Chance encounters

I watched The Dark Knight last night for the third time (technically, third, because when I watched it on the opening day I repeated it being late for 20 mins on the second to the last screening), because (a) I decided to waste whatever was left with my money and not care, (b) I have preconditioned myself that unless I come home late enough I'd be witnessing another nasty bout of verbal abuse between Pa and my stepmom, and (c) I thought it good to spend two and a half hours while outside its raining profusely.

It turns out I'm wrong. When I climbed onto the jeepney, that's when it started to rain. A couple of minutes, it was already raining hard. There was only me and a lady prolly of my age when I was about to step down. She was going down as well and with an umbrella. Just before I was about to go down, she offered me hers. I thanked her profusely

While Rihanna’s infamous lyrics reverberate in my head, I was genuinely grateful of the gesture. I mean, how many out of 10 people would offer their umbrellas to strangers (even to those not criminal (adorable)-looking like me)? Or maybe, I’m just becoming jaded that such random act of kindness would strike me a bit odd? Am I really that bitter and full of shit? Full of my own shit.

The young lady was not really awful looking. Fair-skinned and wore glasses. Not that I would take interest immediately at such a chance encounter. I hailed another jeepney en route home and I thanked her again without even looking at her. Made the urgency of heavy downpour an excuse to myself.

In college, I’d frequent the university chapel, sometimes because I want, need the silence. And I was a crybaby at times when the shittiness of my life and how messed up it is screams at me in the face. And so I go there for silence, sometimes cry. One time, this pretty girl approached me and offered me her scented hanky. She was a familiar face, one or two years my junior. Pretty and could prolly passed off as a model. I knew she was intelligent.

She was on a front pew staring blankly at the crucifix or something. Perhaps I was sobbing and I prolly turned red in the face when offered the hanky. She said I could have it. She did not say anything else or offered pointless words of comfort. The smile and apologetic face did it all. When she left, I wiped my tears and blew my nose with it. I kept the hanky until I lost it.

I see her on campus but my wits are battling if I should even talk to her. I mean just to say thank you. Didn’t you thank her already? She graduated to be summa cum laude and had a Korean boyfriend at the time.

When I lost the hanky I messaged her over MySpace. She replied, never mind. I think the short message went on to say I needed the hanky or something but I lost my MySpace password.

What with all these chance encounters with random acts of kindness? Am I bound to be unlucky bastard after all? Am I just being too melodramatic? Do I pass myself off as someone who badly needs being taking cared of? Is Venus just spitting on my face? Should I just leave it all to chance? I’m just having a bad day.