Th Reality of Loving Someone at First Sight

A Story by Kymberly Anne

Is loving someone at first sight unrealistic? And sometimes there are people whom you thought you have known all your life even if you just met them.

En Route to Pedro Gil Station

Love. Seriously, that word confuses me. I have heard a lot of stories about love, stories that made men all giddy about its existence, stories that lived through all the ages despite its ridiculousness. For one, Romeo and Juliet. For real? A girl and a boy meeting each other and absurdly killing themselves thinking that the other was already dead? What's wrong with you, people?! How can that story be one of the greatest love stories ever told?! Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-love or anything (if there's such a person) but come, on! There are no other love stories that infuriate me more than love suicides... Well, there actually is and that's love at first sight. Come to think of it, Romeo fell in love with Juliet the first time he saw her, forgetting all about the sweet Rosaline. (Okay, I'm forever obliterating Romeo and Juliet from my existence from now on!) How can you fall in love with someone you just saw and be willing to die for him/ her? How can you feel that glorious feeling to someone whom you just met? How?!

I looked away from the sign above the door of the train. No use contemplating on that thought but there's this feeling that kept me glancing at that sign.

"At tinangay na ng tren ang naglakbay na pag-ibig, sa bentanilya'y may panyo't may naiwang nananangis."

- Jose Corazon de Hesus

Ludicrous. I glared at the sign as if it was my public enemy number one. To feel sadness for love is natural so why do people keep on loving if they know they will keep on hurting?

I suddenly snorted and looked the other way. That was the time I noticed that someone was watching me. Across the crowd inside the train, there was this gap between two men and in that space, I saw him. A boy around his late teens I presume. His eyes were dark and I became aware of his lashes despite the distance. They were long and dark like his eyes but they weren't girly like mine. He was standing in front of an old lady who was checking her finger nails.

I stared back at him. It was these times that I wished I had laser eyes so I could just stare and get rid of him. His eyes are making me fidgety. I don't like it.

I frowned and looked blankly at the door instead. There was 98% possibility that the guy was a member of a gang or something that conned a lot of people by hypnotizing them so it's better not to look back at him again. Just being cautious.

I heard the unmistakable voice of the driver through the speakers saying "Pedro Gil Station. Pedro Gil Station." Once the train skidded to a stop, the torrent of people pushed against me as they hurriedly walk out towards the door lest it closes again. I heard a lot of "excuse me's" and I tried my best to move at the side to not block their way. Believe me, it was an arduous task. It takes a lot of skill to ride a train here in the Philippines.

The "beep-beep-beep" signaled the closing of the door and that was the only time I heaved a sigh of relief. The train was almost deserted now. I saw a vacant seat beside me, the seat beside the door, and sat down on it. Five more stations to go, I thought to myself.

I was looking at the different establishments along Taft when at the corner of my eye, I saw someone sat beside me. It's not my habit to look at people when they sit beside me, trains or buses. It felt rude. I myself don't want to be looked at when I rode a bus or train.

The guy rested his chin on his hands and looked at me. That was the only time I noticed that he was the boy who was staring at me a while ago. His long dark lashes framed his eyes and it took a lot of my guts to look away. But the guy kept on staring. Fine. Stare away. I'm not going to glance at you even...

This is not good. I'm teetering. I felt my heart skipped a beat. Because of fear? Of course!

I looked around the train and spotted a lot of men and a few women so if ever this guy did something to me, they'll come to my rescue. Right?

"Do you have a problem with me?" I suddenly blurted embarrassedly. Embarrassedly because I shouted the first three words of my sentence and when I noticed it, I toned it down to a whisper.

Surprise registered on the boy's face as he continued to stare.

"I- I'm sorry?" he sputtered, clearly taken aback by my scandal behavior.

"You kept on staring at me!" I hissed at him.

The boy's eyebrows shot up. "You mean, I was that obvious?"

It was the time for my one eyebrow to rise. "Stop doing that or I'll scream", I threatened.

The boy sighed and looked at his palm. "I'm sorry. It's just that I noticed you glaring at the sign." He pouted his lips and pointed at the sign bearing two lines from Jose Corazon de Hesus' poem.

"Do you hate it or something?" he nonchalantly asked.

I stared at him as if he just threw up in front of me. "Something." I retorted.

The minute I answered, the look of disappointment flitted away from his face.

"I don't hate it. The verb hate is weak to describe what I feel about it. I loathe it."

His face fell. "Oh."

Quirino Station

There was a moment of awkward silence between us. It was broken when we heard over the P.A. that we are now in Quirino. The door goes "beep-beep-beep" once again.

I stared at the guy beside me in the corner of my left eye. His elbows were resting on his knees and his right feet kept on thumping the ground.

That was the only opportunity I had to closely look at him. He was definitely taller than me and his body built was average. Not fat, not too lean. I studied him from his foot to head. He was wearing sneakers and faded pants, though it doesn't look too old. It just gives a feeling that it was his favorite pair. His shirt is not too fitted and the color of it reminds you of election. It's too plain. But I bet it's from a fancy boutique. What you will never forget about this guy is his eyelashes. They're uncommonly long... not Lady Gaga's-fake-eyelashes long... you get the idea. He looks manly, maybe because of his chiseled jaw and tanned skin.

In general, he's not that bad looking. In fact, he's a bit handsome.

So why is a 'bit handsome' guy talking to me?

During this time, the train started once again.

"Hey. Do I know you?" I asked.

The guy looked at me with surprise on his face.

"Um... No." he said while slowly shaking his head.

I raised one eyebrow. "So why are you talking to me?" Woah. Rude much? I thought to myself.

The guy opened his mouth but no words came out. I continued to look at him, waiting for an answer but he suddenly scratched his head as if he was embarrassed at something.

"Look, if I don't know you, will you please stop talking to me?" I snapped. There's no way that this guy is flirting with me. And for crying out loud, this kind of 'flirtation' doesn't happen in this country.

I finally caught his eyes and threw a questioning look.

"Actually, this might sound stupid and careless to you but... Do you believe in love at first sight?"

That's what he said.

Vito Cruz Station

"It's not a pick-up line. I don't do pick-up lines."

I stared at him, aghast. Maybe he really is a drug user. He was just sugar-coated with his cute face and gorgeous built. WHAT THE HECK AM I THINKING?! Why do I suddenly find him cute and gorgeous?!

After minutes of not saying anything, he broke out a sweat."Hey, I don't want to scare you or something. I'ts just that..."

I cut him and slowly eased further away from him. "Okay, stop. You're just not scaring me, you're also creeping me out. Look, I don't know you. You don't know me. Let's just not talk, okay?" Then I moved to the other side of the train.

He followed me with his gaze and slowly massaged his forehead.

"Vito Cruz station." Beep-beep-beep.

I just hope we arrive at Baclaran a lot earlier and run towards the guards and scream "Rapist! That guy's a rapist!"

Suddenly, he stood up and went to my direction.

"I'm the kind of guy who doesn't let opportunities and chances go to waste." His gaze penetrated my soul. I shifted. He's making me uncomfortable... and conscious. He was towering over me and I don't want to look up at him as if he's dominating me.

I pretended to be offended of what he was doing and stood up to put us on the same boat but it was that time when the train started once again, flinging me to the end of the train. Did I forget to mention we were in the tail of the train? The last trailer. Well, it almost happened... if it weren't for Mr. Eyelashes. He quickly caught my hand and pulled me towards him. In that brief moment, I thought I felt a tingling sensation on my hand.

"Careful," he uttered.

I sat down, defeated... and humiliated. All the passengers were looking at us. Oh, mother earth, swallow me whole right now!

"Nice catch, kid. If you weren't fast enough, your girlfriend would've hit those railings." one of the passengers said. He was an old man who was probably in his sixties.

Eyelashes acknowledged the old man. I glanced at the railings and thought of how painful it will be if I ever hit those but what rang in my ears was the word 'girlfriend'.

I did a double take at Eyelashes. "Correct him."

It was his turn to look at me. "What?"

"I said correct him. I'm not your girlfriend." I snapped at him.

"Don't want to. If you want, you do it." he dared.

I looked at him as if I was throwing him daggers. I turned to the old man.

"I'm not his girlfriend. Actually, we don't know each other."

The old man looked at us quizzically. "You're not? You look pretty close to each other."

"He's a complete stranger. I don't even know his name--"

"I'm Aries."

Great. Now that I know his name, he's not a complete stranger anymore.

"Now that you know my name, I'm not a stranger anymore." he grinned.

I looked at him. Too surprised to say anything. Did he just say out loud what I was thinking?

Gil Puyat Station

"You make a cute couple, don't you think so, honey?" That was the only time I noticed the old woman sitting beside him. She smiled sweetly. "I think so too."

They look sweet. But my thoughts were interrupted when Aries aka Eyelashes sat down beside me.

"Now, where were we? Oh yeah, I was asking you if you believe in love at first sight."

"No and never in my life will I believe such a thing." I retorted flatly.

"Well, I do. And despite how embarrassing this will be for me, the moment I saw you, I liked you."

WHAT WAS THAT?!

I blushed. It's not everyday that someone this attractive tells me he likes me.

"Then you like me just because of my physical appearance. Loving someone at first sight is all about the outside of the person, disregarding the personality."

"I'll be totally honest with you. You're not America's-Next-Top-Model attractive, you know but something in you draws me towards you."

Okay, was he picking a fight with me? I know I'm not beautiful but you don't have to rub it on my face.

He suddenly looked as if he knew what I was thinking. "Don't get me wrong, I mean, you're beautiful. What I meant was those kinds of girls are the women who are worth hitting on."

His eyes widened upon realizing his mistake. "That went out wrong."

"So I'm not worth hitting on, is that it?"

He shook his hands in front of his face. "No! That's definitely not what I meant."

He probably doesn't know what to say anymore because there was another moment of silence. I myself don't know what to say.

"I had years of unrequited love and I told you before, I don't want to waste opportunities and chances anymore."

I studied him and indeed I saw pain in his eyes. Unless, he was a very good actor.

My silence urged him to say some more.

"She was a friend and I had no intention of telling her the truth, just owing it to destiny. But when I saw how she fell in love with her boyfriend, I knew it was too late."

"You should've fought for her, then."

"You don't understand. She's in love. I'll be selfish if I tell her how I loved her. Besides, she looked so happy."

The moment I looked at him again, it gave me the feeling that I knew him already.

Libertad Station

I have no intention of flirting with him... but it doesn't mean we can't be friends, right?

So I shared my woes.

"I just broke up with my boyfriend."

He looked at me, shocked. "As in earlier this day?"

I snorted. "Why are you that surprised? And yes. Earlier this day."

"That's why."

"That's why what?"

"That's why you were glaring at the poem."

I avoided his gaze. In a way, it is true. That's what made me bitter.

"But I already know he was cheating on me. I'm just too unconcerned to confront him. So yeah, basically, I belong to the stupid people category."

His eyebrows twitched. "That's not being stupid."

I'm getting tired of this conversation. I don't want to talk about break-ups anymore because honestly, my heart aches, like oxygen was being blocked in my artery... probably. I don't know, I don't like Science much.

"Look, I'm not going to push you away anymore. Can we just cease this unrequited love and break up talk?"

"Sure." He smiled and my heart fluttered a little. His smile was nice. Okay, that's an understatement. It's not just nice. It's sexy AND nice.

Okay, Ellie, calm down. You're just having post-break up trauma or something.

"I still don't know your name."

Oh yeah. I haven't introduced myself. Suddenly, I had an idea as the door goes beep-beep-beep. I saw the sign 'Libertad' outside.

"My name sounds like a letter in the alphabet. If you can guess it, I'll believe everything you say. Including love at first sight."

"I find that impossible, you know. That's more difficult than my calculus assignment."

"Look. There should be something more than a force that draws you towards me."

"You're talking about connection." he elaborated.

"Yeah, connection. And if we have that, you'll be able to guess it. You said it yourself, difficult but not impossible. I'll give you 3 tries."

"And if I won't be able to guess it?"

"Then it's goodbye. Just like being left behind by trains."

EDSA Station

I didn't notice it before but every time Aries looked at me, the butterflies in my stomach are doing somersaults, gymnastics and martial arts.

"Stop it." I told him while my cheeks betrayed me. I was blushing.

"Stop what?"

"You're staring. It's rude to stare." Ooohhh, nice excuse, Ellie.

"Well, I wont be able to figure out your name if I don't do this." he said sad puppy look.

Okay. That's just adorable.

"You're making me uncomfortable."

He grinned with an eyebrow raised up. "Well, if you don't want me to stare, it'll be a pleasure to hear your name."

"Nice try. I'd rather bear the discomfort you're causing me than give you my name."

He pouted. "I'm ready to use my first try then."

"I'm sure your name won't be 'x' or 'y' so mathematical variables are out of the question. Here it goes."

The train skidded to a stop. EDSA station. The torrent of passengers went out.

He breathed deeply. "D."

"Wrong."

"Crap."

He really did looked bummed. I suddenly felt sorry for him but I fought the urge to tell him my name.

When I looked around, five of us are left in the train. I turned towards Aries. Aries. The name sounds comforting. Like a pillow.

"Don't I get a hint?"

"I gave you a hint already. That it's a letter."

"Don't I get two hints?"

I sighed. Beep-beep-beep.

"I'll give you a hint after you use your second try."

"You're cruel. Maybe your name's Cruella."

"Is that your second try?"

"No way. K."

"What?"

"My second guess is 'K'."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll take my chances."

"Wrong again."

"Give me your second hint."

I looked at him, confused. "You wasted your second try."

"You left me with no choice."

I thought of a hint. "When you add a syllable to that letter, it sounds cute or little." I guess.

"You don't consider -ita as a syllable, right? Like Bendita or Perlita or something."

I glared at him.

He snickered. "Just making sure."

"So?"

"This time, I'm going to take my time."

Baclaran Station

I wiped the palms of my hands. Sweaty. Am I worried that Aries might not get the hints I gave him? Or am I starting to believe in love at first sight?

Aries was nervous himself. His foot went thump-thump-thump on the floor.

This might sound corny. Really corny but the guy beside me seemed to be glowing. It's like light was emanating from him. Weird. Not him. Me.

"How long is it gonna take you?"

"Give me more minutes. My brain cells are actually debating with each other."

I smiled. I touched his hand. His head shot up. I blushed.

"To help you with the connection."

He smiled. Not a grin. A real smile. I savored the feeling of his skin. I'm quite sure this is not post-break up trauma. To hell with Mark.

"We're almost there."

"Oh God." he muttered.

Silence. Worry. Anxiety. Frustration. Belief. Need I say more?

"Baclaran station. Baclaran station. Please watch over your bags and other valuables."

The train slowly reached the end of the line. The other passengers went to the door as it opened. Beep-beep-beep. It was deafening.

"I have to go." I stood up.

"No." he implored.

I ignored his request (demand?) and went to the door as I look for my card.

He followed me. "Give me one more minute."

"I'm sorry." I shook away guilt. I squeezed myself in the crowd and walked towards the turnstile. I looked back but what I saw was a crowd of faceless people pushing each other. No Aries. This is it. The moment I go through this turnstile, it will really be a goodbye. Do I want him in my life? Do I want him to like me? To love me? Do I like him? Love him?

"Miss! In case you don't know, there's a line over here!" someone shouted behind me.

I inserted my card in the card hole and pushed the turnstile. That's when I heard him.

I looked around. I can't see him. I heard him again. What's he saying? I couldn't understand. Not with the sounds of the departing train and human noise.

"--ie!"

What?

"Ellie! Ellie!"

My heart fluttered once again. "He got it." I slowly said to myself, completely ignoring the people pushing me. "He got it!"

I immediately made a U-turn. "Aries! Aries, where are you?!"

"Watch it, miss!"

"What the heck are you doing, young woman?!"

"You're facing the wrong direction!"

I continued to push while shouting his name. I don't care about the other people. All I want is to find Aries.

"Ellie!" His voice sounded louder this time.

"I'm here! Where are you?!"

"By the ads!"