The Song of Pinwheels
Vivi nervously glanced down the crowded street, biting her lip. She knew she shouldn’t have been nervous, but she couldn’t help playing with the ring that lay at her throat. She hadn’t been to a festival since the accident…
She shook her head. No, she wasn’t going to think about that now. Not when her other hand was being held by the gorgeous man in front of her.
“Angel,” Zen smiled, squeezing her hand gently. “We’re going to miss the singing contest!”
Vivi had to cover her mouth to hide her laughter. From the moment Zen had taken her to the Cherry Blossom Festival he had not stopped talking about the contest. While she was admiring the petals that fell like pink snow, he gushed about the song he was going to sing. When the sun set and the lights on the booths were finally set aglow, he promised it would be a declaration of his love for her. And when Vivi finally found a booth that had the cutest assortment of pinwheels he promised he would win the contest in her name.
“Zen,” she teased, “It’s not very fair for you to enter the contest. I don’t think any of the other contestants have ever sang professionally.”
The actor flushed. “I-I know,” he said, his cheeks a lovely shade of pink. “But I really want to win this for you.”
“But you’ve won so many things for me already,” she laughed, gesturing to the handful of plush toys and prizes dangling from the bag on her wrist.
“Of course babe, I said I was good at festival games,” he grinned. “And what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t win my princess a few prizes?”
Now Vivi was blushing. His princess. The phrase made her heart flutter inside her chest. She smiled and gripped his hand tighter. “Well, when you put it that way, I can’t really say no,” she laughed. “Especially not when you’re giving me that smile.”
Zen beamed. “Then come with me. The signup booth is just up this way.” The two of them began maneuvering between the growing crowd of people. Vivi tightened her grip around his hand .
“Zen, are you sure we’re going the right way?” she asked after some time. The signs on the booths were growing difficult to read. More and more people were filling the streets, blocking her view of any directional posts. She could barely hear her own voice over the cacophony of laughing festival goers.
Zen appeared to not have heard her. “Hyun,” she tried using his real name, “slow down, I-I can’t keep up.”
“It’s just up here princess,” he called, “We just have to find the-”
Whatever he was going to say was lost. A large man carrying a tray of food ran past her, knocking Vivi to the side. Zen’s hand slipped from her fingers and his figure was swallowed by the bustling crowd of people. Vivi stood off to the side for a few moments, too stunned to notice the occasional bump from festival goers. “Zen!” she cried, her voice swallowed up by the noise. “Zen, where are you?!” There was no answer. She tried again, cupping her hands over her mouth. “Zen! Hyun, where are you?!”
She reached for her phone, quickly dialing his number. “Come on, come on,” she muttered to herself, nervously clutching the phone to her cheek. “Pick up, pick up…” The phone rang several times. “Actor Zen is sleeping and letting his perfect skin rest. It’s be great to wake up hearing your voice, but since this is a voice mail…I must still be dreaming.” She ended the call with a frustrated snap of her fingers. Of course he wouldn’t be able to hear his phone is this crowd. Vivi’s heart raced in her chest. No, this couldn’t be happening. She had never lost Zen on a date before. She looked around, desperately trying to find any trace of him. Panic rose to her throat. She couldn’t lose him, not now…
She took a deep breath. You’re overreacting, she thought, fingering her ring. He’s got to be around here somewhere. The question of course was where.
The answer hit her like a ton of bricks. The singing contest! She couldn’t believe she didn’t think of it sooner. She pushed past the people milling in front of her, almost planting a hand in somebody’s fish shaped bread. Zen had said the singing contest was just down the street, so if she moved fast enough she would run into him eventually. She ran past couples carrying festival prizes and tried not to trample any children lurking underfoot.
Vivi tried following the rows of booths in the direction Zen was last headed. It seemed like all the festival goers were trying to block her view of any directional signs that could have helped her. She pressed on, knowing she would find him if she kept moving. A large stage-like booth stood a few paces ahead of her. Her breath came out in huffs as she turned a corner, doing anything she could to get to the stage.
Panting, and bent double-over, Vivi stopped dead. Where the stage should have been was just a large booth selling T-shirts. She was lost.
After taking several deep breaths Vivi stood and looked around. The lights of the various booths glittered, and she wandered around aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do. A familiar looking one caught her eye. She ran over to it, hoping to at least regain her bearings. Rows and rows of shimmery pinwheels greeted her, some still twirling in the late evening breeze. She ran her fingers over the smaller row of pinwheels, smiling at how the light reflected off the shinier ones. She picked up a blue one and blew on it gently.
“Vivi?! Vivi, where are you?!”
She knew that voice. "Zen?“ She whirled around. "Zen! I’m here, I’m over here,” she shouted, jumping slightly in front of the booth.
The actor ran over to her so fast he almost collided with one of the other festival goers. "Vivi,“ he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her. "I was looking for you everywhere.”
She clung to him and buried her face in his shoulder. "I was looking for you,“ she mumbled. "There were so many people, and i got so lost…how did you know where I was?”
“Pinwheels,” he laughed. "When I didn’t see you at the stage, and i I couldn’t find you in the crowd, I thought I’d go to your favorite booth. Don’t scare me like that princess,“ he said, cupping her cheek.
"Don’t run off on my like that,” she laughed, nuzzling into his hand. "I don’t like being left alone.“
"Sorry,” he said sheepishly. Vivi smiled, she wasn’t really mad, she was just relieved to see him again.
She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Singing contest?“
Zen laughed and tugged her forward, interlacing their fingers. "Singing contest.”
He gave the trophy to her of course, and she always made sure to keep it next to her favorite blue pinwheel.