An Email Affair

He was sitting in front of the PC, logged-on to his email as usual. 'No unread email' it says. He was frustrated. The Inbox is silent nowadays. All the emails that he sent earlier were not responded to. He began to wonder. 'What is happening? Has she gotten tired of him? Is she okay? Is she too busy?'...He was flabbergasted.

Two months before that, he stumbled upon an email from a 'Rosy Cheek'. That email contained a poem, a beautiful poem that touched his heart. Was it originally written by 'Rosy Cheek'? He wondered.

'Hi!' he replied.

'Hello' she responded.

'I read your poem' he wrote.

'Oh yeah? Did you like it?' she asked.

'Yes. I wonder...did you write it yourself?' he asked.

'Mmm...I guess I did' she replied.

And from then on, they became online friends. Or acquaintances, for that matter. Every night, without fail. It was like having a glass of warm milk before sleep. If, he didn't receive her email before he went to sleep, he would find it difficult to shut his eyes. Restless. And every once in a while he would get up to check his email. Until at last he would receive something like 'Good night. Sleep tight and sweet dreams'. Then he would respond and doze off to a sweet slumber.

'Hi! How are you doing?' Rosy Cheek wrote, one day.

'Hi! I've been quite busy with my assignments lately. How are you doing?' he replied.

'As usual. Are you still studying?' Rosy Cheek asked.

'Part-time. What are you doing?' he asked.

'Stuff. Nothing much' Rosy Cheek replied.

She just won't respond to his questions on her personal life. He didn't even know if she is a 'she' or a 'he'. But it sounded like a 'she' indeed. For the past two months, he's been waiting for her emails. Not only at night, but in the morning too. Before dashing off to the office, that would be the first thing he'd do, as part of his routine. Checking on the email.

'Good morning! It's bright and sunny...Have a great day!' she would say.

Sometimes, she would send him an email in the afternoon. Sometimes, she would send him more than one email at once. Sometimes she would ask him questions, sometimes she would tell him a bit of what she was doing then, sometimes she would send him a funny story or a funny cartoon strip. He would always look forward to her emails. They made him smile. They made him feel at ease. She made him feel like he belonged to someone.

'I wonder if you are okay. It's been a while since I last receive your email' he wrote to her once, a few weeks ago. She's been quiet for a few days.

'Why, do you miss me?' she replied cheekily.

He smiled and responded 'Mmm...a bit'. Then he laughed.

'Haha. You must be lonely' she answered.

'Not anymore, since I have you' he responded. How very true, that is.

Then it was quiet.

'Are you still there?' he asked.

'Yes' was her reply.

'Are you offended?' he asked.

'No. I'm touched' she replied.

'I wonder...are you still single or are you married?' he asked.

'Which do you think?' she asked him back.

He was quiet for a while then he typed 'Single'.

'Hihihi....you are a good guesser'.

Thinking of those small conversations, made him smile. But he would still wonder. It's been two weeks. He became restless. Even at the office, he couldn't keep his mind off of her. What was going on?

'Sometimes when we feel lonely, we can hear our own heart beating. Have you ever experienced that?' she asked him, one day.

'Are you feeling lonely now?' he asked her back.

'Sometimes it is good to be lonely. Sometimes it is sad' she replied.

'When you are sad, it will rain heavily. Please don't be sad' he responded. That will make her smile, he hoped.

'Hahaha. You are joking. But I like that. Thank you', she answered.

Again, he couldn't help smiling at himself. Days on end, he would browse through all their emails and smile at every funny email. Frowning at a few of the seemingly sad emails. What is it that she was going through? He wished that he could reach out to her. That night, he went off to bed as he did for the past two weeks...wondering. And he kept his email on, the whole night.

First thing in the morning he woke up, clambered off from bed and dashed off to his PC.

'1 unread email'. He was exhilarated! Quickly, he clicked on the icon. Ohh...please hurry up!

'Dear Cyber Rex, I am sorry to inform you that Rosy Cheek passed away last Friday. She was suffering from lung cancer. I'm sorry for this belated email. We are still in mourning. I know you are one of her best online friend. She always tell me about you, though not very much. Thank you, for being a good friend to her. - her sister'.

He was dumbfounded. Dead? Gone? Forever? He could feel his whole life is tumbling down. Rosy Cheek has been like a sunshine to his life for the past two months. He had never met her, Never knew who she was. But he felt close to her. And now, she's gone. He would receive no more emails from her. He would have nothing to look forward to, anymore. He felt helpless, at the same time, lost.

His email affair had ended. Abruptly, it seems.