"I'm sorry, miss, but... who are you?"
It was as if someone poured a cold bucket of water in me when he asked that question. My heart broke, and all the hopes in me shattered into pieces.
"W-what... y-you're kidding, right?" I tried to laugh it off. "Oh, come on, Dion, I know you're just playing with me. Come on, stop this."
But the serious look and confusion in his eyes said it all, he couldn't recognize me. He doesn't know me. And my system cannot accept this, I could feel my heart shattering into pieces as I look at him.
He shook his head. "No, miss, I'm sorry. I don't know what you are saying. And I am not Dion."
"Gin. My name is Gin."
Our eyes locked, and although he denied it twice, I knew it is him. Dionysus. My Dion. But then...
"Gin. My name is Gin."
Dion.
Tears loomed in my eyes as I look at him. He sighed and for a while, I thought he would end this play but then he apologized and once again, shattered all the remaining hope in me.
"Look, miss, I-I don't know who is this Dion you are calling, but I am telling you, I am not him. My name is Gin Montero, and I am just here for a quick vacation. I am not Dion, and I don't know anyone named Dion."
And so tears fell from my eyes as he repeated those words. He is not Dion. And he doesn't know anyone named Dion.
I felt the looks of the people passing by so I took a deep breath and gathered myself to calm. I closed my eyes and sniffed. When I opened them again, I looked at the man in front of me who looked exactly like Dion.
"Gin..." his name came out from my mouth.
His brows furrowed. "Y-yes?"
A small smile made its way on my lips and I shook my head. Even if their name is different, it has the same effect on me.
"S-sorry." I stuttered. "I'm sorry I've mistaken you to be someone else."
Dion's signature smile appeared on his lips and it made my heart jump in so much joy. But then again, I have to remind myself that he is not Dion.
"Ah, okay. It's fine miss..."
His tone indicated that he wanted to know my name so I widen my smile and introduced myself.
"Zhanaia. Call me Zhanaia." I said.
"Aye, Zhanaia. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Gin."
We were like lovesick fools feeling shy with each other as we stand in front of Miró Coffee, and we only came back to our senses when a woman excused herself and she walked past us.
"Uhm, how about let's have a cup of coffee and vibe for a while?" he offered and I don't have the heart to refuse it.
He opened the door for me and even pulled a chair for me, reminding me how Dion does that too, but then again, I reminded myself he is not him. I let him order something for us and I watched him as he walks to the counter and talks with the barista.
Everything about him resembled Dion, and the question as though how did it happen that he looked exactly like him was playing in my head but I pushed it off for a while and focused on the moment where I currently am.
When he walked back into our table holding a tray, the aroma of hot choco and Cappuccino filled my nostrils. Again, it reminded me of those moments Dion and I shared in this coffee shop.
"So, uhm, how's life?" he tried to start the conversation.
I took a sip on my Cappuccino. "Well, life is good, sometimes a bitch."
His brows furrowed and he tilted his head while he has this amused look plastered on his face. Then he shook his head and sipped on his hot choco.
"Well, if you say life is good, I'd say it is, but yea, sometimes a bitch." he said. "Life gives us things we never wished for, and the things we wish to have were never given."
"Too deep," I commented.
He shrugged. "Experiences. Well, Zhanaia, what do you do for a living?"
"Oh, me? I am a flight attendant in Swiss Airlines, and I am on a vacation this week, so, I'm enjoying my time to relax."
"Ah, I see."
"Hmm." I took another sip of my coffee. "How about you? What do you for living?"
The chair screeched as he moved and leaned his back, relaxing his body. "I just started my shipping company last year, and so far, it is doing good."
And it was my time to have that amazed look on my face and my eyes widen a bit.
"You own a company, you are a CEO?" I asked despite the obvious.
He shrugged. "I'd say yes, but you know, I don't flaunt it. I wanted to remain lowkey and unbothered by all those business stuff. As you see, here I am, enjoying the beauty of this paradise."
I smiled at his words, and again, it reminded me of Dion who also wanted to stay lowkey despite being the heir of his father. But then, I shook him off of my thoughts. It is not good to think of someone else while you are talking to someone.
Gin and I talked some more, and just like the first time I shared a moment with Dion, we easily vibed with each other. An hour later, I know enough about him and him to me so we were no longer strangers sharing a cup of coffee and hot choco on a late morning.
Dion and he have a lot of things in common too which made it hard for me to believe that they were not one, but in some ways, they have differences too. Nonetheless, I pushed Dion away from my thoughts and focused on Gin.
We weren't aware of how much time we spent sitting on that spot, talking like we were old friends and like we didn't meet just this morning. I just found out that it was already nearing noon when my phone vibrated from my bag and Zhairo's name appeared on the caller ID.
"Excuse me, I'll just take this call."
"Yea, sure. I'll wait for you here."
I smiled and stood up, walk a few meters away from our table where there was no one could hear me talking.
"Hello, Zhairo?"I put the phone on my ears.
"Eyy there, Zha. You going home for lunch? Heartly wants to see you."
"Oh, you two there?"
I could hear him nodding on the other line. "Yes. We were supposed to be here at dinner but she said she misses you and wanted to see you now."
"Ah, okay. I'll go home, wait me there."
"Where are you?"
"Miró Coffee."
"With who?"
That question made me look in Gin's direction who waved his hand at me with a smile. I nodded and motioned him to give me more time and he just gave me a thumbs up.
"Hello, Zha? You still there?"
"Ah, yea. I am with a friend." I said when I heard my brother's voice again. "Zhairo, I'll be there shortly. Could you wait for me?"
I heard him asked his girlfriend from the other line before he gave an answer. Heartly's yes made me smile.
"Okay, brother. I'll be there. I'll cook for lunch, prepare the ingredients."
"Great! What will you cook?" his cheerful voice made me cringed.
"Whatever Heartly wants," I replied.
"Alright! Got it!"
Before I could even utter a word to respond, the line ended and I shook my head at my brother's craziness. Walking back to our table, I have this apologetic smile on my lips. I just realize that we had more than four cups of Cappuccino and hot choco.
That's a lot.
"Who was it?" he asked with a smile when I came back.
"It was my brother, Zhairo," I told this to him already so he knew. "And he was with his girlfriend at the house, they wanted me to come since you know..."
A knowing look crossed his eyes. "Ah, yea, I get it. You and his girlfriend are close and you haven't seen each other for a while."
I nodded.
"Well, alright. I guess we'll end this one here and talk again next time."
"Next time?" my eyes widen. "There is next time?"
"Only if you want to. I can give you my number."
"Oh, sure!"
And we exchanged phone numbers before standing up at the same time. He walked me to the street and called a cab for me, a gentleman.
When the cab stopped in front of us, he opened the door for me and told me to take care. I thanked him for the moment and said we'll talk again some other time and exchange messages.
He closed the cab's door and waved when it started moving. And on the way home, the smile never left my lips as our conversations played in my head over and over again.
Gin.
You're not Dion, you said that for how many times, and proved me through your differences. But then, why do you look exactly like him and why do you resemble him in some ways? And why do you have this effect on me that only Dion could give?
"Gosh, Zha, if I hadn't read the article about his shipping company and his short biography, I wouldn't believe he is not Dion Dausel," Caroline commented as she gazed away from the tab on her laptop's screen where Gin's picture is on. Like what I did the first time I heard Dion's name from Lady Maya, Caroline and I made research about Gin after telling her everything that happened this morning. And it turned out that everything Gin told me was true. He owns a shipping company, Gracious Express, and it was launched last year, and so far, the performance it gives to the customers is good. According to our research too, he separates his personal life from business and is very keen on his privacy, hence the short biography we found. We also tried to find anything that will connect him to Dion, but indeed, his personal life was separated from business. In fact, there were only a few articles about h
Last night was a sleepless night for me. Gin called me using the endearment that Dion used to call me, hence, I had a hard time sleeping thinking it might be him. With the way he called me last night and what I felt after that, it was all Dion-like. But then we made a research about him, and couldn't find anything that will match him to Dion aside from that they looked alike, and their voices were the same as well, only that Gin sounded mature and manly than Dion. It's been eight years though, he could've been more mature and— ah, no, he's not Dion. While in the shower, I was thinking if it was really all just a coincidence. A coincidence that I met someone who looked exactly like Dion, and at the same place where we used to go before. Come to think of it, it doesn't look like a mere coincidence to me. Or was it and I was just making it all a big deal like what I always used to do? "Zha, c
Later that day, I received a text from Gin asking me if I am okay. I did not reply for I don't know if I am, I don't even know what I feel. I turned off my phone too since Caroline was trying to call me. I don't feel like talking to anyone. Perhaps this was because of the result of my expectation that didn't turn out as I expected it to be. Disappointment. A big disappointment. I have to admit that last night, when Gin agreed to meet us, I was hoping that maybe Caroline could do something that would make him admit that he is Dion and was just playing with me. But it turned out to be nothing. "Maybe you are just dwelling with the thought that Dion might still come back." a thought in my head said. Well, yea, maybe. And maybe I have to let go of that too. Maybe Dion's not going to come back anymore. Who knows what happened to him. If he is s
CHAPTER 6 It has been a week since I met Gin Montero, the man who looked exactly like Dion. It has been a week too since I came home and now I am up for another voyage, and the flight schedule that was given to me will be later evening today, and it will be in Asia again. My skills to speak different languages is an advantage in this field for they can assign me to international flights and I can converse with other nationalities. This also means higher pay and more chances of being promoted to a higher position, especially if my performance will remain good and remarkable enough. I climb down on the mini-van, careful not to trip because of the heels of the shoes I am wearing. Zhairo helped me with my luggage and locked the van before walking me to the area for flight attendants.
"Come on, Zhanaia, drink!"Rina, one of my co-flight attendants cheered me as she handed me another shot of Martini. Yes, a strong liquor for someone like me who's not used to drinking, someone who easily gets drunk, yet I didn't care about that for that moment and accepted the shot glass as I drank the Martini straight.Its bitter yet satisfying taste stayed in my tongue for a while as its hotness slid down my throat and onto my stomach. The party music was blasting through my ears as the scene got more blurry than a while ago. I know I am already tipsy but I didn't stop taking more shots. Instead, I accepted everything they handed me, and I know it wasn't just Martini that they gave me."Oh, yes, let's get wasted!" someone from our table shouted, and then I felt a hand pulled me.My head spins as I stood up and we made our way through the dance floor where guys were lost with the rock music blasting through the stereos. I scanned the area and though my
I woke up with my head throbbing in pain. The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes is the pair of pajamas I am wearing. I don't remember changing last night— and instantly, remnants of what happened came back to me.Dion.He was here!I scanned the place, but there were no traces that anyone aside from me has been here last night. But I remember so well that he was here— or was that because I was so drunk that I imagined that he was here? But then, who took care of me last night? Who changed my clothes? And where were the clothes that I wore at the bar?Standing up, I saw the dress I wore last night, neatly placed at the ta
"Seriously?" I sighed for the ninth time when I heard that word from Caroline. As soon as I came back to our hotel room, I immediately called her and luckily, she's resting and on a break from her shooting. I told her what happened, starting from what happened at the bar last night, the vague memory I had this morning, the breakfast delivery, and the incident at the Olympic Park. And after I told her everything, that's what she said. She sounded like she couldn't believe what I was saying and it's as if I am out of my mind. "Yes, seriously," I replied and rolled my eyes as if she could see me. She sighed from the other line. "Don't you think you were just being delusional? I mean, from the hang-over?" Ah, here we go. The hang-over thing made everyone believe that some of the things we experienced during our hang-over state were just delusional. I knew it could be that, yes, but no it wasn't.
We were getting ready for our next flight two hours from now. This time, it would be from China to Hongkong, and we'll be staying at the latter for another couple of days. As we prepared ourselves and packed our things, I asked Rina and Zoey again if none of them gave their key card to someone, and if none of them took care of me the night we got drunk. I knew I've asked this for more than five times today, but I wanted to ask again, just to make sure. Caroline's words that seem like a riddle still made me think about it when I am not doing anything, hence, I kept myself busy since she said that so I wouldn't think too much about it. Rina looked at me, resigned. "You've asked that for how many times now and again, Zhanaia, no, I didn't give my key card to anyone and I didn't take care of you that night. I mean, how would I? I was enjoying the night out with Cristopher. Hell, he's one of a kind. I loved his performance!"