Affection

Valentine's Day is coming up. My girlfriend Sonaa and I have been
seeing each other for three years now. Each year she asks me for a
special gift for Valentine's. The idiot that I am, I end up giving her
something silly. I remember I once gave her an umbrella stand when she
asked for something to cover the head. I am sure she meant a house.
Then, she once asked for something that would help her reach office
fast. She must have meant a car but I gave her an alarm clock. You see,
when Sonaa tells me something it takes some time for it to register in
my head. Say, about a year. By the time I know what she was trying to
communicate it is well and truly too late. Sonaa has been avoiding me
all January. She refuses to speak when I call her. When I visit her she
refuses to come out of her room. I have tried sending flowers. She tore
the flowers up and threw them in the face of the florist's delivery
boy. I personally carried about five and half boxes full of chocolates.
But she made her five dogs eat the chocolates in my presence. After
this I approached her parents. They know how serious I am about her. I
requested Sonaa's Dad to ask her to meet me somewhere in private. We
could sort out our differences by discussing them. Well, Sonaa was
considerate this time. She agreed to meet in the coffee shop of The
Sheraton the coming Sunday. I went to this meeting dressed in my best
clothes and ready to say sorry many times over. But Sonaa continued to
play hard to get. She did arrive at the coffee shop exactly at the
stroke of noon. But, there was a problem. Sonaa did not come alone. She
was accompanied by her five dogs-five full-sized german shepherds. The
dogs did not bark, nor did they bite. They were being held on leash by
their trainer. The dogs and their trainer merely sat next to Sonaa at
her table. That was more than enough for me. I am afraid of dogs in a
very irrational way. Even the smallest puppy makes me nervous. And
these were five grown-up dogs. I froze in my chair. Sonaa stayed for
two hours. But I did not once have the courage to go to her table and
speak to her in the fear that the dogs would eat me up. When Sonaa left
the coffee shop after a hearty meal she gave one of her worst sarcastic
smiles. Indeed I had been very cowardly. I had to do something to make
up for what had happened in the coffee shop. I picked up my cellphone
and dialled Sonaa's number. "Hello Sonaa," I said forcefully. "So what
do you want for Valentine's Day?" "So Ian," Sonaa said "Will you get me
whatever I ask for?" Without thinking I said, "Of course." Sonaa
continued, "Okay Ian. You have to get me more than hundred gifts. Each
gift must be hidden from the other and the last gift must be placed
higher than anything else in the world" Indeed Sonaa was merely saying
whatever came to her mind without any serious thought. But I was ready
for the challenge. I said "I am ready to give you this gift provided
you are ready to take it. Are you?" Sonaa sounded even more haughty as
she said "Yes." Valentine's Day was a week away. On the eve of
Valentine's Day I visited Sonaa's house with a bag containing a few
clothes. I asked Sonaa to pack a few things. When she asked why I said
we were going to bring the promised gifts. The flight to Taipei took
about eleven hours. When we touched down at the airport it was ten in
the morning. We drove straight to 8, Sang Chih Road in Xinyi district.
This was the address at which stood the tallest building in the world
called Taipei 101. The building was coloured grey. I met the building
manager and he assured me that everything had been arranged in
accordance with our previous discussions. Sonaa and I started climbing
Taipei 101 floor by floor. On each floor was a gift for Sonaa. After
collecting ten gifts Sonaa was tired. We put the gifts in a bag and
took the lift to the top floor. Sonaa opened the gifts she had
collected previously. To her disappointment they contained nothing. I
explained to her that all her gifts save the last one were nothing but
empty boxes wrapped beautifully. We were now higher than any other
place in the world. Sonaa asked the receptionist on the final, 101st
floor for the gift that would determine the course of our joint future.
It was a small box containing a beautiful diamond ring. I went down on
one leg, offered the ring to Sonaa and said, "Sonaa, will you marry
me." With characteristic indifference Sonaa said, "Probably."