Right under my nose

Our eyes met and we couldn’t stop staring at each other as everyone else around us was fading into the background until it was just him and me. Everything stood still for a moment. I heard bells chimed from a distance and right then and there, from that moment on, I knew he is the one I will spend the rest of my life with, my knight in shining armor, my prince, my one true love. When I was a kid, this was how I imagined it would be when I finally met the guy I’m destined to spend my life with. It was many years later that I was proven wrong.

It’s as clear in my mind as if it was yesterday, it was our freshmen year in college, one of those lazy afternoons, in the middle of a crowded university grounds, we were a group of seven (my good old barkada) sitting in one of the shaded benches when one of them, D, nudged me and said “ayan ung crush ko parating!” in that giggly excited tone that made me smile. I peeled my eyes off from the book that I was trying to read and looked up to the guy walking towards the direction of our bench. She didn’t stop nudging me until I told her what I thought of him so I told her “cute, pero hindi ko type”. I had to refrain from smiling coz D was turning as red as a cherry by the second as he neared our bench. I noticed though that the guy had a girl walking next to him and D, who seems to have researched about the guy whispered to me, “girlfriend nya yan”. They have already passed and all seven of us were still staring at their backs when I reassured D by saying, “ano ka ba mas maganda ka pa sa kanya!”

Three years passed, we were juniors, older but also more childish than ever. Through the years, I have become acquainted with D’s crush; he was Junfer, a popular campus figure being a student council officer and all. We mingled with the same group of people because I also became a part of the socio political group that he was in, and I also held a position in the student council although in a different term. He was also close friends with one of my barkada, Van, who was a member of the group as well (longer than I have been). Still, I was only barely aware of Junfer’s existence since D’s infatuation with him have faded through the years, we never mention him in our chats anymore. Until one day…

Everyone in campus had that light, elated feeling, a feeling that can only be triggered by the thought of another semester coming to its end. It was our last day in campus before we go on holidays. Van approached me and said, “Billiards naman daw tayo”. Having nothing else to do, and having developed a fondness for the game, I agreed. I was surprised when Junfer joined us. I thought we needed him anyway coz we were seven so we needed another to make it even. I really don’t remember how but we ended up playing against each other.

During that time, I can’t help but notice how engaging he was, he was funny, witty and quite good at billiards. He was very kind and he had very beautiful eyes that lights up when he laughs. He was very attentive and always asked if I was comfortable or if I needed more drinks. We were laughing the entire time we played. When I glanced up at Van playing against another one of our friends, both of them were giving me this meaningful looks. I approached them and both of them said “parang may firework sa table nyo ah, ingat ka baka mainlove ka dyan”. I told them that they were just crazy. When everyone decided to call it a day, Junfer approached me and asked, “gusto mo pa magbilliards, nagtext sakin si Kuya A (also a member of our organization) imeet ko daw sya sa Rob magbibiliards daw, sige na anyway wala na tayong pasok eh”. I said yes.

It was an enchanting evening. We laughed, we joked around and we realized that we both liked a lot of things like basketball (both the game and the same PBA team), billiards, movies, music and a lot more. The evening was so surreal. He even insisted on dropping me off at my place saying “ano ka ba ihahatid na kita, gabi na”.

I realized that I was so smitten when I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face long after he dropped me home, I couldn’t get his sparkling eyes out of my head, I couldn’t stop thinking of his smile. I couldn’t get enough of his jokes and above all, I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking of the next time I’ll be seeing him again.

I have always thought that I would know that the guy is “the one” for me from the moment I met him, I guess I was wrong. Little did I know that he was right there under my nose, I was just looking too far away. I have always thought that love was an instant attraction, I guess for me, I needed to look more closely. But I was certain about one thing, I knew that he is the one because everything fell right into place.

Guess I wasn’t the only one smitten. Seven years later, we got married. My very own fairytale came true.

This is my entry to the About my Recovery's Love Struck Writing Contest a perfect opportunity to share those sweet moments in time for valentines day.