Paris, remember?

Confusion filled Ellie’s face as she stared at the man before her. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ve met you before.”

“Yes, we have. In Paris,” he answered, his voice full of conviction.

Her eyebrows furrowed further from his answer. “We met in Paris? Why don’t I remember him?” Feeling intrigued, Ellie pulled the chair across from him and sat.

She cupped her face with her hands and inspected the person sitting across her. She tilted her head from left to right as she tried to recall where she had seen him. The more she looked at him, the more convinced was that she had not seen this handsome man before.

He reached for his cellphone in his pocket. He then tapped on his cellphone, and without a word, handed it to her. She looked at him with confusion. The groves on her wrinkled forehead deepened as she stared on the mobile phone.

She clicked the play button on the video displayed on the screen. It started with a montage of the scenic spots of Paris, in particular, Champ de Mars. The video was in Japanese, which she hardly understood. There were also no subtitles to guide her. She lifted her head and her confused eyes to Ryo but he did not offer any help. His arms crossed in front of his chest as he lazily sat across her. His lips curled into a smirk.

She continued to watch the video, unsure how this would answer her questions. After a few minutes, the video showed a man walking around the park like a headless chicken. He looked familiar, but she could not put a finger where she saw him. He seemed to ask people, but got turned down by everyone. One even hit him with her bag.

After a while, Ellie’s head snapped. Her confused eyes stared at him for clarification, but he offered none. He continued to look at her with a smug look on his face.

She cannot be mistaken. It was her in the video and the person she was talking to was Takumi, the stranger she helped in Paris.

She pressed pause on the video and placed it on the table. She looked at the man before her, waiting for an answer.

He savored the look on her face. Her eyes were so big she looked like an anime. Her surprise and confusion were all painted on her face. She looked like her head was going to explode from trying to make sense of what she watched.

“Explain.” She demanded when she finally found her voice.

“I’m Ryo Matsuda,” he extended his hand. When she did not bother to shake it, he took it back, then cleared his throat. “Didn’t I tell you I’m an actor?” He cocked his brow at her. He looked so arrogant. When she did not say a word, he added, “I was a guest in the reality show you watched.” He continued. She noticed he spoke perfect English, unlike “Takumi” who can tardy string words to make a sentence.

“What?” His explanation made little sense at all.

“We have a reality show in Japan that does social experiments. For that episode, they wanted to know if somebody will be selfless and help a stranger.” His eyes never left her face. His deep voice was soothing, but it was not enough to ease her mind.

Ellie looked flabbergasted. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. Her mind froze and cannot find words to say. She looked at him, unsure of what to feel.

She’s definitely surprised by what she learned, but she also felt violated. She felt like she got tricked. She wanted to be angry and vent on Ryo but she couldn’t. Indeed, Takumi told her he was an actor, but she did not believe him. And since he was an actor, and was acting for a show, how can she be angry at him for doing his job?

She felt so aggrieved that she wanted to cry. She wanted to vent her anger to somebody, but she did not have anybody to vent on.

She felt her good intentions got mocked. She got up from her chair and said, “the cake is on the house. Excuse me for being rude, but it’s already past our store hours.”

She turned around and gave instructions to Beth and Maya. After which she locked herself in the kitchen.

She did not know how long she sat in the kitchen staring at the oven, but when she got out, the cafe was already empty. The chairs tucked under the tables; the lights were off, and the doors closed. Beth and Maya have also left.

Her feet took the stairs that lead to her living space. She felt weak from the exhaustion and from frustration. She plopped herself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling and recalled the man she helped in Paris.

She remembered how they ate a meal and watched a movie together. She recalled the sound of his voice and his laughter and how warm his kind eyes were. It was still hard for her to believe that the warm and endearing Takumi and the snooty Ryo were the same person. He must be a great actor to act so convincingly.

Ryo. She sighed at the recollection. He’s handsome, yes. He had a playful vibe around him. She remembered his smug look. It would look very unappealing if other people did the same look, but it suited him.

She remembered his handsome features, especially his soft lips, but she also cannot whisk away from her memory how much he looked like Naruto. She smiled, then she fell asleep.