CROSSED PATHS, CONNECTED HEARTS - and other memoirs.

ACTION - teaser

"Cut! Cut!" I had to stop whatever I was doing, but I was already caught in a daze. I regained my senses immediately when I remembered she was a married woman. But why was she still staring? Wasn't she expecting her first baby with Drew, her husband? I had nothing to say. Shyness was drooling all over my face, and I had no tissue to clean up the drool. I knew she realized it, but she continued to flirt. That was the only time I felt so vulnerable. The whole crew was looking at us, so she stopped, and we continued with the act. I swear there were no flaws in our performance again. Every piece seemed real. So, I wondered why we were cautioned not to act with emotions. They seemed to bring out the best in us. I just hoped her husband hadn't noticed everything that went on during the act. But when I approached him to ask how the act went, he responded with the same cold attitude I had seen him portray in movies. That was the first mistake I had made. I shouldn't have looked into his eyes, let alone greeted him. I ignored him and went home. I couldn't sleep that night. I was afraid I wouldn't see her in my dreams. I was good at imagining things, so I created a nice portrait of her in my diary. Staring at her portrait gave me goosebumps. I went outside to see the dew before I realized I hadn't eaten since noon. I had my daily connection with God and appealed to Him to erase those moments from my mind. It seemed He loved the scene I created with Darlene and was waiting for the next episode. I had no plans on how I'd behave on set that day. My only concern was clearing the shyness of my face, but I had no clue how to do it. I decided to stop by the café and grab a coffee before going to work. As soon as I entered, my mind rang with a message to look to the right. I did so slowly, and there she was, all alone, having a coffee. I approached her, glancing around to check if I would see her husband there too. Luckily for me, he wasn't, so I made myself comfortable on the cute couch right in front of her table. We both smiled, and I asked how she was doing.

"How are you doing?" I inquired.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"I'm also fine. Thanks for not asking," I joked.

She gave me the same smile she had given me yesterday, and this time, I gathered the courage to compliment her instead of blushing. Her acknowledgment sent me into a trance until I felt like I was being revived. I snapped back to reality only to realize it was Drew tapping me, asking me to vacate his seat. I said my goodbyes and left with the sorrow of not having taken a sip of my coffee. I was confused, to say the least. When I got to the set, I realized we wouldn't be working that day. Why hadn't I thought of that when I saw Darlene at the cafeteria? It was a poor decision to fall in love. My walk home was a lazy one, and I still couldn't stop thinking about her. The only thought checkpoints were the realization that she already had a husband, and here I was, thinking she could be mine forever. At noon, I received a call from an unknown number. No one spoke when I picked up, but I later got a message saying, "Hi, it's Darlene. Sorry for what Drew did today." I jumped with joy. At least I had her number. Her profile picture became the wallpaper on my lock screen, but I had to change it every time I arrived at work if I valued my life. Drew was a muscular guy, and I couldn't afford to take a punch from him. My life became even weirder and more miserable the more I loved Darlene. Was it a disease? Was there a cure? I just didn't know what was wrong with me. I didn't think I needed therapy. Several months passed, and my feelings for her remained constant. Her growing belly made her pregnancy obvious, and I didn't see her as often. Drew became one of the most caring husbands I had ever seen, excluding myself, of course. The set wasn't the same without her presence, and knowing she would be absent for six more months filled my eyes with sorrow. I almost lost my job as an actor because I couldn't concentrate on set every day. "I warned you not to bring your feelings into the act!" Those were the words. That was it. I made a decision to stop thinking about her. Maybe I should change my job. But where else could I go? There was no other place for me. The rumor about me being in love with Darlene spread throughout the entire place sooner than I expected. I gave different answers to the same question every time I was asked. The boss made me change my movie genre because he believed having Darlene and me in the same movie would only cause more trouble. I agreed with him. At least I was taking the first step out of my love bondage. However, I still felt the same as always, and Darlene wasn't responding to my texts anymore. I heard she had given birth to twins, two boys to be precise. It was saddening not to have my name associated with those kids. She didn't even invite me to their naming ceremony. I thought it must be Drew's doing. All I knew about myself was that I was missing Darlene, and that was all I could think of. Lo and behold, she returned two weeks later. The twins didn't resemble Drew, but he claimed they looked like their granddad. I really doubted that theory he gave. They looked good together, though. We had to complete the movie we were acting in before, and I didn't know how to do it since my feelings for her had only grown worse. Perhaps she had heard the rumors as well. She continued to give me those smiles that caused all this mess. Whenever I heard "action!" I tried really hard not to look into those sparkling eyes, but she brought them right in front of me. It seemed she knew exactly what she was doing. As an actor, I could tell she was acting all happy around Drew. I just couldn't figure out what the real problem was. My life around the workplace in conjunction with my home wasn't as comfortable as it used to be. I was almost called the wife snatcher. Acting was my only means of survival so I had no choice than to receive all those insults in good faith. Hope was the theme of my story as the world rotated with time by its side.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!