My Love From Another Time

The Choice

I don't like socializing.

Let me tell you that right at the beginning. But don't get me wrong. I have my share of friends and sometimes we do stuff together. But it's not the same as getting stuck in a party or social event where I need to rub elbows with people I barely know.

I really don't like socializing.

So I've succeeded trying to ditch my school reunions for the past several years. I mean, I could call up my friends and set a date with them any time I want. I don't need a stupid reunion to do that.

But there's one thing I don't like more than reunions or any form of socialization. It's getting dragged into a stupid blind date.

DUH.

I even hate it. I'd rather suffer my brother's grumpiness for a whole year than be in the company of a guy, whose nature I have no inkling in the slightest, for an hour or two. He could be a serial killer!

I really don't understand why I let my insane cousin talk me into it. At first, I just said okay because I wanted to be rid of her. I was getting tired of her nagging me all day and night to go get a life. Apparently, she thought up this brilliant idea of setting me up on a date with one of her eligible bachelor friends. I was seriously wondering why she has a lot of them.

How old are you gonna be this year, Ella??

Twenty-five. So what!??

See?? You haven't had a boyfriend for as long as I can remember!

What exactly are you trying to say? Get to the point.

I'm setting you up on a date.

I was silent for a heartbeat.

What did you just say?

She gave an exasperated sigh before responding.

You heard me. A. Date. A. Blind. Date.

WHAAAAATT??

I practically tore her head off. She always had this annoying habit of doing something at the spur of the moment. But this--! After much kicking and screaming (from both sides), I finally agreed. Very reluctantly. Right then I knew how prisoners on death row feel like when they're being led towards the electric chair. (Boo-hoo!)

So what happened during the date?

Uhhh...let's just say that I won't go to another blind date again, especially if my cousin sets it up. Never again. EVER.

As I've said, I don't like having to socialize. In my job, as a freelance writer, I've tried my best to remain low-key and anonymous. My readers don't know who I am. My stories are published under a different name, which is what my agent and I agreed about. It's because I don't want unnecessary prying into my private life. Anyway, I'm not famous so I'd really appreciate it if people leave me alone.

Things were okay recently. I have a 9-5 job that keeps me stuck in an office cubicle which smells faintly of caffeine and air freshener. It's not the best job in the world but, hey, there are worse jobs. So things were pretty so-so until...

I should've known it. My insane cousin (let's just call her Ria) just won't leave me in peace. Turns out she set me up with yet another eligible bachelor friend of hers. AAAAAAARRRGGHH! This is getting REALLY bothersome. I mean, why can't she just leave me the hell alone????

NO. I AM NOT GOING TO ANOTHER STUPID BLIND DATE!

Hey, calm down. This is different.

NO. NO. NOOOOOOO!

Okay, okay. How about this...you check him out first. If you don't like him at first sight, you can just leave.

What??? Are you really insane???

Come on, Ella. He's a really nice dude. It would be too bad if he ends up with somebody else.

The hell I care! I don't give a fart if the guy ends up with somebody from the nether regions of the Milky Way!

Please, Ella...

No. I am absolutely not going.

As I've said, you can check him out first.

Then leave him hanging? No way, Ria. I don't wanna go to another date, blind or otherwise. But I don't like the idea of leaving a person hanging even more. I'm pretty sure I won't like the guy.

He doesn't know you're coming.

I was a bit taken aback and realized that I was right all along—Ria IS crazy. Whatever psychotic thoughts she has in her mind, I absolutely can't dig.

Say that again?

He knows somebody is coming to meet him. But he doesn't know who. If you don't like him, I have somebody else lined up.

What the—

So if you don't have anything planned on that day, please let me know a day before. Okay?

Aish...seriously, Ria...

Hahaha.

She's so infuriating. Maybe I should just call up the lunatic asylum or something. Have her confined there for the rest of her life so she wouldn't bother me anymore. So I was thinking up an alibi when I suddenly spotted something lying on top of my dresser drawer. For some reason, I couldn't remember what the thing was. It's not really surprising because I occasionally forget things. Curious, I ended my call with Ria and went to inspect the thing on top of my drawer. It looked like an envelope of some sort.

You are cordially invited to the blah, blah, blah...

Ah, yes. The invitation. I get one every year since I graduated, which was around 4-5 years ago. Each year the thing ends up at the bottom of my trash bin.

I guess at the start I've told you about how I've been successfully eluding my school reunions. Well, I have. It's not just because I don't like socializing. There's more to it than that. It's something that I don't care to discuss with anybody. When I left school 4-5 years ago, I made a decision to leave behind my memories, too.

I stared at the date on the invitation. The reunion is going to happen on the same day that Ria wants me to go on another blind date. I thought about it for a moment, weighing the pros and the cons.

Much as I hate going to reunions, I hate going on blind dates even more.

So now I have two choices—the devil or the deep, blue sea.

Heads or tails?