A stranger sat her table, claiming to be her soul mate. She looks up from her hot chocolate stares at him in disbelief, sighs. She is too tired from last night's party and just wants to get to her lab so she can continue her paperwork and there's this guy who decides to ruin her Monday morning.


My heart raced as I sat down at her table, she looked displeased, her right eyebrow twitched as it did when she was stressed. I could feel myself losing my voice, but oh no, not now, not until I tell her how I missed her for all these years.


I could feel my blood pressure rise as I said - "Umm, no. I don't think I've ever met you". "Yes, we have, 7 years ago, under the starry night when we went star gazing in the summer". I faintly remember something like this, but I don't really remember this guy. He could be a freak like that other guy from months ago.


I can't stop looking at her beauty mark below her eyes. I just love how it crunches up when she's smiling. But she isn't now... Is it me? Ah, she probably thinks I'm a weirdo. "Remember the guy in the red hoodie who just graduated from high school? The one who liked Bumblebee the transformer car?" 'Oh God, please remember me, it's been a long time, still, please' kept running in my head as she looks at me and her eyes lit up. Ah yes! Those are the eyes I fell for.


I know him, he was the crazy silent kid who ran from home. Wow, never thought I'd see him again. But he doesn't look homeless now with his suit and hair and shoes, oh is that a Rolex watch? What do I say? And what's with the soul mate rubbish? Okay, let's start slow. "Yeah, I remember you now. How have you been? And what do you mean by soul mate?"


I'm at a loss for words now that we're actually talking. I hope I don't mess it up. "Um yeah, things picked up after we talked. I went on and got a job as a mechanic, inherited the garage after 4 years. Sold it and now that's what I do, look at good properties and sell them. Oh and... you said you liked me and that if we ever meet again, you would love to be my partner"


What the- when did I say anything like that. Or maybe I might have, I used to be crazy back then. With all my optimism and hope for the coming years. Anyways, need to get out of this situation. "Um, I'm sorry you waited for so long, but I think its something I said in passing. Please don't take it to heart, but I'm not looking for a partner now, there's too much that has changed since 7 years ago"


I could feel my heart sink. No, she did not just say that. No way. I knew she meant it, it all felt too real for it to be an accident. "Oh... can we be friends though? I think we know each other enough for that now"


'Know each other enough?!?!' Who does he think he is! He doesn't know about me. I didn't want to get angry and ruin my day, so I ask "okay, what do you know about me?"

"You grew up with a lot of dreams and wanted to do everything before you were 25 because you thought you would die then. Your education was on scholarship, you bagged multiple internships in high school, had been part of your band since you were 12, loved bungee jumping and rabbits, and you had a pet goldfish because you liked shiny things. Oh and you drove a blue truck that you're father fixed many times."

I wince as he mentions those days... "My father died, I had to sell the blue truck, my band disbanded, I don't bungee jump now because I had a terrible accident and have PTSD. And the goldfish died, and now I'm in debt, trying to finish this paper so I can leave this place forever"


I felt so sad for her... I could only imagine the pain she went through all those years... "But you had someone with you all this time, didn't you?"

"No, I lost everyone and everything" I could see the pain in her eyes, and didn't want to make her more sad. "Well, how about you take a day off, and we can go to the amusement park?"


I knew he was trying to make me happy. But I was feeling a range of emotions I hadn't felt in a long time. All emotions that I kept hidden under the rug.

"Sounds good, but I can't do today. How about the weekend?" "Yup perfect!" I could see his face lit up. He reminded me of a puppy. I honestly didn't have the energy to face him, someone who knew my past. I just want to leave here as soon as possible and get back home for a nice long nap.

"Can I have your number?" He asks with a face I know all too well. It's the face of someone hoping, someone who only sees the good in the world. "Um sure, it's xxx" I just want to hide from him. Because it feels like he knows me inside out. His green eyes feel like they're piercing right through me.

"Okay, I'll text you soon Amanda" he says with a smile so wide I could see his gums. He was a puppy in human skin. "Um Amanda? No, I'm Anna."


"What?!?! There's no way I remembered her name wrong. I've been waiting for this day since forever. She was the sole reason I pulled through my bad days.

"Nope, I remember you're name, it was Amanda." She looks puzzled. "I'm Ralph" I say, hoping she'd remember my name. "No, it was Philip, I remember the red hoodie kid. You said how you were called Phil for short and how you didn't like it because of the show, Dr Phil"

"Nope, I'm Ralph, I don't know a Philip"


No way! So does this mean he thought I was someone else?! "Oh okay, that's weird now. I think we were talking about different people all this time" Ugh, this is so awkward! I could feel my cheeks getting red. He looks sad too. " I uh- hope you find your Amanda soon! So I think this is it. I'm glad things worked out for you."


No, no, I can't lose her. I don't care if she's not the same Amanda, I know that I feel something different with her. Ahh, I need to stop her from leaving. "Um, so... are we still going to the amusement park? I hope we do... I know you're not the same girl I thought you were, but maybe we could both use some time off? What do you say?"


Oh my God. Did he just ask me out?!?! I don't know... my romantic life hasn't really been roses and rainbows. But he does look a little cute. "Um, works for me... sounds like a plan. See you on Friday then. I need to go to work now"


I could hear my heart racing! I was scared she'd hear it too. "Okay then, see you at 11am at this spot?" Please God, thank you. I feel like a teenager who just confessed to his crush. "Yep, see you later, have a nice day". "Yeah you too". Oh man I cannot wait until Friday!


As I leave, I can't help but smile at him. He looks so happy, like a puppy that heard the word 'walk'. But seriously, it's funny how me and this Amanda girl had similar lives growing up...

It makes me feel... less alone. That we're all just living through lives, trying our best, wishing it all works out. It's like everyone has their own small network of people who might never even entangle with another network. Irrespective of location, language, culture, environment, this is one thing that remains constant...