A Lifetime of Adventure

Chapter 12

Shantelle's POV 

It is not my first time to go snorkeling so the coach didn't have to brief me as much before heading out to the sea. The activity that is scheduled for today is a mixture of snorkeling and island hopping. Our group will go to the three nearby islands to swim and explore the underwater life.

I really enjoyed the tour, despite it being physically exhausting, since the fishes thriving here are quite different from the fishes that I have seen in the past.

I also captured the highlights of the entire trip with a film camera so I could have something to store in my memories and to show my family as well. 

At this point in time, I couldn't deny that the chairs beside the beach is my favorite hang out place in the entire hotel. 

I am currently sitting at my favorite spot in the entire area with sunglasses on. Why you might say? Because this spot is under a big tree so the sun doesn't hurt my skin and the wind quality here is good.

I am minding my own business through scrolling on my phone when a random man approached my area. I just gave him a quick glance and went back to typing messages on my phone. 

He cleared his throat and my attention went back to him. 

"Hi miss! uhm, may I sit here?" he said while pointing at the seat beside me 

"Yeah sure, whatever you like" I said 

"Thanks"

He made himself comfortable and stared at the sea for seemingly quite a long while.

he then suddenly said "You seem to be a solo traveler"

"Yeah, I am. You're right" I said, not giving importance to the conversation nor giving him a glance

"Yeah...."

After a few moments of silence.....

"So where are you from?" he said 

"I'm just from the Philippines. Somewhere out there"

"Oh, that's good to know. I'm live in Manila by the way"

"Oh, cool" I said coldly

"I'm Lance by the way" he held out his hand to me with a smile on his face 

I looked at him and his hand hesitantly 

"I'm Ava. Nice to meet you" I also shake his hand

"Likewise. What a beautiful name to a beautiful girl like you" He smiled and seemed to relax

I just gave him a smile that didn't reach my eyes 

Whenever I meet strangers, I use my second name. My very reason for this is because my name is quite famous in the industry I work in and people would recognize me just through my name. And in the Philippines, everyone knows one another. I don't know how that happens.

Moreover, 'Nice to meet you' wasn't intentional. It just came out like a habit because I always say it to the people I meet in the industry.

"So do you go solo traveling often?" he initiated 

I felt like our conversation wouldn't stop in the next few minutes so I put my phone aside and looked at him. I wanted to be respectful to everyone I meet whether it is related to business or not. 

Now that I am looking at him, I realized that he is one of the guys that is in the friend group that I have been seeing around the hotel since yesterday. All of those embarrassing moments are coming back.

"No actually, its my first time"

"Ohh.... so how is solo travelling going so far"

"Quite good actually. Been enjoying it"

"That's good. So why Siargao as your first destination?"

"Uhm. I just like going to the beach and the nature" My answers to his questions are quite short and is just mainly responding to his questions. 

"Why go solo travel?"

"Mainly because I just wanted to spend some time with myself and just take a break from everything"

"That's good.......what do you do by the way. You seem to be destressing from stress"

"Uhm. I don't intend to be rude or what, but I would prefer if our conversation to be kept away from profession and family. Let's say conversation with limitations?"

He paused for a bit "Sure sure, that's good for me"

"Thank you. But to compensate for that, you can ask me anything else"

"That's interesting" he smiled at me 

One of the reasons why I don't like talking about my family is because I might not be able to control my emotions just by thinking about them and sharing it to a stranger. Moreover, my family is a very sensitive topic to me. 

On the other hand, why don't I like to talk about my profession is because I am always giving out my position in the company, based on my past conversations with men. I didn't like that fact that they try to court me because of it. I wanted men who would court me because they like me for who I am despite my imperfections and personality.

"How about lets ask questions to each other alternately?" he proposed 

"I'm down with that. You go first" I said excitedly

"Hmm. So do you think that you have already achieved what you want in life?"

"To be honest, I don't think so and will never be"

"Why?" he asked curiously

"Maybe because what I want to achieve is different from what I have right now"

He just looked at me. Specifically my eyes. I felt conscious.  

"How about you. Same question" I said to break the silence

"The life I have right now is what I wanted. Family, friends, and career."

"That's good. You're lucky..... My turn to ask a question. What is your biggest fear"

"To lose someone I love. What's yours"

"Similar to yours, to lose what I already have and whatever I have achieved."

At this point, I don't know how conversation started getting deeper. I am actually amazed that someone is this interested with this kind of conversation. I have been longing for this type of conversation. The ones where I could express how I am feeling deep inside. I have never shared it with anyone yet before cause no one ever asked. 

"So, by any chance, do you want to get into a relationship in the near future?" he asked

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