Zadkiel36
"Oh no, not again!" I mumbled. My message notification alert woke me up for the nth time. I don't even need a goddamed alarm clock nowadays.
"You're so stupid," admonishing myself.
First of all, I joined an online dating group, hoping to find a tall, dark and handsome Romeo. But all I got were horny guys who want to see a naked woman for free. Secondly, I uploaded my best photo on the app. My phone has been beeping ever since to let me know of incoming messages and calls, which has the uncanny ability to wake me up because I keep on forgetting to mute it before sleeping; plain stupidity.
Social media has taken the world by storm. With billions of users around the world, it's one of the most powerful tools to connect and share information with anyone on Earth, or with many people simultaneously. It can be both beneficial and harmful, depending on how it is being used. I got a taste of both. I didn't realize I have to be careful so as not to fall prey to some people with dreadful intentions. There are those who use fake profiles to lure and take advantage of unsuspecting users. But on the positive side, it is bridging the gap between people who are so far from each other that distance doesn't seem to matter anymore. Aside from that, one can have many friends in different parts of the world. It's amazing that in just a few clicks, I could talk to people wherever they are, learn about their culture and be able to see historical and beautiful places around the world without having to spend a lot of money in doing so. Social media for that matter, offers endless possibilities that could be an advantage or otherwise. It's up to the user on how to use it wisely.
I looked at the clock, 6:39 am, a bit early to get up but I did anyway. No way I could go back to sleep so I decided to do some workouts. I do squats and Pilates usually after work if I'm not so tired and sometimes in the morning when I wake up early. It's important to maintain this healthy habit, not only to manage weight and reduce the risk of disease, but also to strengthen bones and muscles. If you go to the gym, you'll see lots of hotties there because it's exactly one of the reasons why many people exercise - to look sexy. I remember a joke I once told Anne, my best friend and coworker.
"Why do you exercise after work? Aren't you tired? You should be resting." Anne asked one time.
"I exercise so I would look good in clothes, and awesome when naked." I was kidding but later on I explained that exercise is like an energy charger which improves the ability to do everyday activities so that I don't easily get tired from doing a lot of work. In addition to that, I feel I could eat anything I like without feeling guilty.
After an hour of exercising, I grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom. The water was slightly cool and felt refreshing. I'm not one who sings in the shower. I wonder how the hell some people manage that with the water full blast on the face and cascading down the throat and tummy. Then my thoughts started running, the way I usually do it when I'm preoccupied with doing something. I thought of the things that required my immediate attention in the office. I always want to do my work if not perfectly, at least correctly so my boss would yell at somebody else and not at me. I'm an office assistant to a manager who notoriously terrorizes not only her own staff but also her clients' as well, the ones who usually come to our office to pick up the products preordered by their boss. Ours is a wholesale company specializing in electronic gadgets.
Shower was done, I turned on the electric kettle for my other energy booster. I can't start my day without it. Hmmm, I love the smell of freshly brewed coffee. I took my phone out and checked the messages while sipping. I scrolled down and read the senders' names randomly. I texted "hi" and "good morning" to some familiar ones, but nobody seemed interesting enough to be the Romeo I'm searching for. Then a new message came, and this one was from my mom. In response, I called her.
"Hi mom, you're up early as usual. What's up?"
"Oh I'm glad you still remember I'm your mom. I forgot I have a daughter."
"Mommm, please don't go into that again. I told you, it's peak season and we are so busy at work at this time of the year. I promise I'll come when I get the chance. I miss everybody. How are things there?"
"I'm just kidding. We miss you too and don't worry about us, we are fine, except that your dad worries too much when you forget to even text us."
"I'm so sorry but you can't expect me to text or call a hundred times a day." I heard laughter in the background.
"Hi baby! I miss you a lot. I can tell you are fine with that sharp tongue of yours but it would be nice if we can see for ourselves how you are doing." My dad said after grabbing the phone from mom.
"Hi dad, how are you? Don't worry too much, I'm surviving here. Promise, when things slow down a bit, I'll let you see for yourself how obese I am now, hahaha. I can't wait to hug you."
"I'll take your word for it. Okay baby, I'll give the phone back to your mother. My jogging pals are waiting. Take care, love you and see you soon, munchkin!"
This phone conversation is just a rerun of the previous one. I might as well record it. Well, I can't blame my parents for doing this. My older and only brother Francis, married with three kids, lives in a neighboring town and can visit home whenever he likes, while I have to contend with visiting my parents once or twice a month. I work in a company located in Manila, a long drive from my hometown in the Southern part of Luzon in the Philippines. Because of the peak season, we are so busy at work that sometimes even on my day off my boss requested me to work. It has been more than three months since I last visited.
At 27, I'm not getting any younger so my parents are practically begging me to get married or at least find a suitable boyfriend so someone can take care of me as if I needed to be taken care of. Again I can't blame them because some parts of Manila are known to be unsafe and crimes are rampant. Therefore, dangerous for a woman to be living alone. Fortunately, it didn't extend to where I am staying. Although I live alone, some coworkers are also in the same building where my flat is. In my six years of living here, I've never encountered any worrisome incident so it's quite safe , I should say. But parents will always be parents, I suppose, pampering and worrying too much.
I was lucky to have found a company which is considerate to the employees. Some of us who live far away had been provided free accommodation. During the first two years of my employment, I shared a flat with two coworkers. But when I was promoted as assistant manager, I moved to a smaller one but all for myself. I had felt more comfortable and more secured in a building with security guards on duty around the clock.
At 8:45 am I was ready for work. I put on my shoes, grabbed my bag and went out. The guard on duty as usual greeted me.
"Good morning Ma'am. I hope you have a nice day." He said, smiling warmly.
"Thank you and good morning to you too." I replied and smiled back as it is really a nice day, although I'm sure later it will be so hot. Fortunately, it's just a two-minute walk to the office so I won't be out for long.
I was the first one to arrive and took my time preparing the things I would be needing for the day. My office mates then started arriving one by one. I always know when Anne has arrived. She will come bubbling into the room, laughing at her own jokes. She would keep on talking about nothing in particular. Many are wondering how we became friends, considering that I'm her exact opposite. I'm the quiet type and usually not one to start a conversation. I'll speak up only if spoken to, whereas Anne will talk incessantly even not being addressed to. We started working in the company almost at the same time, only a few months apart. It was probably one of the reasons we got along.
She would often invite me to have dinner at her home, sometimes requested by her mom whom I had grown so fond of. She's one of the sweetest persons I have ever met. She reminds me also of my mom. Both of them are good cooks. Whenever I come for a visit, she will cook my favorite 'pansit', a Filipino style stir-fry noodle.
They have a small house in a crowded street in Pasig, a town in Manila. Sometimes I wonder how they could all fit in, with the parents and five siblings. Anne is the eldest and the breadwinner of the family. Her dad helps by doing odd jobs like trike driving, carpentry works, street sweeping and others. To the casual observer, they would seem hard put but it was remarkable how they seemed to accept the situation wholeheartedly. They maybe lacking in material things but the happiness they exude is enviable. One can't help but imbibe the atmosphere, because every time I visit, I'd get caught up in the cheerful bantering and would feel happy as they welcome me like a family member.
"Good morning Amy, how was your night? Mine was one for the record. You remember that guy I told you about, the one I've had a big crush on? He smiled at me when I bumped into him on my way home yesterday." Anne shrieked.
"Good luck! I hope you nail him. At least there's a chance one of us wouldn't be a spinster after all."
"Don't say that. Both of us will get married someday. I'm sure of it. Look at you, I'd do anything to have a face and body like yours."
"Ugh!" I exclaimed.
"Seriously Amy, I don't know what's wrong with you. You have a lot of admirers and yet, you worry about becoming an old maid. Don't tell me all of them are not your type. You are being so choosy."
"It's not that. I just felt that I haven't found the right one yet. You know, gut feeling when you meet someone, he will spark something within you."
"Why not get to know a guy first and see if he can make you feel that way eventually? Let me remind you, my dear, you're not getting any younger."
"You sound exactly like my mom." I chuckled.
I don't consider myself pretty. But maybe it's because of my 5'7" height that makes people take a second look or turn heads. It may be my slim body or my long and natural but definitely not stylish hair. Whatever it is, there must be something that people find attractive in me.
In my opinion, I look plain and simple. Even my choice of clothing is not much. I like jeans and shirts. Although I must admit that I look good in it, especially in shorts, because of my long legs. And the regular squat exercises may also contribute to a firmer and more rounded butt. Sometimes I think I have imbalanced body parts. I have short torso but my limbs are too long. I don't know why people say it makes me look like a model. In fact, I was mistaken for one during a company get together where I was wearing a tight fitting dress.
I was already deep in work when my boss came. Of all the office staff members, I'm the only one who's not scared of her. Why should I? I'm confident of the way I do my work. Yes, there are times I make mistakes but I own up to it and take full responsibility. I also make sure I do the corrections right away.
In a way, I feel I have gained her confidence because of her treatment of me and she makes sure I'm the one who deals with her best clients. During my first year of working for her, I must admit I had been terrified when she was in a bad mood. But I discovered it wasn't a senseless bout of temperament. There was bound to be a sensible reason if she yelled or scolded someone.
She doesn't like making mistakes, because it is stressful and time consuming to correct an order already delivered. Besides that, the customers might be discouraged to do business with us again. The only thing is that she cannot control her temper. Thus, I try my best to do my job well and avoid making mistakes as much as possible. She probably appreciates it although she doesn't say anything.
I was also instrumental for her appearance makeover. She used to be overweight and dressed carelessly. But when I started sharing with her some of my health regimen such as doing exercises and eating healthy food, the change in her was remarkable. In fact, she had a complete wardrobe transformation and became weight conscious.
Half of the day passed by in a blur. I was surprised when Anne urged me to hurry up for lunch because she was starving. I almost forgot my phone charging in a corner. I went to pull it out and while doing so, a message popped up on the screen. Someone with the account of Zadkiel36 texted "hi." It looked familiar. I searched the previous messages and I was right. I had several unread messages from him. Anne was getting impatient so I made a mental note to check him out later.
We went to our favorite cafeteria. I ordered pasta with mushrooms. Anne ordered her usual rice and settled for stewed chicken to go along with it. She complained that I have not been eating well. Filipinos are rice eaters. Even at breakfast, fried rice is mostly preferred. It is considered weird if anyone is not eating rice at least twice a day.
As usual, lunch has been done with a lot of commentaries from Anne. I was glad when she sneaked off to talk to a guy she knew. I took the chance to check my messages again, completely forgetting my mental note earlier about Zadkiel36. I was reminded of it when a new message came in. He was persistent. He had texted me several times already but I hadn't even bothered to read. In order not to be thought of as a snob, I replied to him finally.
"Hi, thank you for your messages and I'm sorry for the late response. I've been busy."
"Thank you for replying. How are you?" He responded instantly.
"I'm fine and what about you?"
"I'm good. I saw your photo in a dating group. My name is Kiel. What's yours?"
"I'm Amy. You must be searching for a special someone for you to be in the group."
"Not really, I mean yeah I'm single but it was suggested while I was browsing. I was curious so I checked it out and then I saw your photo. You're so pretty."
"Oh thank you." I replied shyly.
"So any luck? Have you found what you're searching for?"
"No luck. So far I only got either fakes or scammers."
"I agree. I got some doubtful messages too. Please be careful."
"I am, but I'm not seriously into it. Just like you, it's more out of curiosity."
"I'm really glad you replied, because I was thinking of deleting the group if you still hadn't."
"I receive a lot of messages daily that I simply can't reply to all of them."
"Yeah, I saw you are quite popular with so many likes and comments on your profile photo."
"I didn't expect it. I just wanted to know how people would react to me."
"What an awesome reaction you got there! I'm glad I checked it out. Otherwise I wouldn't have met you. Where are you from?"
"I'm from Aurora Quezon but I'm staying in Manila because of my work. What about you?"
"I'm from Cebu but my main office is in Makati."
"I'm sorry Kiel but my lunch break is over. I need to rush back to work with lots of catching up to do."
"Okay, Amy. Nice to meet you. Take care, bye!"
"Nice to meet you too. Bye!"
He seems to be a nice gentleman. I'm going to check his profile later. But in the meantime, I need to finish preparing bulk orders from Malaysia. I have to focus completely. No room for mistakes, otherwise my boss will have my head. A single error in international order means lots of wasted money for the products to be delivered, returned back to us and then resent. I meticulously checked the model number, color and the quantity of each product. Then I prepared the invoice and had to check several times. It took me a whole day to finish everything and had it ready for delivery the next day. Finally done for the day, I walked back to my flat dragging my feet. The day was so busy that I thought of nothing else but my bed. When I'm exhausted, I don't even have an appetite but I can't skip dinner. I need to recharge my energy for tomorrow's hectic schedule yet again.
Luckily, there's a food shop near my place. I thought of grabbing a sandwich and some salad for dinner. There was queue when I got there and I had to wait for a while. I was so glad when my turn came. I placed my order quickly but had to wait a bit more while it was being prepared. Finally done, I walked the remaining steps to my flat.
"Good afternoon Ma'am. How's your day?" Greeted the same guard from the morning duty.
"Good afternoon. It was a busy day. I'm glad to be home." I smiled at him tiredly. I could see his reflection in a glass window nearby staring after me. Sometimes I feel conscious when he's doing that. I was thinking maybe there was a dirt from my behind that amuses him. I hurriedly went to the lift and pressed my floor number.
I unlocked my flat door, dumped my bag on a chair and put my dinner food on the table. I sat down on the sofa putting up my feet when I heard my phone beeped. I stood up and took it from my bag. When it lit up, I saw a message notification from Kiel again. I signed in and read the full message. He was asking if work was done. He seemed to be really interested. I had better check his profile first before replying. I searched and found his account. Not much information there. Even his profile photo is not very clear. I can't tell if he's good looking. I checked if he had uploaded other photos but I was disappointed to find only a picture of a set of buildings which was probably his office. I continued scrolling down and at the very last part, there was a photo of a young bald kid, around 6 or 7 years old. He was sitting on a hospital bed and smiling at the camera. I read the description. I was awestruck when I had finished. Th post said a lot about Kiel. Apparently, it was his birthday several months ago and he had chosen to celebrate it by giving donation to cancer patients. He allowed the hospital to post it at his timeline to encourage other people to do the same.
I'm always fascinated with people who go out of their way to help others. In fact, I admire them so much. One such person was Mother Theresa, the Saint of Calcutta, as she was known. She was a Catholic nun who dedicated her life to caring for the destitute and dying in the slums of Calcutta. People may think that only saints are capable of doing sacrifices or dedicating themselves to provide help unselfishly for the downtrodden. We don't have to be saints and in our own little ways, we can help even a complete stranger who is in need. The feeling of doing so would be undeniably fulfilling.
I remember when I was in sixth grade, I had always bought my snacks from the sidewalk vendors outside the school gate. There was an old and frail-looking lady who was evidently making an effort to sell popsicles. I had always bought from her out of pity whenever I feel like having cold snacks, or sometimes even if I don't fancy one. There were also times I gave her money without buying anything. She had been hesitant to accept but upon my insistence, she had kept the money as I suggested for emergency purposes. One day, I was looking for her but she was gone. I thought maybe the poor lady was ill. I waited for her the next day and the next but she never showed up again. I had been so sad. I still remember her face and has been clear in my mind as if I've seen her only yesterday.
Beep, beep... another message from Kiel. One hell of a persistent guy.
"Hi again Amy. You're probably busy because my messages were only read but no reply. Well, anyway, I just want to say take care when you go home from work and have a pleasant evening." He texted thoughtfully.
"Thank you. I'm home now and taking a few minutes' rest before starting dinner. It was a busy day at the office. I'm exhausted."
"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you. Okay, do what you need to do first and maybe later we can chat if you're free."
"It's alright. I'm just sitting here and we can chat. Are you home now?"
"No, I'm still at the office but not so busy anymore." Hardworking guy, I thought.
"What do you do?" I inquired.
"I'm in the real estate business. Can you please tell me more about yourself?"
"Not much to tell. I'm 27 years old. I worked in a company selling electronic gadgets."
"I really like your photo. Is it alright if I ask you to send me another one?"
"Gentleman first, please." I joked.
"I was taught ladies first always," came his immediate reply.
"Not this time. Seriously, I checked your profile photo and it wasn't clear. If you don't mind, can you please send a clear one? I'll send mine afterwards."
"Hmmm."
"Does it mean 'yes'?"
"I'm trying to find a good one. I have very few choices here because I don't like taking selfies."
"Do you know the meaning of 'hmm'?" I asked playfully.
"It may denote yes or no, probably in between."
"That's from the Kiel Dictionary. Amy Dictionary has another meaning."
"Then I'll be honored to be enlightened by a beautiful teacher."
"'Hmm' - H stands for hey, M is for marry and M is for me. It means 'hey marry me'." I chuckled.
"Hahaha, when do you want?"
"Now!" I kidded.
"LOL, you are not only cute, but also funny."
After a minute or so, he sent two photos, a close up shot and full body. He's tall, lean and handsome in a rugged way. Not the cute boy next door type. He's also matured looking with an authoritative air about him. Not bad, in fact, on second thought I think he's really attractive.
"Thank you! Now I know who I'm chatting with. You look older than me. May I ask your age, please?"
"Yes, I'm definitely older than you. I'm 36 years old."
"Are you sure you're not married?" I asked with uncertainty.
"Absolutely! I'm very much single and ready to mingle." He confirmed gleefully.
"May I ask why you're still single? Most men your age are already married with kids."
"I haven't found 'the one' yet. Are you also single?"
"Yes, I am."
"And why are you still single?"
"Because I haven't found someone as crazy as I am." God, I'm enjoying this!
What started as casual chat had developed into friendship with the possibility of something more. In the beginning, I didn't take it seriously. For me, it was just like my other online acquaintances, a friendly exchange of messages that would eventually stop. Usually, the guys I met online would show initial interest, but it's either he found a prettier profile photo or no excitement in our chat that after a while we forgot each other.
Kiel is different. He's persistent. Even if I didn't reply, he would still text me. He's an easy guy to chat with. We feel comfortable with each other. We talk just about anything under the sun. Sometimes we lose track of the time and our chat extends very late into the night. He's a no nonsense guy either. The way he sends and replies to messages is smartly constructed. He mentioned he travels a lot, probably one of the reasons he's knowledgeable in so many things. At first I had some inhibitions but after a while I found myself opening up to him. Though he doesn't tell much about himself. If I ask something, he'll answer but wouldn't voluntarily provide personal information.
Our nine-year age gap doesn't seem to matter at all. When we chat, it feels like we are on the same level. We also discovered we have many things in common. Both of us are introverts, nature lovers, adventurous and health conscious. Not to mention the fact that we are both living away from family. I didn't realize it at first, but I'm beginning to look forward to his messages.
