances before. Carla expected nothing at all.

Three days later, on her birthday, a flower on her desk welcomed Carla at work. It was a single, bright yellow daisy.

“Who left this?” Carla asked her teammate, Renny.

Renny looked up from his computer. “Sorry, didn’t see who did. Happy birthday by the way.”

“Thanks,” Carla said, looking back at the flower. She sank down her seat and picked the flower up, admiring its bright yellow bloom. She has received a couple of flowers in her life, but not at her birthday, and never her favorite. It was a curious thing, but it gave her a nice warm feeling inside.

Carla put the flower down and resolved to find out who left it later, when she finds some free time. She logged in her computer and was about to start her day’s work when a messenger window popped up:

Happy birthday, Carla!

It was Tom.

Carla thanked him and continued to check her email when the window blinked again. She clicked on to Tom’s window and was surprised (pleasantly) when she read the message:

Did you like the gift I left?

“So, the flower was from Tom,” Carla murmured with a smile. She typed her reply eagerly.

The daisy was from you? Yeah, I liked it very much! Thank you!

Carla picked the flower up again and touched the petals fondly. It was nice of Tom to remember her birthday and actually give her a gift. A question nagged her though. She went back to her computer screen and typed a question in the chat window:

Btw, how did you know that daisies are my favorite?

Carla twirled the flower in her fingers as she waited for Tom to reply. Finally, she saw the status bar of the window say, “Tom is writing a message…” She expected some kind of long explanation, but instead, all she got was a single, yellow smiley.

[426 words]

Author’s Note: I thought I’d try something new this week. “Migraine” is a short fiction series I’ll be writing for the rest of the week, for me to try writing a continuous non-novel story. Plus I needed to get this idea out. Stay tuned for “Chapter” 2 tomorrow. 🙂

Tags: 18, fiction, migraine series, third person