#2

**LIA**

"You?!" He exclaimed, and to my dismay, it was the same rude guy who had been seated next to me on the plane. Great, just great.

"I was going to say the same. What exactly do you want? We bumped into each other before boarding the plane, in the plane, and now what is it that you want from me?" I asked, my patience wearing thin.

"What exactly do I want from you? Or what do you want from me? It is you who has been following me," he retorted, his voice rising in irritation.

Determined not to let this stranger spoil my mood, I decided to ignore him and hail a taxi.

"Hey, taxi!" I called, desperately trying to distance myself from the confrontation.

"Hey, I'm still talking over here!" he moved closer to me, continuing his rant.

"Take me to Woodlands," I told the taxi driver, blocking out the background noise. I wasn't ready to engage in a heated argument right now.

"OK, madam," the taxi driver responded.

I settled into the taxi, put my headphones back on, and resumed my music, gazing at the city passing by. It had been almost three years since I left here, and everything looked somewhat different, yet strangely familiar.

My anticipation for reuniting with my mom and my somewhat irritating sister was interrupted by the taxi driver's voice. "We are here, madam," he announced.

"Oh, finally. Thank you. Um, how much for the drive?" I inquired.

"That'll be $50," he replied politely, assisting me with my luggage.

I handed him the money and showed him my passport. "It's been so long. Can you please tell me how to get here?" I asked, showing him the address in my passport.

"Well, ma'am, we're very far from there right now," he explained.

I checked the passport and, I realized why it seemed like I had been dropped off at the wrong neighborhood.

"Um, thank you for your help," I forced a smile, my surprise visit to my mom's house now in jeopardy.

"Sure, ma'am. No problem," the taxi driver responded before driving away.

As I looked at the photo in my passport, it struck me that the guy I bumped into at the airport looked eerily similar. How do I find him now? I examined the passport and noted the address where he was presumably supposed to be. I couldn't call my mom and tell her I was lost. I had to find this stranger to resolve the passport mix-up.

Rolling my suitcase and shouldering my bag, I walked to a nearby bus stop and headed toward the given address. To my surprise, it turned out to be a hotel. I made my way to the rooms and finally reached the correct one. As I raised my hand to knock on the door, a young guy with cute nerd glasses appeared beside me. I offered a friendly smile.

"And you are?" he asked, curiously.

"Oh, I'm Lia. I came to get something from a friend of mine, in this room," I replied, opting not to mention the passport mix-up, which was too embarrassing.

"Okay, cool. I think she's home," he said with a smile. "I came to meet her."

"She?" I inquired. Just as I did, a young-looking lady opened the door, smiled at the guy with glasses, and then turned her attention to me.

"Who is she?" she asked, furrowing her brow and directing the question at the man.