1 "Hey..."

"Your soulmate will be the stranger you recognize."

-R. H. Sin

I am new in town. I am a newbie in school. I know nobody. And today, today is my first day. I came to school early and waited for the classroom to be opened by the facility people. Room 202. My first class is Basic Algebra. Way to start your day, huh? And then a couple more minutes, the bell rang and countless number of students began to flood the hall. I walked inside the room and realized that everybody knows everyone. Of course. This is a small college where 90% of the students are from where I live: Westin Lake. Obviously most of them went to the same high school. Some paused and stared at me as I struggle to look for a spot. They looked friendly though. It's just me being awkward. Finally, a space two rows from the window. On my left is a guy with glasses on and on my right, a girl with a pixie hair. She smiled at me. I smiled a shy smile back. And the rest of the day followed through.

My name is Dianne and I am 20. I'm a Music student, majoring in Voice. Sure, I can sing but writing is my passion and photography is my hobby. I love to read novels and poetries but I don't have a particular favorite. Two months ago, I was from Downtown Valley and then we moved because of Mom's job as a supervisor. One moment I was comfortable, I know people, I was a leader, the sister everyone in school knew and the next, I was the new girl, the one with no friends, the one who does her things alone. And I find myself okay with it.

Fast forward to two weeks, I made friends in the persons of Hannah and Kacey. Both are from the class I am in. Hannah is a Voice major, Kacey on the other hand is a Piano major. They're nice people and they share the same interests as mine. Then I met Nathan. No, I know who he is. We're classmates. He's the guy with the glasses on on my left side every class. We've been seatmates since first day but we never really talked. He's a busy guy, always checking the photography club, music team and art club. But I see him and his friends hanging out at the pantry all the time. He plays the guitar and piano by the way and he can sing, too.

The first time I had the chance to really look at him was during the night of welcoming the freshmen program. He performed three times. Twice playing the piano with the music team and once, singing solo. I just stood there, amused and in awe. Hannah and Kacey didn't know about it. Most especially what I realized the next day after the program: I developed the slightest crush on him.

Eventually, that slightest crush became major. I realized that when the next semester started. He's no longer my seatmate. He lost a little weight and got a haircut. He is seated on the front row now while Hannah and Kacey are on both of my side. I still haven't tried talking to Nathan. And he's become a minor babe in our department.

Come fourth semester and still, we haven't really talked, just the normal "Is this chair taken?" during one of those school program where everyone attended only to realized that it was a waste of time. I'm still secretly crushing on him. He's still wearing his glasses. He's leaner now. He got a major haircut that made him look more matured, more sharp. And everyday I find myself becoming more and more and more attracted to him let alone more attracted whenever he's in front performing for the class as part of our activities.

We never really had any chance to be in speaking terms except the times where we had to work as a team and that's just about it. I guess it's better this way. At least I don't have to pretend and my crushy feeling won't leak.

One evening while I was just chilling at my terrace, I went over Instagram and thought of finally following Nathan. Yes, after being classmates for almost two years now, I just decided to follow him now. I got more attracted and amazed by his photography skills. His account was clean and minimal. I even felt a little hint of envy because his account was more organized than mine. His captions were on point even. He seldom posts a photo of himself, mostly artsy stuff, aesthetic shots and breathtaking views of nature. His feed is mesmerizing. Until I found myself 'stalking' him. 

I saw his 2014 photo, his family day at Lucille Bridge, his self portrait as a black and white shadow shot, his sister Moira eating her froyo, his 2013, his Christmas under a disco ball, his 2012 injury, his 2011 travel, his very first picture on Instagram. I saw it all. I saw it all even this one photo that bugged me but I decided to just brush it off.

Two days after and I still cannot get that photo out of my mind. It looked familiar. It felt familiar. But again, I brushed it off.

It was a vintage looking photo with some random girl casually standing on the edge of his camera lens. It was at an old library---well it looked like a library with all the books behind as the background. Nathan was obviously trying to get a full shot of the old, crumbling bookshelf along with the dusty big books in it but the girl was captured on the photo. Her hair was on a slightly messy hair bun with strands effortlessly swaying on the sides of her face. She was wearing a high waisted pants and white blouse. She was looking at her left, smiling, not knowing that someone was taking a photo of the spot where she was casually standing. And the caption says: "I like girls who read."

It feels weird that the photo got me feeling all these weird emotions. I felt nostalgic the moment I saw the photo and I don't actually get it.

Weeks came. Same old, same old. School is school. Exams happened. Then, school break. I was stuck at home doing nothing that I ended up cleaning my room. I came across my box I call "Box of Memories" that I keep under my bed. I opened it and smiled at all the random things inside. There were candy wrappers, old journals, my old mobile phone, a set of untouched hippy stickers, a hand made straw doll, Jesse McCartney's first album, some pens and crumpled papers and a medium box full of random pictures, Polaroids and negatives. My smile grew bigger and wider when I started shuffling the pictures because of, yes, memories. I have in my hand are the tangible memories I can no longer go back to. Pictures of random travels, signed Polaroids, photos of my friends back in my old place and then I stopped. For a second I almost fell on the floor with what I have on my hand: a photo of myself two years ago at some old library. This was in France. I was wearing a high waisted pants and a white blouse with a small pocket on the side, a choker with an airplane pendant and my hair on a messy bun. The photo looked really, really, really familiar it's uncomfortable. Then like a lightning striking its victim, I felt the buzz all over my body. I remember now. I remember it very clearly. I was with my parents that day, strolling around France as tourists when I pulled them to walk in at this old library I researched on Google. It was crazy old, the building itself looked as if it will collapse any moment now, the walls had cracks and the floors had tons of unmanageable stains. The ceiling was high and dented and the chandeliers were strikingly beautiful. The windows were misty and the bookshelves were breaking. The books and papers were dusty and vintage smell was enveloping the entire place. I remember feeling as if I was in heaven the moment I walked in. The library was huge and there were tons of people. And then it hit me. I was the random girl on Nathan's photo. I WAS HER. I remember that particular moment. I am certain. I went inside the library that day forgetting about my parents. I went from bookshelf to bookshelf, checking out the old books and holding them, smelling the pages and smiling at myself. And then I turned around to look at the other bookshelf when I hear mom calling me so I looked to my left, smiling. I remember feeling really really excited about the library. I remember now why there was a nostalgic feeling the moment I saw Nathan's photo. It was me. He had a photo of me. Two years ago, we were at the same place as complete strangers, wandering at the same hallway. Two years ago, our paths have crossed already not knowing that fast forward to now, I will find myself googley eyed over him. This is interesting.

I finished cleaning my room and then went to Instagram. I looked over his photos and finally found that particular photo and then double tapped it. There. I did it. I double tapped Nathan's two year old photo. Something nobody should never do but I did. Then I posted a copy of my France get away photo, almost exactly as Nathan's, captioned it with "We were strangers..." and bravely tagged him. Yes. I tagged him. Then I went to sleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a message from Nathan. Of course you all already know how that made me feel. I jumped on my bed while I scream on my pillow out of excitement. Then I controlled myself. I sat down catching my breath and finally, I opened the message.

From: @nathunthunthun

Wow. THAT WAS YOU. I can't believe this.

Something about the line "THAT WAS YOU" made my stomach clumped, as if being knotted. I stared at the message for a long time that I fell asleep again without replying.

All day long, the only thing I had in mind was the photos and the message and the line THAT WAS YOU. Come afternoon, Mom and I went grocery shopping. I was still thinking about it that I ended up mentioning it to Mom.

"Mom... remember when we went to France?" I asked, pushing the cart. She smiled and nodded. She said yes and asked why.

"Do you remember someone there, someone, like, a guy my age with maybe a camera or something?" I know that sounded a little odd.

"Not really, no. Why?"

I ended up telling her about the photo without mentioning any name. Mom was grinning at me the entire time I was telling her the story.

"Okay but what's with the grin, though?"

"Nothing. It just fascinates seeing you light up while telling the story. I wonder who the guy is..."

Lo and behold, on the end of the aisle where we are is Nathan and his mother who happened to be Mom's new friend. I was about to turn the opposite direction but Mom saw them and they ended up seeing each other, talking and inviting each other over a cup of coffee leaving us kids standing on the side, feeling really really awkward. Given the fact that I have a massive crush on him plus the photo I tagged him on. I have no idea what to do. Then he spoke.

"Hey..."

It was the Hey that cured cancer and saved humanity from poverty. Just kidding. But it was the Hey that started it all. It was the Hey that brought us to where we are now.

Fast forward to one year later, we are standing on the same library, same hallway, same side of the bookshelf. But not me as a random photo bomber. Not us as strangers. But as a couple in love, hand in hand with huge smiles on our faces. Nathan redid the photo with me doing the same pose but this time, posting it with a different caption: "I love her."

End