Serendipity

Jasmine wakes up early in the morning since she doesn't have any class for today. Her brother is still snoring in his room after a long of interrogation last night. She sighs on how stubborn his brother is, making her job more difficult than not.

She gets up from her bed and went straight to the kitchen. She grabs a paper and pen along her way and checks the kitchen cabinets of which food she needs to buy the market.

She hums an English song as she writes them down. She also managed to toast herself some bread so she could eat something before she goes to the market. She just wishes that she won't have any trouble along her way.

After writing them down, Jasmine walks to the bathroom and gets ready. She wears some comfortable clothes and she ties her hair up, grabs her wallet and slides the piece of paper before getting the apartment keys and locked the whole apartment.

After all of that, she went her way to the nearest supermarket opened at that time. She still needs to go to the wet market to buy some cheap meat products because supermarkets tend to increase the sale price of each item she needs to buy.

She calls out a tricycle on her way out and immediately told the driver which way she goes. The driver then gassed it up and they were on their way. She went to the wet market first before going to the fancy supermarket.

She bought meat, chicken and some beefs as well as buying vegetables and some fruits. After that, she calls another tricycle and asked to be dropped at the nearest supermarket where she will buy the other things.

The driver nods and carefully drives to the supermarket. As soon as she gets down to the supermarket, she pays the driver and asks herself where she would put all of the things that she bought from the wet market. 

She sighs and rethinks her strategy when someone taps her shoulder. She turns around and thanks all the gods in the heavens that someone had brought a savior for her.

"Need any help?" 

There standing in front of her is Daime Santoro. One of the Santoro boys who is and currently courting Aiden. His cousin told him to buy some groceries because he would be going somewhere.

Daime groans but did it anyway. He doesn't want an angry-looking Primo to punch him just because he didn't go to the supermarket. Jasmine looks at him with a sigh of relief and nods at Daime.

It's normal for Daime to help when someone is having a hard time. But this one is extra special since Jasmine is Aiden's sister. He wants to leave some good impression to her. 

Daime gladly accepts her groceries and puts them on the courier of his truck where he had put his as well. He puts a name on Jasmine's groceries before they both agree on doing their grocery shopping.

Daime is more than happy that Jasmine said "yes" to his request. This way, he can ask Jasmine everything he needs to know about Aiden. 

They both enter the fancy supermarket as the security guard welcomes them with a smile on his face. They smile back at him and proceed to get their own shopping carts. 

They walk around for a bit before Daime starts to get the things that Primo lists down. He takes out the list from his pocket and made Jasmine laugh.

"The hell? You could've just bought the whole supermarket." 

Daime's lips curve in a crescent shape as he scratches the back of his neck, looking embarrassingly to Jasmine. He quickly hides the list but since Jasmine already saw it so he just crumpled it up and puts it back to his pocket.

"It's okay, kid. It's nothing to be ashamed about." 

Daime could only nod at her and they proceed to buy their groceries. After Daime grabs everything on Primo's list, he looks around to find Jasmine only to see that she is waiting for him near a counter.

"Done?" 

Daime nods at her and proceeds to walk with her to the cashier. They walked in silence until Jasmine asks Daime something about Aiden.

"Say, kid. How did you meet Aiden?" 

Daime stops in his tracks and looks back at Jasmine, who is looking back at him. He thought for a good old' minute before chuckling. He didn't need a minute, to be honest. 

He could still remember the first meeting he had with Aiden. It was quite a funny story.

***

Daime walks around the campus all along while listening to his favorite songs that are playing in his headphone. He hums along with it as he passes through groups of students that are swarming the whole cafeteria in the summer heat afternoon.

He walks passed through his teachers and other classmates as he went straight to a coffee shop where he could have his peace, probably. As he is walking, he could feel eyes following his every move. 

It is normal for him.

But it is not at first. He felt uncomfortable when someone is looking at him as if he is the main attraction at a circus. Nowadays, he got used of the stares so he couldn't care less.

He knows that someone out there is looking out for him so in case of trouble with his other classmates or a bully trying to get his way to Daime, they could immediately calls upon his sister to fight back for him.

He enters the coffee shop and sees that the line is long. He lines up behind a senior while he changes the song in his ears into something that fits the mood of the coffee shop. 

He nods his head along the song when someone suddenly he bumps into someone, causing a cold liquid to drop on the man's uniform. He yelps at how cold it is and looks dangerously at Daime holding the cup.

"Look where you are going, you goddamn Piccolo!" 

He grabs a tissue from the lady behind him and wipes both of his arms and face as he tries to wipes some from his clothes.

"I still have a class later, Mister! How do you think I could go to class looking like this?!" 

Daime visibly flinches in front of the unknown man and tries to help him wiping his clothes. The man flinches away from him and warned him not to touch him.

At that time, Daime is desperate enough to help the unknown man from cleaning his shirt. But Daime is still reluctant against every living man in the world. 

After what had happened to him at the Old Witch's mansion, he wouldn't want another man to touch him except the angel that he longs for.

In which he left to without saying goodbye because the Old Witch might do something to him if she finds out about their secret rendezvous. Daime could still remember the man's face when he asked to broke up with him.

It broke him inside and out. He can't eat for days and his sister is getting worried as Daime starts to lose weight more and more than gaining them.

The stranger slaps his hand away and looks at Daime with a deadly glare.

"Don't touch me." 

It was firm and stern. Anyone who would hear it, they would be scared. But Daime sure was not scared. His hand draws towards the unknown man and it snaps something in him that the latter couldn't process what is happening before it happened.

SLAP!

The man is stunned.

He didn't know why he did that. But his next reaction is more bizarre to Daime. The man runs out of the coffee shop and left the man standing there, looking at the slowly fading figure of the person who slapped him back to reality.

And that man is the angel he is looking for.

***

"Since then, I've been searching high and low for him. But I can't find him until Primo invited me to study in Clauff-Gon. At first I was reluctant because I haven't found my angel.

But when I entered Clauff-Gon, Aiden was the first person who greeted me by the gates. And I was so shocked because he is not the same person that I've met before.

I was so happy that he didn't recognize me so I can introduce myself again." 

Jasmine listens to the guy as he happily talks about her brother. Every word he says is like a good memory to him, which made Jasmine happy. 

They proceed on paying their groceries and Daime even offer to help Jasmine to carry them to their apartment. 

Jasmine nods and went on their way.