December 31st - Taiwan

Kim is strolling around the streets of Taipei that cold morning, a coffee on one hand. She always loved the feeling of the wind breeze during that season. Her dad is currently busy with a client meeting — which she wondered why it happened on the 31st — so she made up excuses to go out.

Sigh. I'm terribly missing you now.

It has been two days now since she last saw Pie. Waiting for another two more days before she could see the woman’s beautiful face again feels like hell. After her realization days ago, Kim had accepted the fact that what she's feeling now is one-sided. She's not expecting anything from Pie — at least for now — because she's contented with their little friendship.

Although she feels she has some importance in Pie too, Kim doesn't want to keep her hopes up. She is truly aware that Pie's affection for her is pent within the barriers of friendship. The best Kim could hope for is for Pie to stay single while she's being a hopeless romantic, or until she finds someone to channel the love she's feeling now. Hopefully, Pie will not meet her Mr. Right yet so Kim wouldn't have to endure the pain of seeing the woman with somebody else.

After walking for quite a while Kim decided to take a break. She sat on a bench near a lamppost while sipping her coffee. She's got the view of Taipei 101 in front of her.

Kim could only simper when Pie came into her mind once again. After admitting to herself that she had completely fallen in love with that petite lady, her thoughts have been in auto-pilot mode. Pie is consistently on her mind, literally like every single minute of the day, even when asleep.

I wonder, is she thinking of me now?

The idea made Kim giggle. It seems impossible but if ever that's the case, even just a tiny chance, then she'll be on cloud nine.

"Well, hello there, stranger. Do you have company?"

Before Kim can take another sip of her coffee, someone called her attention. She looked up and saw a person pointing at the vacant space beside her. The woman has a long hazelnut hair with wavy ends. She's wearing a suspender skirt strap dress and a white off-shoulder blouse. Kim shook her head without taking her eyes off the stranger.

Who would say no to this type of beauty?

"Thanks!" The woman sat beside Kim.

Kim gestured a "you're welcome" bow. Although the stranger has a friendly aura, Kim isn't in the mood for little talk now. Unfortunately, seeing this woman made Kim miss Pie even more. That woman and Pie have somehow the same fashion style; the hair, the dress, the shoes, except for the height that Pie had seemed to lack.

"Ooh... it's really cold today, huh?" the woman spoke again, rubbing her palms against her arms.

Since it’s just the two of them on that bench, Kim knew that question was intended for her. "Y-yeah, that's what I love about this season.”

"You don't seem to be from here," said the woman, crossing her legs. The friendly aura and the cheerful mood that hangs around her is something welcoming for a stranger. "Where are you from?"

"Bangkok. You?"

"Really? Where in Bangkok?"

Kim was a bit confused by the woman's reaction. "Ratchathewi?" It turned out to a question instead of a statement.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I live in Lumpini, I own a flower shop there!" the woman exclaimed, smiling.

Kim's eyes widened. "Oh c'mon..."

"I'm not lying!"

Kim laughed to her surprise. "Is Bangkok too big for us that we have to meet here in Taipei instead?"

"Maybe Bangkok is too crowded for us. Who knows, we might have been passing by each other but never noticed it."

Kim shook her head and shrugged. "Well, it's... it's just something..."

"It's not something," said the woman, beaming at her. "It is called serendipity." The woman held out her hand to introduce herself. "I'm Yam by the way."

Kim had to shift her coffee to her left hand to free her right hand. "I'm Kim."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kim. You're here for vacation?"

"Mmm, sort of. I'm just visiting my dad for New Year's Eve celebration.”

"Then why are you strolling around here at this hour? You should be spending the day with your old man."

Although the question may seem to be personal, Yam's way of talking made it impossible for Kim to resist answering.

"Unfortunately, my old man is busy with his clients even today."

"Oh, what a workaholic daddy you have there."

Kim chuckled. "Yeah. How about you, you're here for vacation too?"

"Not sure if you can call it a vacation, but yeah..."

"You alone?"

"Yup."

Kim hummed in response. She felt to urge to ask more but doesn't want to sound like a nosy person.

"Is this your first time here?" asked Yam.

"I've been in Taiwan twice but this is the first time I went to this area. You?"

"Not the first time. For the last six years, I've been going to this exact place every 31st of December."

"Wow. Something special here?"

"This is the exact place where I met my boyfriend," came the response. "He was sitting on your spot now and I was sitting here. It happened 31st of December six years ago. We became an official couple the year after. It became our routine to go here every end of the year because this is where it all started."

"Oh. That's nice. Is he with you now?"

Yam shook her head slowly. "Well, this is the second time I went here alone.... He can't make it anymore..."

"You guys... sort of... split up?"

Yam forced a smile. "I wish we did, but it's not that way..."

The answer just got Kim more interested. She felt like maybe Yam is a lost soul that needs someone to talk to now. "Hey, I know we just met but I'm all ears in case you want to talk about it."

Yam's face looked relieved to hear that. "I'm not sure if I've told you this already but I am a florist. Being a florist, my passion is to prepare the best flower arrangement to any important events in somebody's life. Of course, my biggest dream is to design flowers for my wedding — our wedding."

Kim didn't say anything, anticipating the other girl to continue her story.

"It's just that it never occurred to me that I'll be the one who'll prepare the flowers for..." Yam intentionally paused for a moment as if she's trying to get more courage to say it, "...his funeral."

Kim felt a sudden ache in her heart. She recalled how her dad was so depressed when her mom died. Although she was too young that time to remember all the details but the pain she saw in her father's eyes is kept in her memory.

"I... I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," said Yam, hitting Kim playfully on the arm. "It's been two years now since he left. I'm okay now, much better compared to last year."

"I can't say that I know exactly how you felt but I've lost my mom too so I kinda understand how tough it is when a loved one leaves us," said Kim, trying to console.

"Yeah, it's tormenting. The pain is... is just unbearable..." Yam wrinkled her nose up as if remembering how she went through. "It was really hard to get over him, you know."

"Then why do you keep on coming back here if this place is full of his memories?"

Yam brought her hands to her lap and fiddled with it. "We were together for two years before that fateful accident happened. And it feels like I'm betraying him if I won't come here anymore."

Kim let out a loud sigh as she stared blankly at the horizon. No matter how much she tried to take the gloomy mood off her she's still feeling what Yam has felt for the loss she had.

"But yeah, I'm okay now," said Yam cheerfully. She noticed Kim's melancholic mood because of her story. "I just went here today to officially say goodbye to him, to the memories we had here. I'm moving on now. It's just somehow ironic that on the last day I pledge to go here, to formally bid farewell to him, I found you."

"Huh?"

"Don't get me wrong here, okay? It's just that... you know... you somehow reminded me of him," Yam confessed.

Kim was fazed to say anything.

The funny thing about it is you are reminding me of someone too.

Yam continued, "I don't know why I'm even telling you this, but yeah, you may not look exactly alike, but you have the same aura. The way you held your coffee, the way you were seated when I saw you earlier, that sunglasses you wear, all of those just reminds me of him."

"Okay... so... should I just buzz off now because I just heard that you already want to say goodbye to him?" said Kim, pretending to stand up.

Yam stifled a laugh. "Crazy! That's not what I meant!"

"But how can you forget him if you're talking to some stranger who reminds you of him?" asked Kim, chuckling.

"Hmm. How should I explain this...?" Yam brought her hands to her chin. "It's just that I feel like we're destined to meet here today."

"O-kay..." Kim was still not sure what it meant.

"You see, going here alone, what are the odds of me finding some random stranger that reminds of my previous boyfriend?" asked Yam. "You could have gone to this place a bit later and not meet me. Or maybe I could've gone here a bit earlier and sat with another person instead. But then, of all the time we have in the 24 hours of our days, both of us had chosen this time to go here."

Kim bent her head right. "Well... that's... an accident..."

"No way!" Yam punched Kim in the arm. "Now you're talking like him already. He said that our meeting was an accident."

Kim smirked in response. She's relieved to see that Yam is somehow over now with her grieving.

"There are no accidents, Kim. Everything happens because they are destined to happen. We may not know it for now but there is a reason why we met here today," explained Yam.

Kim's eyes lit up to her realization. "Yeah, serendipity, like you said."

Yam shifted her crossed legs. "You know, this is what I love about talking to strangers. You can share anything about yourself without worrying how they'll think of you later."

"I couldn't agree more," said Kim. “I used to travel a lot before and I know what you’re trying to point out.”

Even they just met today, their conversation made them feel like they've known each other for a long time. Two people, for some undefined purposes, have found their way to fulfill their yet unknown roles to each other.

"So... how about you, any issues you wanna share?" Yam nudged Kim.

Kim saw Yam's hopeful face for a touching story from her. Although she's entertaining the idea of telling this stranger what's on her mind, her face reflected a bit of hesitation.

"Come on, tell me. I just did all the talking earlier. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret," Yam whispered.

Kim smiled at the joke. She shook her head in uncertainty. "I don't know..."

"Agh, you're so unfair..." Yam groaned and pouted her lips.

Kim laughed when she saw Yam's childlike expression.

At some point, she really is just like Pie.

The truth is she really wanted to have someone she could express all her thoughts about Pie freely. Meeting Yam could mean that maybe that someone is her.

"Fine."

"Yipeee!" Yam clapped her hands for winning the conversation.

This time Kim turned her body to face Yam, her arms were relaxed at the backrest. "Okay... well... there's this girl..."

Even Kim hasn't finished her sentence yet, Yam expression seemed to change to a Mona Lisa smile. "And?"

"And I just... I just recently realized that... that I'm in love with her."

Yam brought her fingers to her chin. "Okay. I think we should give that girl a name."

"Her name is... Pie…" Just mentioning the name gives Kim a sudden sugar rush in her heart.

"Okay, so, are you 'friends' with Pie?" Yam's hand signed quotation on the word friends.

"Yeah, we're c-close friends... I think…"

"Is she aware of your feelings for her?" asked Yam. She saw Kim's lips curved upwards while her head is saying no. "Ahh, I see. So that's the problem."

"Yeah, exactly," Kim admitted, looking down at her coffee.

"Can't you just confess to her?"

"Nah, I can't do that. I'm not even sure if she's feeling the same thing for me. In fact, I don't think she's open to having a relationship with someone like me," said Kim, pointing out the main issue.

"Oh, c'mon. I won't believe her if she would say that she doesn't have a crush on you. Seriously, with that look of yours, I'm pretty sure she's attracted to you."

Although it may seem impossible, Kim's face shone with joy with what she heard. "I love what I'm hearing now, really, but Pie... she's different.... She's straight."

"But you said you were close, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if she thinks the same way. It's just probably me, you know, having these kinds of thoughts."

Yam saw how this new friend of hers looked sad with the one-sided affection. "What is she like?"

Kim's eyes roamed around the area. "She's petite, she's beautiful, and her smile is just... ahhh... I don't know..."

"What do you like about her?"

"Ummm... everything?" Kim feigned a smile. "I just love being around her. Every place becomes an extraordinary place when I'm with her."

"That's too mushy, Kim, haha! You know what, I'd love to meet her."

"Huh?"

A lot of questions popped up in Kim's head. How? When? Why? To think that they just met today, how are they going to do that?

"If it's okay with you, I said I'd like to meet her," Yam reiterated.

"Why do you want to meet her?"

"Let me see her first then I'll tell you if she's into you or not."

Kim's face lights up with the idea. "How would you know that?"

"C'mon, Kim. I know how another woman acts when she's in love, I've been there."

"But how are we going to meet?"

"Call me when you get back. I'll be flying back to Bangkok this afternoon."

Kim felt Yam's eagerness to help her. Even her intuition tells her that she should trust Yam. They gave out their numbers to each other and took a photo together.

"I'm not sure if I could bring her to you right away, it depends on the chances," said Kim, still looking at her phone.

"No problem. Just call me, update me what's happening between the two of you. I'd love to see you both be together," Yam sounded hopeful.

Kim's heart melted with that. She can't erase the grin on her face. "Thanks, Yam. It was nice meeting you here."