“Congratulations, Avah!” seemed endless when an email announcing my promotion had been sent to welcome the first week of November.

I was already planning to save up and attend concerts next year until I was called to the green room which means a one on one meeting.

“How are you, Ms. Dy?” was how Manager Poon started the conversation and ended it with, “I hope you can handle this well and continue to grow.”

All I could do was smile when she handed me the flash drive which contains details for a wedding. I know it is not that different from the events that we previously handled but I would be one of the main people in this project.

“Will people listen to me when I give them their task?” I voiced one of my concerns as I stared at myself in the mirror. “I want to be like Elisia, but at the same time, I don’t want to. I don’t want to make people work because they’re scared of me.”

I was nervous, scared even when I first had my meeting with the client at a dessert shop a week after. My pounding heart grew louder and louder as I climbed the stairs. I was never glad to be interrupted by a call to buy myself time to calm down. I met someone from a photo studio who would cover the wedding as the couple insisted on working with them. Though that might sound bad, I’m lucky enough to work with people who are sure about how and what they want.

But no matter how smooth it went, I still could not shake off the heavy feeling in my chest when I got home. I did all that might help me relax to no avail so I ended up sketching and doing drafts for work.

I was scrolling my gallery for references when I stumbled upon my picture with the guy I met a few days ago and it did not ease my troubled heart.

I stared at his picture and the more I looked at him, the more he resembled someone I knew but could not figure out who.

“Have I met him before?” I asked myself as I zoomed in on the picture. I closed my notes and started rolling on my bed. “Does he look like an artist? He sure got some looks, but I don’t know who he looks like.”

I put down my phone just to pick it up again. I looked at the photo once more before telling myself I was doing something weird.

In a blink, I heard Elisia’s voice shouting, “I hate you!”

It did not take me a second to realize that she was stepping out of the hotel and Leon was shadowing behind.

“Just come on,” said Leon, catching up to me. “Woman, stop.”

“No,” I firmly said, still walking ahead of him.

I could hear him groan, maybe because of irritation, or perhaps frustration? I don’t know and Elisia doesn’t care.

“I don’t care. I’m more annoyed than you are,” I said in a mumble.

His footsteps stopped for a while before I could hear them in a hurry. “Woman, stop! Come on. Stop! Fine. What do you want?”

“I want world peace,” was my quick reply.

He did not give up and walked with her pace. “Come on. Just wait. What do you want in return?”

“I don’t want any return because I don’t want to help you,” she told him.

Another groan before he grabbed one of her wrists. It startled her that made her look at him. To my horror, it was Lucio, the guy from the date and when Elisia opened her mouth, I could hear my voice.

“Hands off!” I shouted and I was woken up in an instant, panting. I hurried to my desk and chanted, “Paper, paper, paper.”

My hands trembled as I wrote the details down and when morning came, I read it then read it once more. I could not imagine how bizarre it was and that it had already left my mind.

“It’s not healthy for me to sleep with tons of things in my mind. I don’t want to have that kind of dream again,” I thought out loud followed by a long sigh. “Leon to Lucio? Is it because both names start with an L? Why in the world did this come back now?”

My mind was filled with doubting questions but I worked hard to shake them off as I needed to carry on with my first big project. Being busy helped me in a way until Desiree called a few days later.

She started with, “Code red, Avery. I’m really, really, sorry.”

“Oh, I’m Avery now?” I asked as she wanted to give me a new nickname but nothing sticks for long. “What’s your emergency-ah, wait, don’t tell me it’s another date? I’m not going.”

“Please, Avah. Mom said he asked for another date and wants me to bring a friend because he would, too,” she went on. “I promise I’ll explain it to them that it was me who told you to lie.”

Truth is, that lying thing had been buried deep in my mind now. All I could think of were questions about why he wanted to meet me again.

I agreed to join her with the reason, “This might be the best time to come clean to him,” and we planned when and where to meet them.

Will I finally know if he is one of the guys I randomly kissed at the bar? What if he was asking for me since he got this puzzling feeling, too? What are the odds to meet again like this? Is he connected to Elisia?

Another dream came that night, it was the same scene from before. Elisia stepped out of the hotel and Leon followed her.

I waited to confirm if it was the same as my note that I could not help but feel excited when he held her wrist. My heart pounded like a drum just to halt when all I could see was the usual Leon with a blurry face.