Rakish Soul: DOES TRUE LOVE ONLY HAPPEN ONCE?

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER I HAD SOME IDEAS OF WHAT LOVE IS. MOST OF THEM LEARNED FROM BOOKS AND MOVIES. I THOUGHT IT’S MOSTLY KISSING, WALKING HAND IN HAND AT THE PARK. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO FEEL PEOPLE LOOKING AT BOTH OF YOU. HOW GREAT IT WOULD BE TO FEEL PEOPLE GETTING ENVIOUS FOR HAVING SOMEONE HOLDING HANDS WITH YOU. HOW PEOPLE WOULD TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT WE LOOKED TOGETHER. BUT THEN I REALY NEVER UNDERSTOOD HOW FEELING IN-LOVE FEELS LIKE. IT WAS JUST ALL AN IDEA. AND I LOVED THAT IDEA. IT MADE ME FEEL GOOD.

THEN YOU CAME. I WAS 18 AND WANTED TO BE A DOCTOR. I WAS A DISTURBED YOUTH. I HAD NO GOD. I HAD NO FRIENDS. AND I THOUGHT I HAD NO FAMILY. BUT SOMEHOW I STILL HAD MY DREAMS.

OUR FIRST ENCOUNTER WAS KINDA ODD. I WAS BROUGHT BY MY COUSIN TO A GATHERING OF BELIEVERS. I WAS JUST BORED WITH MY LIFE SO I SAID “WHAT THE HECK!”. IT WAS AWKWARD TO BE THERE. YOU PEOPLE SINGING AND DANCING AND SHARING YOUR LIFE STORIES. IT FELT WEIRD. INTRODUCTIONS WERE MADE, BUT HONESTLY, I DIDN’T REMEMBER ANY NAME.

WHEN GOODBYES WERE SAID AND HUGS WERE SHARED, ONE BY ONE EVERYBODY LEFT. AND I WENT MY OWN WAY THINKING THAT THIS WOULD BE THE LAST TIME.

SO I RODE THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND AFTER A COUPLE OF MINUTES, THERE YOU WERE RIDING THE SAME VEHICLE WITH THOSE SMILES. I DIDN’T SAY HI BECAUSE THINGS LIKE THAT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. SOMETIMES YOU’RE RIDING WITH A CLASSMATE OR A KID FROM THE SAME STREET. AND BESIDES I DIDN’T GET YOUR NAME THE FIRST TIME. SO I LET IT GO.

I GOT OUT OF THE JEEP AND SO DID YOU. THEN YOU RODE THE BUS GOING TO MY PLACE, I ALSO DID. THAT’S WHEN WE TALKED. IT TURNED OUT THAT WE REALY ARE FROM THE SAME STREET. WEIRD TO FIND OUT THAT OUR BIRTHDAYS ARE TWO DAYS APART. YOUR BROTHER’S BIRTHDAY IS THE SAME AS I HAVE. AND YOUR FATHER’S A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER YOURS.