A BOY IN ALTURAS MALL

The Meeting: A Destiny and A Miracle

He smiled at me when our paths crossed inside Alturas Mall in Talibon. He looked so cute in his big shirt and white short that I never noticed the poker look in his face. I laughed knowing that he caught me admiring him and I hurriedly went inside the grocery department to look for something to eat that night. While roaming around looking for soda and pasta, I could sense that he followed me wherever I go. But I continued walking as if I was not aware of him. I walked as fast as I could so that he could not follow me but instead we bumped to each other. He said sorry and I said that it was okay I was not hurt. He asked for my name but I just gave him a question mark look and walked away going to the counter. He did not follow me there. I paid my grocery bill and went out of the mall. I was hoping that I could see him again outside the mall but he was not there. I went home that night with the longing in my heart to see him again the next day.

It was a very beautiful morning when I woke up the next day. The sun smiled at me and the rainbow greeted me with vibrant colors. This was the best day of my life. Although the best of the best day for me will be coming soon, I would do to make this day a memorable one by doing the right things or just a little act of kindness to the people around me and to the ones I would meet along the way. God was so good to me then and will be good to me forever. I am a God-fearing person and I would always praise and thank God for everything that He bestowed on me. But the boy from yesterday made my heart leapt for joy and the longing to see him again was so urgent that I could not help but took a bath quickly and dressed up for work immediately. He was always on my mind and his smile captivated me. I did not know how he could mesmerize me like that or it was just love at first sight. I was confused although I have loved before but the feelings I had for him was different. He exuded an aura of love that I could not resist. Plus he was so cute in his shirt and short that time which I could not forget.

I arrived at work on time. I was so busy the whole day doing paper works and other stuff in my office. Time flew so fast that it was time for me to go home. I decided to go to the mall first before going home and hoping with fingers-crossed to see him there. I went to the mall and seated in front of the escalator in order for me to see who was coming in and out of the mall. I was very anxious and nervous waiting for him to appear in front of me. Alas, I was not mistaken, he was there walking casually towards me smiling. He was wearing a white t-shirt with matching faded jeans. I could not move from where I was seated. I was perplexed. My heart beat so fast. Was this a dream? I asked myself. But he held my hand and introduced his name to me. His name was Jay and he was 26 years old. He came from Leyte. He was here because he was looking for a job. I was tongue-tied. I could not open my mouth to speak. I was caught between talking to him or just be silent. I then chose the latter. He was very insistent that all I could do was to talk to him. He told me that he was still at the grocery department before I left the mall yesterday. He was looking for me but I already left. He then said that he had a crush on me when we first met yesterday. He liked the innocence of my face and the softness of my voice. In short, he loved me.

But I was a woman who was raised by my grandmother. I was not as liberated as the young women of today. So, I maintained my poise and talked to him that he could visit me at my house. I wanted him to meet my parents because we were a conservative family. My parents did not want my suitors to meet me anywhere but in our house only. That was how strict my parents were and also because I was the eldest daughter in our family of 10. My parents wanted me to help my younger brothers and sisters first before getting married. I had a lot of don'ts than do's. I lived by the rules of my parents and I was immuned to it already. I sometimes longed for freedom from all of these conservative ideas but the love of my parents was the

reason why I stayed and obeyed them. Even though my classmates in high school would tease

me that I was the only one who was still single from among all our batch mates, I just ignored them and moved on with my life. For me, marriage was not a competition and I was not competing with anybody by the way. I lived my life to the fullest even without someone beside me. I am so sorry for my rants but I knew that you would agree with me that these were an important part of my story.

I was young at heart at the age of 28. I had two failed relationships. One lasted only two months while the other one lasted for more than a year. I learned a lot from those relationships but I never hated boys or let us just called them men. I was a career woman which was the reason why I was still single. Relationships for me were just spices to better how we dealt with other people. I never regretted being single but instead I loved the way my life had been going. Not until Jay changed everything. He changed the way I looked at life. He taught my heart to love anew. And he made me realized that it was not too late to start a relationship again. He turned my life 180 degrees without him even knowing how he reversed the course of my life from being single to be with someone else and that was him. Yes, I loved him too. I believed that we were destined for each other. If you did not believe in destiny, then, it was not my problem but yours. I knew he was my soul mate from the moment our eyes met yesterday. The connection was so intense that if it exploded would cause so much damage in the mall. I knew then that God gave me the best man of my life.

We exchanged phone numbers and I gave him my address just in case he would court me. We talked about everything and I found out that he was a responsible person being a breadwinner of his family. His parents taught him the values of hard work and perseverance. We ate dinner together in the restaurant and he accompanied me to my house after. He then met my parents and talked to them about anything. I knew my parents liked him from the way the conversation was going. He then bade goodbye and said that he would come back again until I said yes to him. I slept that night with a smile in my face.

After two months of courting me, I said yes to him. He was so happy that he immediately proposed to me to marry him. OMG! The internet connection was already 10G. Why so fast? I hope you laugh of that bland joke...But anyway, I quickly replied to him why not? Let's get it on! We were not getting any younger anymore. Our parents agreed after we informed them of our marriage. The church wedding followed and we lived a happy and blissful life after that. We always lived by what we had promised in front of the altar that was to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part. I would love to end my story with Sheri Dew's beautiful quotation about marriage; "Neither man nor woman is perfect or complete without the other. Thus, no marriage or family, no ward or stake is likely to reach its full potential until husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, men and women work together in unity of purpose, respecting and relying upon each other's strengths".