Under the Umbrella of Destiny

“Ms. Marissa Johnson. I’m afraid your application has been rejected. Another candidate was selected for the slot you were interviewed for.”

“I understand. I should go now.” Marissa's shaky voice replied, a fake smile covering her weary heart.

She swung her duffel bag over her shoulder, avoiding eye contact with the young, blonde woman who stood before her and left the secluded office. Her heart sank with each step she took. Her smile faltered as tears glistened in her eyes. She didn’t care about her clothes getting soaked by the rain and her shoes filling up with rain water. She was oblivious to everything around her, tears rolling down her face. The cold bitter wind stung her face as she relived the words of the interviewer. They were sharp, cutting her heart over and over, stabbing her like a knife. She had lost her dream job of being a gym teacher at the last center which she hadn't been interviewed for yet…What now? Her shoulders sagged. She wished she could just turn back time and retake the interview. She wished she could question the interviewer on what she could do better. But no. Her dream was long gone.

She stopped in front of a café and wiped the tears off her face. She sat at a vacant table and ordered a coffee, in the hope that it would clear her head. Her mind raced, searching through all the preparation she did, all the classes she attended, all the training; gone. Marissa closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Her mother did always tell her not to get too emotional over something. She could just get an old, boring office job instead. However, her brain wouldn’t accept such an idea. She had dreamt of that job for the past 10 years, only to find all of her effort in vain.

She watched as the rain drizzled down the window, the wind blowing it away the moment a tiny droplet almost got to the bottom of the sill. She pictured the rain droplets as herself. Every time she was so close to succeeding, fate would ruin it all. She sighed, picking the barcode stickers off the utensils left for the customers. Just then, she heard the clanking of a glass on the table.

“Your total is $3.90 ma’am “the waiter said, looking at her slightly displeased, probably because she was drenched.

Marissa straightened up, adjusting the scarf around her neck and reached for her purse. She turned to the waiter. Just as she gave him the money, she spotted a strangely familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

The moment the waiter left, Marissa glanced behind her for a second time. A young man sat there, chatting with another person. He wore jeans and a frosty blue ugly sweater; a pendant hung round his neck. He was drinking a strawberry milkshake as he laughed with the man sitting opposite him. Marissa stared at the man, trying to recall who he was. She squinted at the pendant on his neck, racking her brain. Her eyes widened in shock as her memories finally came flooding back. The pendant was a tiny locket, a sapphire glued to the center. The one she had got for a friend during her schooling time. This was Mattheo, the guy she had befriended in high school.

The man, who finally felt a disturbing gaze, looked up at her quizzically. Marissa, who realized she was staring, quickly looked away, feeling her face burn. She had an idea of confronting him, but her second thoughts chimed in. What if it was a different person who just looked like him? That would be really embarrassing. She took a sip of her coffee and slowly turned behind her to make sure it wasn’t just her imagination. But the man was still there.

“Pinch me” she muttered to herself.

She gulped down her coffee and got up from her table, her hair dripping. She hung her bag on her shoulder and left the café, the janitor giving her a disgusted look. She stormed out, afraid that if she stayed there for a longer time, she would keep looking at him and freak him out. She bolted down the grey sidewalk in disbelief, hand over her head so that she wouldn’t get even more wet than she already was.

She kept walking through the heavy rain, her jacket billowing with the wind. She looked down at her feet as she walked, unable to get out of the moment of who she had seen earlier.

Marissa lowered her hand for a second to tuck the hair in her face. When she did, she noticed something was quite strange-she couldn't feel the tapping of the rain on her clothes. She swirled around, confused, and saw the same man from the cafe earlier, holding an umbrella over her head. Marissa was sure now. She knew it was Mattheo. His wrinkled smile, the way his eyes shone with delight, made her sure of it.

"Do I...do I know you?" she cautiously asked, just in case.

"I'm pretty sure you do" he drummed his fingers against the handle of the umbrella.

"T-Theo?" Marissa slowly formed the word in disbelief.

"Sure is. May, wasn't it?" He grinned.

Marissa was overwhelmed. He still remembered her nickname. She reached out her hand to his face, a wave of relief washing away the pressure she had felt earlier. She thought she had lost him ever since he shifted to another place.

"Do you...do you still remember? When we sat together at break time and-"

"Dared ourselves silly things every time? Yeah I remember. Very vividly." He finished.

Marissa watched his dreamy face as he recalled all his memories.

Marissa chuckled. She wished that it wouldn't end up being a dream. If at all it was, she wanted to wake up a long time later. Her eyes locked on his, a moment of understanding passing through the two of them. They weren't far apart anymore. They were finally together again. Marissa's heart raced. She couldn't believe it, her eyes widening in shock.

"I thought I lost you forever." Marissa told him, not knowing what to do.

"So....how about we take a stroll in the park? We definitely have a lot to talk about." He suggested.

"First of all how did you actually get here?" She said.

"Got a job here as an accountant. Didn't expect to see you here. What about you? I thought you were back in Michigan."

"Oh me? I shifted back here to stay with my family, you know? " She replied, a smile tugging at her lips.

"So...shall we?" Mattheo reminded her.

"Oh right. But before that..."

Marissa tackled him and hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go. She laughed as she watched his baffled expression. Mattheo hugged her back and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Now, we should get going."

Thus, off they walked, talking about all their old times together. Marissa lost herself in the moment, forgetting all her sadness. She smiled, happy to be with the boy she had loved again. Both of them cherished the moment, a broken friendship finally reunited. The rain had stopped, and the sun, though hidden behind the clouds, shone brightly in her heart.