To Love You

2:{A Good Dream}

It did not take too long for them to arrive at her house, the car pulled over, and she got out after voicing her 'thank you'. The three strangers bid goodbye, but she caught a glimpse of the man in the passenger seat mouthing something at her. However, before she could ask what he meant to say to her, he had already waved goodbye and left.

She couldn’t ponder about what he wanted to say because she realized what time it was, and she was never out this late. She hurriedly went inside and found her parents still up.

“Welcome back sweetheart, how was the study group?” Her mother asked as she kissed her cheeks. “It was-“ Her words were cut off when her mom grabbed both her shoulders and aggressively sniffed her.

“What is that smell? Did you drink?” Her mom asked, bewildered by her behavior as she had never thought her daughter would do such a thing. “Vivian, I thought you went to study with your friends? You should’ve told us, I-“

“What’s wrong with having a little drink once in a while, let her be. Our daughter is all grown up, and she knows how to take care of herself,” her father said. Her parents were never really strict with her growing up, but guilt was still eating her up for lying about going to a study group when she went to a club. Not to party but to confront someone who claimed to love her.

“I’m sorry for drinking without asking you guys first, it just happened, and I didn’t want to say no to them.” She explained but still did not tell her parents the truth. Drinking was okay but to lie about going to a study group, but she was actually at a club would be something her parents would be angry about.

“You’re a grown-up now, it’s normal for you to explore things. Just be careful, okay? And do things in moderation.” Her mother said as she tucked her daughter’s hair behind her ears. “Now go upstairs and wash up, you stink.” Vivian smiled at her mother’s words and said goodnight to her parents before going to her bedroom.

…

After washing up, Vivian went to her desk and stared at the wall full of pictures. Each picture was with a guy the same age as her, he was fairly good-looking, and both people in the picture looked genuinely happy and in love.

“Stupid jerk,” Vivian said as she wiped the lone tear that fell from her eyes. That tear seemed to have opened a dam and her tears continued to flow down her cheeks. She gave up trying to wipe her tears and proceeded to tear down the photos she had attached to her walls and crumpled them before throwing them into her trash bin.

She couldn’t believe how someone who had claimed to love her would be all cuddled up with a woman who he said was ‘just a friend’. It was the first time in her twenty years since she was born that she had learned loving someone was not that easy. To think that she had poured all her love towards a person who ended up cheating on her, and he even dared to tell her he loved her when she caught him red-handed.

‘I will never let a man have my heart again.’

Her thoughts were filled with the events that had happened, she found it hard to sleep as she thought about the confrontation she had with her ex-boyfriend at the bar. She felt humiliated and stupid for believing his lies. Her thoughts then went to the man who had saved her from being hit by a drunk driver.

The thought of that strange man left a small smile on her face before she calmed down and finally succumbed to exhaustion. Her dreams were filled with the after-events of the said confrontation, and she had no idea that the strange man would become significant in her life.

…

A loud alarm sounded right next to her ear which jolted her awake. It was five-thirty in the morning, and she had to get to her first class at seven. Vivian did not move from her bed for five minutes, instead, she spent it well by staring blankly at her ceiling.

She weirdly had a good sleep last night despite what happened, she dreamed of something that night, but she couldn’t remember what it was all about. “Well, whatever it was, it must have been a good dream.” She said and went to get ready for her class.

It was a Wednesday, which meant she did not have to wear her prescribed uniform. Their college was strict about dress codes, and she was someone who abides well by the rules. Vivian took off her collared shirt and some washed-out jeans from her dressing cabinet and did her hair in a slick bun. She wore minimal make-up, and with minimal make-up, she powdered her face and wore lip tint that matched her warm undertones.

She was aiming for a degree in Marine Transportation, a profession mostly known to be for men, but oddly she was drawn to it. A lot of people have asked her why she took such a profession, but she could never answer them straight. Vivian knew better than anyone that her journey to being a seafarer wouldn’t be easy, she would have to face challenges during her journey, but she had made up her mind.

Vivian took one last look at her mirror and put on her favorite perfume before going downstairs to eat breakfast. She set foot in the dining room and greeted both her parents. “Good morning, Mom. Good morning, Dad.” She said to her parents, who were busy doing their own chores. Her dad, who was flipping eggs, greeted her back first and ushered her to the table, and her mom greeted her with a kiss before proceeding to clean the counters.

She watched both her parents and wondered how they could stay in love for so many years of being together and not ever getting bored with each other. She brought her thoughts to a stop before they could even come to the events of last night.

The family of three all sat down to eat their breakfast and talked about what they would be doing for the day. Breakfast and dinner were the only times their family could be seated like this on the weekdays, as all of them were busy with each of their own businesses. Her parents were both working, and she had to go to university.

They all went out at the same time and her father dropped her off her campus. She hurried to get to her classroom. It was only six-thirty, and she wasn’t late, but it is a rule in this industry to always be earlier than the call time, or else you will be left behind. Ships don’t wait for you as they follow a strict voyage plan and time should not be wasted.

She sat down in her designated seat in the almost empty classroom and opened her notes. Her first class was terrestrial navigation, and she wasn’t too excited about it. Their instructor was a sweet old man, but his lectures were boring, and their class tended to drowse throughout the three-hour lecture.

She went through her day as if it was sped up, lunch came, and she ate with her two closest friends, Rigel and Camie. Rigel did all the talking and both girls listened to her. ­­­Vivian thought that her day would be normal, but she was wrong. When the three of them went out of the cafeteria, she realized that the rest of her day was completely ruined. Standing in front of her and the massive crowd of people gawking at them, was her EX-boyfriend holding a bouquet of fresh tulips and a gift.