Branded

Memories

Jogging around at 10 o clock in the morning...
Yeah I know this is stupid but I woke up late today and I need my daily release of endorphins.

While in the middle of my run, I came across a church holding a simple wedding ceremony. Curiosity got the best of me and I tried peeking from the outside.

There I can see a chubby-built bald guy in a suit waiting for her lovely chinese-looking bride-to-be. They may not have the TV-esque or social media-esque image of couples but on that moment, I can feel it in my bones that both of them sincerely love each other.

I know this is a subjective judgment but that is what I felt.

Makes me wonder, if things did not go sour 11 years ago, would I end up the same as that bride was?

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Tik tok...
Tik tok...
Tik tok...
Tik tok...

"Hey, Aivi! Snap out of it!" A female voice shouted. Startled and confused, I began collecting myself when I realized that I was staring blankly at the pendulum clock in the pantry for God knows how many minutes already. "Oh sorry Kate! Was just admiring the clock, our old house has one and staring at it brings back memories." I explained.

"Okay... You know what? I'm actually getting weird vibes from that clock... I mean why is there even a pendulum clock in our company in the first place anyway? This is the first time I've seen a company with that kind of clock. Hmm... Anyway, what kind of memories?" Curious Kate asked.

"Nothing special... Just memories..." I replied.

I did not give Kate a chance to ask a follow-up question as I told her that our lunch break is done and we need to hurry back to the office.

As we were leaving the pantry, we saw a new wave of applicants waiting in the reception area. "Hey you guys! Me and my friend here are single and ready to mi--" Kate told the applicants but was immediately cut off by a familiar manly voice shouting my name "Aivi? Aivi!".

Shocked and nervous, we looked around the reception area and there we saw a tall, petite-built, blonde-haired guy staring in our direction. "There he is..." I muttered to myself. Vong... My ex-boyfriend.

"Hello, Aivi. Long time, no see. It's been years..." Vong said. I could not process what is going on right now. So many thoughts are running in my mind at the same damn time. I could not keep up. I have so many questions. Why is he here? What is he doing here? Is this real? Is this a coincidence? Did he search for me?

Before I could speak up, my eyes bursted into tears and I ran as fast as I could to the ladies room.

I locked myself in the last cubicle. I am panicking... I am having an anxiety attack... I could not breathe properly. Until Kate went to the ladies room as well and tried to calm me down.

She did not ask any questions as I think she understands the situation. She tightly hugged me and tried her best to make me feel better.

I told her before we go out that he is my ex and when I saw him, in an instant, so many strong repressed memories came back to the surface.