"She had short hair, yet they always turn out messy. Her silent eyes hide behind her glasses, shy of the world outside. She never wore showy clothes, yet her style never ceased to amaze me. I don't even know when I started writing about her, but whenever I do, I can't stop myself."
Huminga ng malalim si Keil, sabay ibinaba ang kanyang pen. Tumingala ito, massaging his forehead, and sunk into his thoughts.
"She isn't Mary. She's far from her. But that isn't such a bad thing. Rie is Rie, and that's what I liked about her."
Tumigil siya saglit, at ibinalik ang tingin sa isinulat niya. Pinulot niya ang panulat, at tinapos ang linya.
"I like her".
Meanwhile...
Rie, while leaning on her study table, looked at her phone. She then let out a sigh as she remembered things from "that night".
Rie came home from an event that night, with a depressed expression all over her face. She came home from a celebrity show that ended up not showing her because she didn't live up to their expectations. Her face was darker than Keil's, and with it was a desperate effort to hold back her tears. To make it all worse, ibinaba na lang siya sa gilid ng isang madilim na highway ng manager niya, saying that there was an "emergency". She knows, though. There wasn't an emergency, and her manager was just too ashamed of her to even drive her home.
So she walked.
She walked the dark highway, alone, sad. "This sucks... No one is here to comfort me, or even tell me that it isn't safe to be out here late", she murmured. She even joked to herself to make herself feel better, saying "I'd even appreciate a crying young man, whom I'd comfort instead".
And from a distance, she saw a store. Rie looked at her phone, knowing that a bus will pass in about 30 minutes. Napagdesisyunan niya na dumaan muna sa convenience store upang bumili ng maiinom habang naghihintay ng sasakyan.
And by some sort of twisted fate, in front of her appeared a crying young man.
He sobbed, as quietly as he possible could, whispering to himself, complaining. Rie stopped from walking.
"What the--"
She holds her forehead and smiles, "what a lucky young man".
She approached the young man, pulling her handkerchief out which she used in another show where she was supposed to be someone called "Mary". Inabot niya ito sa binata, na marahang tumingala upang tingnan siya.
She gave her comfort, in a short while she was given. The young man was a funny one, she thought. Humingi pa ito ng pasensya sa kanya nang huminahon na ito. But Rie didn't care about any of that, at least hindi ng mga panahong iyon. All she cared about was to relieve herself through comforting this young man whom she doesn't even know of.
After a few more minutes, the bus arrived. In a hurry, Rie left the young man with her handkerchief as a remembrance. She forgot to ask his name, but it was too late, as the bus already went off. She smiled, and thought to herself.
"First is a coincidence".
Then she came to another school, temporarily stopping her celebrity business to prioritize her education. There was no particular reason why she chose the said university and she wasn't particularly known there, but still, she chose to disguise herself in the way she knows best.
From a long hair, sexy young lady to a short-haired clumsy nerd.
She was going to be late on her first day of school. At sa kamalas-malasan ay may nakabangga pa sa kanya na muntik nang ilaglag ang kanyang secret identity. Nagmamadali na Ang lalaking bumangga sa kanya kaya agad itong umalis, pero may nahulog mula sa bulsa nito.
Pinulot ito ng dalaga, and when she stared at it, a heartbeat turned into two. Bumilis ang tibok ng puso niya ng makita niya ang panyo na inabot niya sa lalaki noong gabi na naglakad siya mag-isa.
Hinabol niya ang lalaki, while thinking of the same words: "Second is an accident".
"First is a coincidence".
"Second is an accident".
Mula sa di kalayuan ay natanaw niya ang lalaki. Tiningnan niya ang mukha nito, at napangiti na lamang ng hindi sinasadya.
"It really is him", she thought.
Pinasalamatan siya ng lalaki nang isauli na niya ang panyo, at inihayag nito ang kanyang pangalan. Rie was gonna ask for it, though.
"Keil...", Rie thought as she stated her own name.
"Rie. You can call me Rie".
This second meeting was a sign to her, but was unknown to him. But as she had thought, "Second is an accident".
Or so it was.
7:26 a.m., exactly ten seconds before Rie entered her new classroom. Her teacher asked her to come in, and she took a deep breath. Slowly, she walked into the room, greeting her new classmates and introducing herself.
And from the corner of the room, her heartbeat once again berserked, her eyes sparkled like she was lovestruck, and three words came to her mind as she saw Keil sitting there, looking at her.
"Third is fate".