On January 14 some time ago, I received the oddest proposal. It happened at a bakeshop, over a few pieces of ensaymada and a bottle of Sprite. It was after class. As I was answering my assignment, he worked his speech beside me, beating around the bush. He told me about the weather and how much it rained on January. Then he talked about how time flies. Then suddenly, he was telling me what a good couple we could be if only I answered his question. I stopped writing.
In the exact moment that he was about to say something, a friend passed by our table and asked to borrow an extra pen. I fished my bag for a pen and gave it to her.
I focused back on my assignment and he went on with his speech. I could tell by his lines that everything was scripted: he had to start from the top again. Weather. Time. Us being a good couple. I wanted to laugh out loud. Then, he asked me to look into his eyes.
I started to nervously shift my gaze towards him when another friend (girl) passed by, asking if I wanna go home with her. She figured out that she just interrupted something so she said she will wait for me outside the bakeshop. I looked at him and I saw beads of sweat trickling from his forehead. It must have been agonizing, I thought as I continued answering my assignment.
"So I was saying..", he said as he started off again. His voice trailed away, I was lost in thought. I started to put my things in my bag as I reflected, not minding his litany. Of the time that he has been following me around, he never talked to me this way. And I haven't seen him as jittery as that time. He was always smiling and singing, with those eyes that enclose huge mysteries. Being with him felt good, as cozy as lying on a couch. But I believed he was of a different level, a notch higher than mine. His intentions were a blur; I was unsure of him. Yet of myself, I was sure.
Just as I concluded my thoughts, he popped the million-dollar question.
I received the oddest proposal. The smell of fresh bread and wiffs of asphalt showered with rain reminded me much of that day and how I have never been the same since then.
Today is January 14. As rain started to pour this afternoon, I pondered if he still thinks of how much it rained in January and how much time flies without even noticing it. He looked at me, I looked at him and we smiled at each other contentedly.
