Sunday morning coffee

ring! ring!

The sound of the alarm clock that was set for 6 in the morning woke me up this Sunday morning. The room is a mess and I just woke up from a mess in the past, giving me no motivation to move forward. That's right, I'm alone now so it would be ideal for me to end everything here now.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about the message Mom sent me last night. Arranged marriage? At this time and age? What the hell did my Dad get into this time around?" I began my rambling which lasted for quite a while.

sighs.

I stood up from my bed and made my way to the toilet to begin my morning routine. As I look at my own reflection in the mirror, I saw how pathetic I looked with overgrown hairs covering my eyes and stubbles on my chin which recently started to grow.

"I should go and have my hair cut before going to that meeting," I mumbled to myself.

That's right, because of what my Dad did, I have to meet this person who I was arranged to get married to. At the very least, I have to keep up appearances and make myself look presentable to avoid causing enough trouble for my parents. After all, this arranged marriage would be dealt with sooner than later and the girl in question would decline it after we meet. No one wants to be bound by a fixed marriage in this day and age anyway and most importantly, no one would want to spend the rest of their lives with someone like me.

***

After preparing myself for this breakfast meeting I am forced to take part in, I went outside in a hurry as I am already five minutes behind schedule. As for my fit for today, since it is right in the middle of summer, I wore light clothing such as the white short-sleeved button-down shirt that I have in my closet, gray tight-fitted shorts, and pair of loafers. Here's hoping that I look presentable enough for today's agenda.

After having some thoughts on my way to the cafe which was given to me by my mom, I decided that after this meeting, I'll just move to the countryside where my parents reside in. After all, I don't want to imagine seeing them sad after what happened 10 years ago. I don't want them to mourn for me. At least, that's what I want to think, and not because I got cold feet all of a sudden.

When I arrived at the meeting spot, I took one empty seat on the far side of the cafe. I don't know what she will look like or her name. All I know is that she is supposed to be wearing a yellow dress as described to me by my mom.

This is the first time I did this kind of thing after what happened ten years ago and the longer I waited in my seat, the butterflies in my stomach keeps on multiplying. I want her to get here as soon as possible so this situation can be dealt with a lot faster.

I ordered a black Americano and as soon as it arrived on my table, everyone - including me, is caught by the alluring presence of the person who just walked in, followed by the chimes of the door in the cafe. To call that her presence captivated everyone's attention is underplaying what just happened. It's like she took everyone's breath away with her presence. She looks around the cafe and that's when the sudden realization hits me.

She's wearing a yellow dress.

"Oh, there you are!" She yelled as she looked my way.

She removed her sunglasses and walked straight from where I was seated. As she do so, everyone's stare went from her to me as if they were looking at me with a judging eye.

I'm so sorry for being a generic type of man.

As she gets near my table, her face became clear. It's weird because it seems as if I just recently saw that face. Is it one of my former co-workers? No. Then, is it that girl from the convenience store I stopped by on my way home last night? Don't tell me, is it one of the hostesses in Shinjuku last night? No, that seems impossible. And that's when it hit me.

"Oh, it's the girl who puked at me last night." I monotonously declared as I point at her.

As soon as she heard it, her face became all red. Uh-oh, is she going to yell at me this time?