A Match for Me

Chapter 12: "Action is louder than words"

                              Nelly.

It's been a couple of months since my friendship with Val started, I would say it's been a blessing and I enjoyed his company. Now, I know him better as a person and as a believer.

But sometimes his gestures confused me. For example, one day he said he has a surprise for me, then he brought me to one of the mango trees. I honestly, was expecting something different from him but instead, he showed me one particular tree and a bench with his words saying "this is my secret place" My eyebrows arched wondering what is special in this place.

"So, what is special in this place," I cannot hold myself but asked him and he guided me to sit.
"Nothing special, it's just a simple bench you see?" He said trying to avoid my question.
"You said, it's your secret place, so meaning this must be special for you" I stated. He was silent for a while before he said to me.
"This place became a witness of my life if this mango or this bench or that flower can talk? they already told you, how foolish I was sometimes. How insensitive, sensitive, strong, weak, impatient, and frustrated I am once in a while. Even what have I been for the past few years" his eyes were misty when I looked at him. "This place knows how much I struggled sometimes financially, academically, and mentally even for my food, how many times I had skipped lunch and just lay down here trying to sleep to forget my hunger, or how much of its fruits I ate for a meal, or how many times I just drunk water to survive" he continues "in short this place is like my living silent Diary" he ended saying it with a gentle smile in his face. I feel his heart when he shared those words with me.
I looked around and imagined myself watching him doing all those things. I reflect it in my life, in my case, we always have meat on our table, two or three options for you to choose which one you want to eat but he has nothing. One tear escaped from my eyes which I dry immediately before he sees it because I know for sure to be pitied is the last thing he would want.

The place suddenly becomes so appealing to me. I now noticed that it is located in the overview of the University, where you can see different students' activities down, the mango tree was so huge that if both of us hugging it, it's still not enough, and the sunflower plantation on the other side of the road which showing its bloom beautifully, the big Math Building in our left side stands tall with its glory and the array of white flowers in the sidewalk appear to me gorgeously. Everything blew my mind in an instant and immediately I felt its connection to me. Whew! no wonder this is his favorite spot here at University. Where I was all the years why I never noticed this beauty?
And from that moment on, we always spent our time together there.

As days go by, he has grown more in me. I became a fan of his jokes, his stories, and most especially his wisdom. He is an intelligent person in every way, no wonder many people even ladies like to be around him. And he care so much for people and his love for service encouraged you to serves as well. And as for me, as we get closer, I see him more as a man, and as a Christian.

Spending time with him also makes
me more confused, sometimes I even wondered if there was something more in his mind. Because our friendship is no to normal friendship. Every time he has the opportunity he always makes me feel special and for me, he did things more than a friend does. This makes me afloat.

In the last few days, he visited our house just to have chat with mom, or help her with something. One day, my brother brought me this concept that Val must like me very much to do things that he is doing. At that moment I brushed out the idea from my mind and immediately stopped him but as the days go without me noticing, it penetrated already in me. And I don't like it because this can lead me to overthink.

*********

It was Wednesday....

I was going out of my class, it was 3:30 p.m already. I saw Val waiting for me at the door of our classroom, with a wide smile on his face. I wondered what happened to him, he usually doesn't pick me up in my class and he looks different.