The Fifth Date

Epilogue (Part 2)

"It's nice to finally meet you, July."

I was confused but before I could ask him what he meant by that, he had politely excused himself and had walked off already. I watched him leave and before I over-analyze things, I told myself that maybe I just heard it wrong. I lifted my eyes and saw another guy looking at me. Just simply looking at me right across the room. He whispered something to the girl beside her, and the latter's eyes landed on mine, too. I was starting to feel edgy so I strode towards the left wing of the room where more people were gathered in circles gawking at a big painting that ran across the wall. I walked forward, squeezing my way through the crowd. My heart started beating as I recognized the piece. I blinked hard. I couldn't quite comprehend what was happening.

"Hey, aren't you that girl?" A petite woman, beside me, chirped.

"What..what girl?" I seemed lost.

She didn't answer, instead she told the same thing to the people she was with and pointed at me. Soon enough, their eyes were on me. The crowd turned into hushed whispers and most of them were smiling at me, probably out of ridicule. Some, seemed to just stare and scrutinize. It was starting to frighten and agitate me. What on earth did I do? Did they mean, that girl who just wore sweater and jeans to an art exhibit? Well, I'm sorry. I didn't get the memo that I should wear a backless gown in this freezing weather.

"Oh dear, you seem upset." A woman clad in a sparkling silver dress and seemed to be on her fifties, approached me.

"Who wouldn't be? What with all these gawking I'm getting just because I wasn't wearing a goddamn dress?" I whispered as politely as I could.

She chuckled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's not what you think it is." Seeing that puzzled look on my face, she took my hand and gently dragged me out of the crowd, leaving the big portrait of The Green Leaf café behind. "Come with me," she said.

She brought me to the next room where people who were just coming out from, started doing the same thing the other people did-- stare at me. I stood surprised by the entrance of the room as my eyes roamed around the portraits that hung on the walls. My breath hitched to my throat and it was hard to swallow the cry that was threatening to come out. The hairs on my skin stood and I was frozen to the spot.

"We've been waiting for you.....July."

"But I wasn't even invited." I stared at her, the woman who brought me here, and she was smiling. Then, I realized she seemed so familiar. I knew her. She was my neighbor.

My chest began to tighten and the drumming of my heart was gaining speed. She gestured to the room and through wobbly legs, I trod towards the center. I felt eyes on me again but I was too flabbergasted to even care at all. I turned to the left side and stood before a series of small portraits. Portraits of me. I took a step closer and noticed that under all the framed portraits were labels that read: JULY DAY 01; JULY DAY 02; JULY DAY 03; and so on and so forth. 

The portraits formed a mosaic of me. I bit my trembling lips and walked towards the center wall where the series of small portraits continued producing another mosaic of me. I skimmed through them all and I was astonished that I couldn't keep my mouth closed. I've never seen so much of me in my entire life. It was overwhelming both in a flattering and creepy way. 

When I reached the next well, there was a large portrait hung on the center with two medium ones one each side. The upper left corner was a portrait of me leaning against the bench frowning with an ice cream on hand. Under it was the label : THE FIRST DATE. The lower left corner was a portrait of me leaning against a tire laughing, labeled as: THE SECOND DATE. My eyes darted across the right upper portrait. It was me with a red helmet on and a very frightened look which reminded me that I was indeed frightened at that time—THE THIRD DATE. Below it was a portrait of me smiling like a kid on a hot air balloon—THE FOURTH DATE. My eyes lingered for a while on the fourth one, before lifting them up to the center portrait. By then, my eyes were already leaking. It was a portrait of me crying and wet from the rain on a dark background. Without realizing it, I started crying really hard, short breath after short breath. Maybe it was because it reminded me of how I felt thinking that he was dead. Or maybe because I looked honestly unattractive crying. When I peeked to my side, I saw three girls who were standing and horribly tearing up as I was, I suddenly felt embarrassed. Wiping my tears with my hands, I recomposed myself, immediately feeling all their eyes on me. The entire room fell silent. No more hushed conversations, clicking of shoes against the wooden floor, and clinking of glasses of champagne. So what now? I muttered to myself. Where is that damn idiot?

I looked around and didn't see any sign of him. The woman from before approached me again with a friendly smile. I must have looked ridiculous to her, crying over something her gorgeous piece of a son did.

"It's great meeting you, again, Kristin." She clasped my hand into hers. "You have been such a great friend to Louise. She loved you dearly, I hope she had made it known to you. I heard she wrote you a letter.."

I nodded.

"...I'm so sorry if you got tangled up with my family...yet again. Hard to believe how you and June met coincidentally. He told me it was fate," she said, shrugging.

"Well, he told me the same thing."

She giggled, caressing my arm. "You're a very very beautiful girl. Inside and out."

Heard that too many times from your son, I would have said but just smiled instead. And if only that piece of a gun would show himself right now, I'd love to skip this conversation with his mother which is seemingly coming close to an awkward thing I'd like to excuse myself from.

"Looking for me?" That deep coltish yet attractive voice resonated through the quiet room. And I swore I heard wind chimes jingling when I turned around to face him. And just like those horrible uncanny and cheesy romantic movies, everything seemed to stop and disappear except for the both of us. Though I despised how utterly cheesy and heart-bursting the scene was for me, it was riveting and tranquil at the same time. Seeing him again after five years sent my emotions into a roller coaster ride that is not willing to stop. That blonde hair. That gorgeous smile on his red plump lips. Those brown eyes disappearing into slits. That presence. The whole thing of him was way way more beautiful than the parts per se. He was worth the risk, the pain, the happiness, and the wait. He was the only exception as Hayley Williams would put it.

My heart stopped when he walked towards me, closing the distance between us. His breath bouncing warmly on my face. I could almost feel his heartbeat.

"Happy Valentine's Day.." he whispered in the most seductive tone intentionally. "..Kristin," he breathed.

And see that? That's undeniably the most foolish giddiest smile I have on my face.

"She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something." –Anonymous

THE END.