----
PhD was also a big deal. Who wants to run away by undertaking 4 years of endless research? Putting their life at stake. It is laughable to think how people determine life by seeing how much money they can earn. She remembered the day when her parents were really proud of her because she was granted a full scholarship for her Master degree. But now, after she was officially unemployed and intending to pursue PhD rather than being a corporate slave, they suddenly stopped being proud.
Funny how demand could escalate quickly, you could never keep up. Funny how achievement or higher education did not matter anymore once you were not a money producer--like society demanded you to be. Was life really that simple? Earning money and die? Was money determining your value? Was nothing greater than money existing in life? Was happiness only coming from material treasure?
She knew she made a very harsh assumption about society. Who was she kidding? She needed money herself--yet, after endless study about money in her Master and how (already rich) people greedily conducted any method to earn more and more--it made her sick. It was not a life she ever imagined to live. She wanted a life with meaning. Where she could work passionately not only for herself, but also for others. She wanted to be useful for the people in a greater way.
However, until now, nobody really gave her chance. It made her questioning herself, she hated it. It made her doubting her quality. And discouragement from people that she cared about did not help her situation. She wished for a safe haven where she could run into without running away from her problems. She wished for someone that would support and believe in her delirious dreams. She wished for someone who was strong enough for her to lean on.
She snorted--like that kind of person exist. Well, he was exist once before he went away and broke her heart severely. Made everything worse and damaged her further. She did not need that kind of distraction in the foreseeable future. Especially now, when she needed to fix her path and made the right decision.
Or so she thought...
----
If today was not the worst, he did not know how to describe this situation any better. He practically flee from his parents--could not stand any more conversation about his brother's political campaign or his younger brother's appointment as a doctor. They did not even blink on the news about how he got accepted for a PhD program in the best university. Just because he only worked in Parliament for the past three years, while his older brother running for a Mayor, no pride was left behind for him. He worked for the greater society for crying out loud. He would also soon be promoted as the Prime Minister's executive staff after his PhD. Yet, no one care--as usual. Who was he kidding?
Despite of his border-less freedom, he started to wish for someone to truly care about him--not love, but care. Sometime people claim that they love him, yet they actually did not care. Who needed that kind of love? He thought about how right people who said that love's age was basically short. At the end of the day, he realized that nothing could please his parents, no matter how high his achievements were and how much expensive stuff he bought for them, they were already blinded by their so called love upon his siblings. Ah, that was the perk of being a trophy child, right?
They only talked highly about him when people were around, but in front of him? Zero.
He snorted--how pathetic. Begging for an attention from his own parents like a teenager. Begging for an equal treatment like an adolescent. The saddest part was, they were unconsciously did that to him. No parents wanted to admit that they preferred certain child from the others. Like come on, loving equally was true, but human was human, we were born to have preference. Therefore, it was not about loving equally, it was about preferring equally--a concept which unfortunately did not exist.
----
She walked really fast in order to arrive in her apartment before it was raining. Nevertheless, like her other shattered hope, the sky chose to be overly empathized and cried for her. The vicious rain then forcing her to stop by in the nearest cafe. Maybe that was what she needed--a moment of silence in a cute cafe while watching the rainy weather.
The gloomy weather outside was perfectly describing the pity-party inside her. She sat in the corner, a table for two beside the big wide window. After picking up her mug full of hot chocolate, she warmed her hands and observed people who practically running or simply walking under their umbrella. A mom who carried her daughter close. A dad who held his son's hand. A couple that embraced each other closely. The view made her realize how lonely she was, though.
It was poignant.
Until her eyes caught a certain handsome guy, who walked aimlessly in the street. He was drenched by the rain. She watched him with interest, not because his strong jaw or his blonde locks for that matter, and lets not forget his hot body. She smiled a little at her admission in the middle of this miserable condition before focusing on those sad and lost hazel eyes. She could tell that he was in a deep agony.
The fixer in her wanted to run and hug him. But who she was kidding, a guy like him probably had many women throw themselves on him? And her? She was too tired to fight for attention or love. If the people who supposed to love her did not even bother, why should she try on people who did not born with that capacity?
She glanced a her hot chocolate. Silently cursed the tears that were now flowing freely.
----
He cursed under his breath for the sudden rain, validating his worst day into amazingly fucked up one. He basically walked the street like it did not bug him. He did not really care right now. Until he saw his favorite cafe that served his favorite espresso. He stood in front of the cafe and stopped his step rather abruptly because of the woman who currently sat near the window.
She appeared so broken and lonely. He even caught her wiped away her tears.
He looked away--did not want her to catch him watching. He exhaled softly before entering the cafe. After ordering his usual signature double espresso, he started to search for the perfect seat to think. He strolled to a table for two right across her. Once he sat there, she caught his eyes. Her eyes widened before she looked away and sipped from her mug--obviously fidgeting, made his lips twitched, amused.
He used the opportunity to checked her out blatantly. She was really pretty. Not stunningly beautiful, but real sweet in the eye. There was something about her, though. Way beyond her appearance. Not that he found her unattractive, it was just her character spoke louder than her physic. It was a great pull for him. Despite of her sad eyes behind the geeky glasses, he found her like a giant magnet. He did not know why.
Not until those sorrowful dark brown eyes finally stared back at him.
And there... like a punch in the gut, he just came across another functionally dysfunction soul, like his.
