by Krysna for Shayne

"What am I doing here?" I asked myself as I watch this totally weird Madame Sonia tell my cousin Krysna's fortune. "I'll never ever come back here," I added.

Then, the fortune teller turned to me. "And as for Sheila's fortune..." "My name is Shayne and not Sheila," I said. "For a fortune teller, you've got some short memory," I added, but only to myself.

"Whatever. Anyway, unbeliever, you have good fortune ahead of you. And wait! My crystal ball tells me that you'll be spending your life with the first guy you bump into the moment you step out of this door, now and forever."

Now and forever? I had to laugh. "What are you talking about? What if I bump into a rapist or something? Are you nuts?"

But the fortune teller didn't pay attention to what I was saying. "That would be 500 pesos," she told my cousin. Krysna got a crisp 500 peso bill from her purse and paid Madame Sonia.

"You paid 500 pesos to a fortune teller who predicts crap and you're actually happy about it?" I asked Krysna as we went out of Madame Sonia's House of Fortune.

"Of course. She said that my relationship with Jonathan will be a success," my cousin answered.

"Krysna, it's a fact. You and Jonathan are joined at the hip. There's no denying that your relationship will work out," I told her.

"Hey, Shayne. Don't ruin my day. Tell you what. Let's just go to the beach. I promised Jonathan I would meet him there."

"Sure, Krysna."

Once we were already at the beach, Krysna went off immediately with Jonathan, leaving me all by myself. "Some cousin," I muttered. All alone and with nothing to do, I decided to just wander around and enjoy the scenery.

Just then, out of nowhere, a guy bumped into me, hard. Naturally, I fell.

"You jerk! What are you trying to do, kill me?" Relieved that nothing from my body was broken, I got up and looked at the culprit face to face.

"I'm very sorry. My brothers and I were playing Frisbee, and it got far so I had to get it. I didn't know that somebody's behind me so I bumped into you," the guy explained.

My eyes widened at the sight of the guy. "I know you!

You're...you're..."

"Dave Moffatt at your service, ma'am," he said.

I can't believe it! I'm actually face to face with Dave Moffatt. "Well look here, Mr. Moffatt," I said casually. "Being a star doesn't mean that you have the right to hurt other people."

"As I have said, I didn't know that somebody's behind me. Please forgive me," Dave pleaded.

It's very difficult to play hard to get with Dave Moffatt so I said,

"Umm...OK. You sounded sincere enough."

A smile formed in his very handsome face. "That's great, umm..."

"My name's Shayne."

Dave and I shook hands. "Uh, Shayne...do you want to catch a flick with me and my brothers tonight?"

"Fresh guy, huh," I retorted.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Shayne. I just want to make it up to you by treating you out to a movie," he explained.

"But I'm not allowed to go out without a chaperon," I admitted sheepishly.

As if on cue, Krysna went to our direction and said, "Jonathan and I had a fight. We saw Abby and he had that familiar longing in his eyes. I knew that the moron still loves Abby." Then, he looked at the guy I was with and gasped, "Oh my gosh! It's Dave Moffatt!"

Dave only had to smile. "Now you have someone to go with you tonight."

"Wait...what will be happening tonight?" my cousin asked, obviously clueless.

"I asked Shayne if she could watch a movie with me and my brothers tonight as a sign of being totally sorry for bumping into her earlier," Dave explained.

"You bumped into Shayne, huh?" Krysna asked, giving me a knowing smile. I smiled back.

Wait! I forgot to introduce Dave to Krysna. "Dave, this is my cousin Krysna," I said. They shook hands. Than, Bob Moffatt came and told Dave,

"What's taking you so long? We're waiting for you and the Frisbee." He stopped short when he saw Krysna.

"Well, as I was trying to catch the Frisbee, I bumped into this pretty lady." I blushed at his compliment. "Bob, this is Shayne," Dave said. Bob and I shook hands. But Bob wasn't looking at me. He was staring at Krysna. And my cousin couldn't help but stare back. I know that she adores Bob Moffatt. "Bob, this is my cousin Krysna," I said. They shook hands, aware only of each other.

"Bob, do you mind if Shayne and Krysna watch a movie with us tonight?"

Dave asked his brother.

"Not at all," Bob said, grinning from ear to ear and his eyes never leaving Krysna. "But what about Scott and Clint? They need dates, too," he added.

I cannot believe what I've just heard from Bob. I mean, they consider us our dates? Wow. Talk about being lucky. Then I said, "No problem. I could ask 2 of my friends to come with us. They won't mind, I'm sure."

"Then that's settled. By the way, where do you live?" asked Bob.

Krysna answered, "We live at 8 Hunter Drive."

"We'll just pick you up at 7, OK?" said Dave.

"Sure," I simply said, trying to ignore the rapid beating of my heart.

"See you later," Bob said.

"Yeah, see you later," Krysna said.

It's already 2:00 am, but I still couldn't sleep. I'm trying to savor everything that happened that night.

My friends Rochell and Precious were more than glad to come with us. Rochell and Scott clicked instantly; Precious and Clint had the time of their lives; Krysna and Bob talked nonstop and laughed about the cheesy movie that we watched until their sides hurt; and don't ask me. I'm still floating on air. But then, I ask myself, when will this end? I sure don't want to think of that time.

Right now, I want to believe in everything Madame Sonia told me when we had our fortunes told: "You'll be spending your life with the first guy you bump into the moment you step out of this door, now and forever." And that guy is David Michael William Moffatt.

Three days later, Dave and I were at the beach again.

"As I remember, this is the exact spot where you bumped into me," I told Dave as we walked hand in hand, enjoying each other's company. Dave laughed and said, "Yeah. And you know, I can't believe my luck when I first saw you."

"Me too," I confessed. "But then I thought you were egoistic, self-centered..."

"OK, OK. I get the picture." We laughed.

Suddenly, he let go of my hand and asked, "Shayne...umm...do you already have a boyfriend?"

"Would I be acting this way with you if I do?" I asked him back.

"That's nice because...I love you," he admitted.

"But...you're leaving tomorrow," I cried. "How could that be? I mean..."

"You'll wait for me, won't you?" he asked.

I don't know what to say. Here he is, the guy of my ultimate dreams, telling me that he has feelings for me, but what am I doing? It's like I'm shoving him away. I guess it's only because I'm afraid of him leaving me. But what can I do? I love him, too.

"I'm waiting," he said, bringing me back to reality.

"Well, I'll wait for you if you'll wait for me," I finally said.

"I'll wait for you. I'll come back, I promise. I just have to go back to the US. You know, it's for business," he admitted.

"OK" was all I can think of saying.

"I haven't heard you say it," he said.

"What is it that you want to hear?" I asked.

"The magic word," he replied.

"What's that?" I asked again.

"You know...I love you," he said.

I love you. That's the word I've been wanting to tell him even before I met him. Whenever I see one of their videos over MTV (especially the "If Life is So Short" video coz he looks totally cute there), I would imagine that he's singing that song for me. And after that, he would tell me that he loves me. And now, everything's coming true.

"I love you, Dave," I said.

And we kissed. His kiss was soft and sweet, just like the one I imagined his kiss to be.

"I love you, too," he said.

"Promise you'll come back?" I asked him.

"I promise," he said.

We were about to kiss again when Bob, Clint, and Scott came by us.

"Sorry, Shayne, but we have to take Prince Charming away. We have to pack our things for tomorrow's early flight," Scott said.

"Yeah. Take care, you guys," I told them, holding back my tears.

"You guys take care, too. And by the way, could you please give each of these to Precious, Rochell, and Krysna? It's our way of telling them how much we appreciated their company," Clint said, handing me over 3 long stemmed roses. They smelled lovely.

Then, Bob came to me and squeezed my hand. "Be strong," he whispered.

I nodded.

The last thing I remembered was Dave mouthing his last words: "Remember my promise."

And I know I will.

Now I realize that being 13 isn't a joke.

TEN YEARS LATER...

Madame Sonia was right about Krysna all along. Her relationship with Jonathan became a success. It became so successful that they got married. The fulfillment of the fortune teller's prophecy made me think about Dave.

Honestly, I still think about him. But he never fulfilled his promise. He never came back. And it's OK if he won't come back. I still have tons of problems to face-Law school, my internship in Atty. Krystyn Ann Gonzales-Yu's law firm, and lots more. David Michael William Moffatt is the last thing on my mind right now...

"Shayne, why don't you take a break?" Bernadette, a friend and another intern in Krysna's law office, said.

"I still have many things to do. And besides, Atty. Mateo has a big corporate case hearing coming up. We have to get ready," I answered.

"But that doesn't mean you have to slave yourself away. Look at you. You're young, you're pretty..."

"Yeah. And a total bore," I finished it for her.

"That's not what I want to say. What I want to say is, you need to lighten up- go on dates or something. And besides, you're not boring. I wouldn't waste my breath on you if you are," she told me as a matter-of-factly.

"OK. You win. You always do. You're the kind of lawyer that would beat the oppressors down," I told her.

She smiled and said, "I know. And my, you're just in time," looking at her Kobe Bryant pocket calendar. "My older brother will be coming home from the States tomorrow, and he will have some of his college buddies over. I'll ask him if one of his friends would love to go on a blind date with the most beautiful intern in Mateo, Yu & Associates," she told me.

"How do I look?" I asked Bernadette 2 nights after.

"You look fantastic. You'll take the guy's breath away. And I have one thing to tell you- your blind date is sooo cute! I wanted to date him myself, but Jeffrey poked me hard on the ribs," she said, referring to her overprotective boyfriend.

I looked at the mirror and saw myself. I'm not bad-looking. And in fact, I'm no old maid. I have a suitor by the name of Oman, a very nerdy fellow intern. But well, that's another story...

Just then, the doorbell rang. "Oh my! Maybe it's him already," Bernadette said, jumping from excitement. "Well, I'm outta here. Jeffrey made plans for tonight so that he would take me away from that blind date of yours. I just want to check if you look ravishing for tonight. And frankly, you do. Good luck, kiddo," she added, giving me a hug, then went down. I fixed myself up again and after 3 minutes, I went down and Your Computer Has Been Hacked By R.!!!behold! I was seeing Dave Moffatt's equally startled face!

"What are you doing here?" we asked at the same time.

"As I remember, my blind date, Anne Sheena Angeles, lives here," he answered.

"This is my house and I'm Anne Sheena," I replied.

"You're Anne Sheena? Wow." Dave said.

"Why? Are you disappointed?" I asked, hoping that he would answer no.

"Of course not. Umm...why don't we first go to the beach?"

"Let's go," I said and he held my hand.

"Honestly, I came back for you," Dave said once we were already at the beach.

"Then why didn't you look for me?" I asked him.

"I tried to. But when I went to the address that you gave me some 10 years ago, the housekeeper there said that there's no Shayne Angeles in there, only Atty. Krystyn Ann Yu and her husband, Engineer Jonathan Yu."

"Atty. Yu is my cousin Krysna! She got married 8 months ago," I said.

"Really? She's lucky," he said. Suddenly, he took out a velvet box from his pocket and said, "Shayne, I got you this."

Inside it was a diamond ring. "You always have this in your pocket?" I asked.

"Of course not. A little voice inside me urged me to bring this tonight. Who knows, maybe my blind date will turn out to be you. And lucky me, it's really you," he replied.

"If you're lucky, how about me?" I asked.

"Shayne, do you want to spend your life with me, now and forever?" he asked.

Suddenly, a wave of nostalgia flashed through me. Now and forever? I had to laugh.

"Why are you laughing? Don't you want to?" he asked, sounding hurt.

"Of course I want to spend my life with you, David Michael William Moffatt, now and forever," I answered.

And we kissed. This time, our kiss was a kiss of promise.

Madame Sonia, thank you.

Now and forever...