2 The First Meeting

The Philippines; Sixteen years before the engagement party:

"That's mine!" shouted a chubby little girl, Ava, who was about five years of age.

A boy, who was about eight years old, came closer and handed her the drawing that flew away. He was able to catch it right in time before it would have been submerged into the water.

"Did I say it was mine? I was only trying to help you, you know!" the boy retorted, with a scowl on his handsome young face.

The chubby little girl quickly grabbed the paper from him and hugged it as though it were some treasure.

"Thank you," she replied meekly, without looking him in the eye. She was ashamed of how she shouted at first, thinking that he would take her paper and run away without giving it back to her. It was her masterpiece, and she was so proud that she finally finished it.

It was her gift for her intended. He was coming to visit today, and she wanted to give it to him as a token of her intention to be his beloved wife when the time comes.

She just learned a week ago that her intended would be coming, so she wanted to give him something special; she did not want him to forget her.

The little chubby girl knew that it would be a very long time before she grew up to become a lady. It wasn't until then he would see her real beauty.

Her twin brother told her that the boy was three years older than her, meaning that he was already a young man. By the time she turned eighteen, he would then be twenty-one when they announced their engagement.

The little girl was afraid that he would probably forget about her and marry someone else; that's why she made this masterpiece to give to him as a reminder to wait until she becomes the beauty she will be. Her daddy said so, and he never lied.

She finally finished drawing her masterpiece, ready to give it to him when he arrived. But to her dismay, the wind seized her masterpiece into the air.

Luckily, that boy in front of her caught it in time before it drowned in the water. If he weren't there, she wouldn't have known what she would have done.

"Thank you." were the only words she could shyly say while averting her gaze.

The boy smiled and ruffled her hair, "It's all right. No harm was done." He then turned around to continue his walk. Just as he was about a meter away, he thought of something and turned around.

But the little girl was already gone and nowhere to be found. He wanted to ask her if she belonged to the family inside that house. The boy had his reasons – he thought that the little girl was cute even if she's a little chubby and could grow up to be a beauty.

Unfortunately, the little girl was gone, and he would never know where she went unless he went back to the house and saw for himself; but that was not an option.

The boy decided to continue leisurely walking with no particular destination. All he wanted was to get as far away as he could from the house, where they were discussing his impending marriage to the family's daughter.

The young boy was upset when he found out that his marriage had been arranged by his father and his best friend over a drunken stupor. Before he was even born, it was decided that the first son of his family would be the one to marry her. Since he came out first, rather than his twin brother, he was the chosen one.

He begged and pleaded to his father to let his twin brother be in the arranged marriage but to no avail. His father only laughed out loud.

"James, if you see this little girl, you would not say that. I'm sure she will be a beauty, just like her mother and father. How about we go and visit them first so you can meet her yourself? If you still don't want to marry her, then we can talk about it when we get home." His father had promised this to him, and that's why he tagged along.

The boy had already long decided that he would only marry for love when he grows up. Therefore, even if that cute little girl turns out to be one of the most beautiful women on earth, he will still ask his father to let his twin brother take his place.

***

***

After about an hour, one of the household help came looking for James, when he didn't return, and they found him sleeping under a tree. He was not able to elude them since he ended up falling fast asleep.

He didn't have a choice but to head back to the big house and meet his intended.

When he arrived, he was not surprised to see the chubby little girl sitting next to the lady of the house. He already figured that it was her from the way she acted high and mighty.

He politely greeted them while his eyes continued to look at the chubby cute face the little girl had. For some odd reason, he feels he could grow to love her when the time comes.

However, when it was time for him to be introduced to the cute little girl, a thought came to him, and he made a joke that he would later regret.

"I hope you lose all that baby fat before you turn eighteen; if not, I wouldn't marry you even if my father kills me." He whispered to the little girl's ear, only for her to hear.

After hearing what the boy said, the chubby little girl's eyes widened in horror. She first stamped on the boy's feet before turning around to run away as fast as her little feet could, tears flowing down her cute little eyes.

That day, the chubby little girl made a promise to herself that she would not succumb to her father's wishes.

When the time comes, she will run away before she marries a bully like him...