Chapter 2 Announcement

Chapter 2

From John Keats to Fanny Brawne

My dearest girl,

"...I cannot exist without you - I am forgetful of everything but seeing you again - My life seems to stop there - I see no further. You have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I was dissolving - I should be exquisitely miserable without the hope of soon seeing you. I should be afraid to separate myself far from you. My sweet Fanny, will your heart never change? My love, will it? Love is my religion - I could die for that - I could die for you."

Yours forever, John Keats

13.10.1819

I'm sipping a mug of coffee while wiping my tears away. I'm silently reading this letter I saw while looking for cover letter samples. I don't know how on earth did cover letters got into love letters. 'What a coincidence', I thought. Then Jaimee Sullivan on A Walk to Remember popped up in my head saying, 'Nothing's coincidence'. I don't know how to react.

It's Sir John Keats's letter for his Fanny --- on the day I was born. I pitifully hid my face in the right corner of my unit, wiping my tears when I've read this at the library, now I'm wiping my tears again. Something inside really hurts.

I saw a picture of Crim on Facebook hugging a woman, and there's no more birthday cards since we graduated. It was actually Crimson at first but when he asked me to tutor him on some major subjects, I realized Crimson is like for the ones whom he doesn't want to let in, the way he lets others in. He's a bit aloof but is a kindhearted guy to the core.

This woman he's hugging is Pepper Hermosa, but Peppery Pepper or Pepper the Peppery for some. They won't call her that way if they just want to call her that way. I'm not fond of name calling, some colleagues are. Even when I saw Crim hugging her and it seems like she likes it so much in an ugly way, I don't see her flaws --- I see how she looks at Crim. I've never been this know-it-all kind of person but I can never be mistaken on that one. Pepper calls him Crim too.

Nearly done with my coffee and I keep on scrolling on my phone. No new e-mail messages. No calls. One new text message. It brightens the day. I opened it, read it and did what it instructed. E-mail sent. While waiting, I did the dishes and took a bath --- an hour bath that I've dreamed of. Almost two hours had passed but there's no reply. I sat down pondering. A few moments after, my brow raised automatically. "Scam", I mumbled in disappointment. This is definitely one of the things where I wanted to believe the saying, "When it rains, it pours".

Putting my socks on, my phone blinked. Another text message. 'Oh, give me a break. How could I be so dumb' I thought to myself, twitching my lips. Absentmindedly, I tossed my five-year-old phone up in the air that fell on my bed. Suddenly, I'm trying to remember what I'm supposed to do. "Oh yes", I snapped and flied to my closet. I'm drying my hair with a towel while my eyes wander on the four corners of my closet, as if I have varieties of garb to choose from. Checkered long sleeves, navy blue jeans, brown coat, and my high-cut. After putting some make-up on, I grabbed my backpack hanging on the wall, put my things and I think I'm good to go. I pulled down the fuse and finally left the apartment.

An absolutely perfect spot at the town plaza is much better. I turned my laptop on that instantly connected at the city Wi-Fi and worked on replying to some unread messages on my e-mail. Then a couple showing some PDA passed by. My brow raised automatically and looked down when the woman happened to look in my direction. I'm worried that she might think of anything wrong. I gulped on my bottled water hoping she would think I'm nonchalant. I really am nonchalant. It's just that, I rarely see couples who are that public. I smiled at her. She smiled back sweetly. 'Thank God', I sighed in relief. My head is now pinned on my laptop. I swear I'm not going to look at the passersby anymore. When I put the bottle aside, another couple approaches, old ones this time. They are holding each other's hand. The old man's hand with a tissue landed on the old woman's mouth savoring a mouth-watering shawarma. My heart melts as much as my tummy growls. 'Didn't I say I'm not going to look at the passersby anymore?', I thought to myself, feeling so pathetic. 'I can't take this anymore', I thought of leaving the place.

"I should be afraid to separate myself far from you.", the line from the love letter popped up in my head. I came to a halt. My eyes surely didn't mean to look at the old couple I feel my eyes hurt, being disgusted with the view. My chest is starting to feel burdened, my hands shaking. I want to look away but I hated myself when I realized, what I should have done is no to look at all. Tears are falling down my face again. 'Crim'. I whispered his name. My phone vibrated indicating a call, and interrupting a melancholic atmosphere. It's Becky. I wiped my tears.

"Becky" I said trying to sound okay

"You okay?" she asked

"I'm okay" I answered

"'Cause you sent me some files" she said

"H-huh?" I said, my brow raised

Confused, I looked at my e-mail. Then I snapped when I saw that I had sent her samples of essays and academic papers. The company asked me to submit samples of my previous works but I had mistakenly sent them to Becky.

I feel like telling her to come over to help me peel off some potatoes and we're going to make some mashed potatoes and cook her favorite chicken curry for supper but I remember I'm no like Princess Sarah. I could imagine her telling me to join the club instead, and there's nothing to worry about 'cause there's no membership fee.

"I'm about to call you actually" she sounded serious

"And I'm about to leave" I said frowning

"Huh?"

"Never mind. What about anyway?"

"Peppery Pepper announced a reunion for Batch 2010" she stated, saying 'Peppery Pepper' as if it's not a pet name.

"I'm coming over and I'm going to be staying for days", she added.

"That's nice"

"I need to go, okay? See you soon, bye" she said and did not let me say a word anymore.