You

I long for you, though you remain nameless, faceless: a mist in my consciousness, a shadow in my dreams. I long for you though I may have been looking for you through someone else...insisting he was you. I long for you, though I have never known you and though I might have had, in some chance encounter, driving from the opposite lane of the two way street I habitually pass, in an intersection waiting for the light to change and you were 2 cars behind me, in a crowded mall, in a stuffy elevator, in a coffee shop one lazy afternoon, in a bookstore, in a church pew as I was down on my knees and praying for some miracle, and you were right outside, not wanting to come inside, praying for the same thing.

We would go out to gatherings together. Not because we could not stand not being together, but because we want to share the most important events of our lives with each other. We would hold hands as we arrive but we would mingle separately and talk to our respective sets of friends because we recognize the importance of maintaining our separate identities.

Maybe you were present in my past relationships, your characters evident in different persons at different times and different places. I will bask in your love and you, in mine. But until such time comes, I'll be hoping and keeping the faith. That you exist.

- from page G-2, Lifestyle Section, the Philstar. I omitted some lines and paragraphs and replaced them with words and experiences closer to my heart.