Preordained

The smell of freshly brewed coffee lingered on my nose as my bottom hit the cold chair of the coffee shop. I only have thirty minutes left. Might as well take this time to enjoy my coffee before the stressful event. "One regular cup of Americano, here's your order Ma'am," a tingling sound was made when the cup hit the glass table. With a smile, the waiter left and entertain the other customers. Vehicles passing to and fro are what I am seeing in this spot. The first spot where he took me. After I took a sip of my coffee, my phone rang. "Hello?" I answered. "Cron! Thank God! I've been reaching you for 10 minutes!" My editor hysterically said. "Calm down! For friggin's sake, it's only 10 minutes! Ano'ng pinaglalaban mo?" I joked. "I'm not joking Felomie! Where are you? Don't tell me "nandyan" ka na naman?" She really did emphasize it. I heard her heaved a sigh on the other line. I just miss him. "Okay, okay. I'll be there in um.." I watched the time from my wristwatch which he bought for me from the antique shop of her grandmother. "10 minutes." I didn't blame him. I didn't even got angry with him. I am just happy that he chose to pursue his dream. And God knows that I'll be always waiting for him. Maybe I should have followed what my editor said. Sana hindi muna ako pumunta doon sa coffee shop. Hindi sana ako nastuck sa traffic. The booksigning will start at exactly 3 pm. It's already 2:50 pm and I am still here sitting inside the taxi that was just wasting its gasoline because of this friggin' traffic. I couldn't take it anymore. Lalakarin ko nalang total medyo malapit nalang naman. I pay for my fare and walk away from the traffic that God knows when it will loosen up. Good thing I only wore my flat shoes. My horoscope this day was accurate. Sabi kasi nito makakatanggap ako ngayon ng mga magagandang compliment. Which is I think because of my booksigning event. Then, maiimbyerna daw ako kasi may mangyayaring nakakainis. Pagkatapos about sa lovelife, though I think wala ako nun, someone from the past will come back daw. And who the hell it might be? Wala naman akong kilala mula sa mga nakaraan ko na babalik. Kung meron man baka mawalan ako ng ulirat. Hindi naman pwedeng bumangon mula sa hukay ang mga lolo't lola ko. Hindi na rin naman ako aasa na babalik sya. It's been years and maybe he has a life of his own. A life where I don't exist. A life that he truly enjoys. A life that he won't need to worry about me anymore. But there is also a possibility that he will come back here. And I will hold on to that possibility eventhough there is no certainty that he will. My lucky color is teal so I wore my teal turtle neck dress that flows down my body. On my right shoulder is a black sling bag with an accent of gold. My lucky numbers are 1, 7, 14, and 24. I arrived at the convention center where the booksigning will take place with some sweats dripping from my forehead. The guard open the door for me. I thanked them and then walk inside. I can hear voices. Lots of voices with different pitch and tempo. I stop to get my foundation and liptint for a retouch. When I finished I entered the center with my head held high. I am confident. Because he taught me. "Omg! Nandito na si Miss Cron!" "Miss Cron! Ang ganda mo talaga!" "Please sign my book Miss Cron!" Before I could look at them and smile, my editor who is fuming mad grab me and pull me to the front. "Cron! I told you, you should've skipped going there! Look, you are late!" "I'm sorry okay? Hindi naman ako male-late kung hindi lang traffic eh," I said. Pupunta na sana ako sa harap kung nasaan naghihintay ang upuan at isang may kahabaan na lamesa na nakalagay na pangalan ko nang hinigit ulit ako ng aking editor. "Uupo ka doon na ganyan ang itsura mo? Ano nalang ang sasabihin ng mga readers mo?" She muttered as she gets her pouch from her sling bag. She put some cream that I don't know what it is called and some liptint. I guess I'm bad at make ups huh? Nagretouch naman ako pero parang hindi naman na touch ang itsura ko. All eyes are on me as I walk through my designated area at the front. As I sit, people starting to form a line in front of me. Most people who would take my autograph are girls, I can see some of my male readers but they are so few. Sino ba namang lalaki ang gustong magbasa ng love story? I stopped when something familiar caught my attention. His broad shoulders, the manly built of his back, a height of 6 feet tall, wearing a black ball cap, gray hoodie and a disposable mask, making his way to me, ignoring the crowds grumple. With a book on his right hand, he gave me a bouquet of sunflowers using his left hand. With a trembling hand, I accept it. Except from my family, there's only one person who knows what my favorite flower is. And that's him. Covering my uneasy feeling, I joked. "You're the first to get my autograph, you must be my number 1 fan." I smile and write my signature on the first page of his book. I didn't know why I also put a heart sign on it. I want to erase it but it will just create a smudge on the book and ruin the paper. I was about to close the book when he said something that made my heart beats faster. "I am really your number 1 fan since then."