UNTIL I MET YOU

Hi, I’m Vyla! Allow me to describe myself briefly before I begin this story. I’m a very athletic 5’5″ woman with a white complexion. Although others decribe me as someone who’s very appealing in the eyes, I don’t seem to agree because I think they’re just sugar coating things, and I’ve always believed that I’m more than my looks so I don’t really liked being complimented about my external appearance.

In our family, excellence runs in the blood. Our family name is well renowned for having many professions. I feel incredibly fortunate and blessed to have parents that lavishly shower me with not only their love but also with sometimes excessively extravagant gifts that I don’t even demand in the first place.

When I was ten years old, some guests came to our home and had a chat with my parents. I used to be very introverted and disliked interacting with new people when I was younger, so I opted to stay in my room and relax. Moments later, I decided to go downstairs to our kitchen’s refrigerator to get some drinks because I was feeling thirsty.

As I mentioned earlier, I hate small talk, so I tried to make myself as invisible as possible.

But as I was making my way upstairs, I unexpectedly ran into a boy downstairs. Even though I know this sounds cliché to you because it only happens on television, the world truly stopped when our eyes met.

My focus narrowed to just him as everything else became blurry. We were gazing at each other for a while, but because I was shy, I kept my mouth shut and quickly left the scene.

I was only ten at the time, but I will never forget that brief encounter because I experienced emotions I had never experienced before.

I don’t even know his name, and I never bothered to ask my parents about them or him, but the best part of that encounter will always be the way that boy looked at me. Even in my old diary, I noted this encounter.

Days turn into months, and months into years, and over time I forgot about that boy because I was too preoccupied living my life. I was under a lot of constant pressure from those around me to be just as good as or even better than them. Although it was not particularly easy, I continued to live up to others’ expectations of me by consistently ranking first in my class.

In high school, I served as the SSG President and as president of other organizations. Every time I represented my school in competitions, I regularly brought home the bacon. I suppose you could say that my academic performance was excellent. However, despite the fact that I had all these accomplishments, just like other typical Filipino parents, my mom and dad never really allowed me to entertain suitors or have a relationship. They claimed that as long as I follow their #1 rule, they can provide me everything I desire. Despite not being materialistic, I complied with my parents’ request out of respect for them and to avoid getting into trouble.

I’ll never forget how one of my friends even mockingly teased me that it was alright for her to be ‘bøbø’ because she at least had a love life. Throughout my entire time in high school, I was figuratively the only single person in my close-knit group of friends.

I frequently received different handwritten notes from classmates and schoolmates, but I never gave it much thought because I was constantly preoccupied with all 101 things I had to do in life and at school. Naturally, I was somewhat envious of my friends’ romantic relationships, but I never dared to disobey my parents because I didn’t want to make them angry. My father can be extremely frightening when he’s disappointed.

Fast forward. I was our high school valedictorian. Aside from my medals I received at my graduation, I received an NBSB award from friends. After that, I was accepted into a prestigious university in the Philippines. I won’t say which one because it seems obvious if I do, so bare with me. In addition to my course being very demanding, I had a hard time adjusting to the new environment. (To prevent familiarity and skepticism from my friends, I won’t mention my course.)

Fortunately, by the grace of God and my hard work, I consistently made it to the Deans list. Because I spent most of my time at the library reading my books, I didn’t have time to meet and have fun with guys.

One typical day, as I’m making my way to school, I come across someone who is tall, dark, and quite attractive. He seemed to be someone I knew well. After some time of recalling, I at last realized that he was the boy I had first met in our home ten years ago. I could tell from a distance by looking at his lanyard that he attends the same university as myself. I still don’t know his name, but I was very certain that the boy I met when I was ten years old was him. Even though he did not see me when I saw him, my heart was really racing. I find it unbelievable that after never seeing him again, I still recognize him right away.

After that, I constantly looked forward to going to school in the hopes of running into him or seeing him on our campus. I hoped that he might also recognize me. But after that, I never again ran into him. Although I felt sad, I managed to keep it under control by just studying as usual and concentrating on my schoolwork.

Many weeks later, I decided to check my Facebook account one evening after finishing my mountain-high readings. My screen flashed up with a suggested friend as I scrolled through my Facebook feed. After closely examining it, I noticed that the young man in that profile picture was the same guy I saw at our campus and also the boy I saw ten years ago! I couldn’t believe such a coincidence. It was as though the universe was trying to introduce me to that person. Finally! He has a name I know.

Hans is that man’s name by the way. If you want to get an idea of what he looks like, He resembles Jeon Wonwoo of Seventeen…

I felt incredibly grateful to the universe for paving the road for me. I was so excited that I immediately clicked to view his Facebook profile.

However……

Sadly……

I noticed first that he was with an another girl on his cover photo. Smiling happily. With the female next to him, he seemed to be very in love. When I saw that, I made assumptions that he may already be dating someone. I therefore stopped bothering to scroll down his timeline.

Yes, it was quite depressing. Even though he is unaware of my existence, it hurt me nonetheless. However, I immediately moved on with my life rather than feeling down and doing other negative things. Like always, I moved my focus towards studying harder to the point that my nostrils are bleeding sometimes.

Fast forward. From my second to third year of college, I consistently made it to the deans list while also maintaining my single status lol. Since I never saw him again around our campus for almost 2 years, I concluded that he had likely already graduated. The fact that I never again harbored romantic feelings for anyone made me feel as though there was something wrong with me throughout those times.

My parents have already given me the approval to date because they are beginning to worry that I’m too preoccupied with my studies, so they wanted me to find someone special to make me happy and unwind. However, despite the fact that I’m being courted by a ton of smart, nice, ideal men, I always end up rejecting them and not giving them a chance at all.

Maybe it’s due to the unpleasant experience I had with the boy I met ten years ago. I already knew how painful it is to be hurt out of love, even though we were never even dating in the first place. Simply put, I was afraid of falling in love again. I barred entry to everyone because I was afraid of being let down.

I went home for a vacation two months before I started my fourth year of college.

I was simply going through my Facebook newsfeed one night when I received a friend request.
I looked to see who it was, and it was…..

Hans……

Hans??

It was Hans!!

He sent me a friend request, but why?

Does he also know who I am?

How could he know who I was?

P.S. I tried to make this narrative as brief as possible, but if I did it that way, I don’t think it would be as heartfelt. Since I’m so busy right now, I’ll send part 2 of this story as soon as I have time to write it.

VYLA
2023
Confidential