Meet Me in Amsterdam

Chapter 9: Xyl

I'm having fun singing and playing piano when Cath called me for snacks. "Xyl it's your favourite potato wedges and sliders!" How can I not hear it when she shouted out loud. Right, my fave. I stood up and went straight to the kitchen.

I sat on the high chair in the counter, prayed, and began eating my sliders and wedges. Before I even finish eating my meal, I went to get yakult from the fridge and ate the rest of my food.

"Thank you mommy for the snacks but I think it's already an early dinner for me since I ate a lot. Ha ha ha! The best, mom." She nodded and simply smiled.

I drank water and brought my plate to the sink to wash it. I then went to my bedroom to clean my vanity mirror and declutter some of my skin care and makeup products. I threw the expired ones and arranged the products by variety.

After the vanity mirror, I decided to clean my work table and organized my coloured pens, calligraphy tools, painting brushes, palettes, washi tapes, papers, journals, and such. I threw some crumpled papers to the trash bin and stood up for a stretch.

I noticed a piece of paper that looked unfamiliar to me. I must have misplaced it while cleaning earlier. I picked it up and saw something written on it:

January 30, 2014 — luckiest woman in the world. Nathaniel surprised me and brought me to Cappadocia, Turkey. Yes, the one famous for its fairytale scenery, cave dwellings, remarkable rock formations, and with lots of hot air balloons. Nathaniel knew me so well and took me to the rooftop of a decent building where I dreamt to be. I looked around to see the sunset with the hot air balloons around and I noticed the setting of the area where I stood. It's like a picnic perfect for Princess Jasmine of Aladdin. Thank you, best buddy! We talked and ate a lot the whole day as usual. Always the best.

Huh? Did I ever write this? This is my penmanship and definitely not Cath's. Nathaniel? As in Nathaniel Collins? The one I met in Amsterdam? The cute intimidated guy?

I tried to look for more papers inside my drawer but that's the only piece of paper that seemed unfamiliar to me. I am sure this was one of the prompts I have written in my past.

I closed my eyes trying to calm myself. I am shocked obviously but I need to put myself together for the sake of my heart. I don't want to end up in a hospital just because of a piece of paper with my handwriting. And I don't want my family to find this out.

Maybe they know where my old journals were. It won't be easy because I didn't know any friend or relative near us. I'll soon find out. I need to figure this out.

I closed my eyes again. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat Xyleena, relax. I opened my eyes as soon as I remembered the picture in a photo booth Nathaniel and I had. The one he showed me in the cafe.

I skipped dinner. I'm full anyway. Thoughts kept running on my mind. I'm still shocked. I don't know what happened. Maybe now is the time to message him. I guess this is the sign.

I got my wallet and took out his calling card. I didn't have any social media account besides Pinterest but of course I have an email account. I opened gmail and started to type his email address. Damn it. I'm nervous. What should I say? Is he waiting for my message? Alright here it goes.