The Miracle of You

Time flew by, and before Michael knew it, Monday finally came.

It had been a while since he last paid serious attention to his appearance. Of course, being the head of the company, he was expected to dress appropriately and carry himself with a dignified aura. He needed to be consistent and professional at all times, something that he learned through years of training and experience.

However, this was the first time that he really looked at himself in the mirror, wondering if he looked good enough to impress. He had light-brown hair with a few strands that fell across his eyes, and his skin seemed smoother than average. The lighting in the room cast shadows on his features and highlighted the contours of his face, making him think for a moment that he was staring at a stranger in the mirror.

How curious. So this was what he looked like up close…

‘It’s not like I look at my face in the mirror each day,’ he surmised. ‘Usually, I would only pay attention to my outfit and then go about my day.’

Speaking of clothing, he had opted for a semi-formal look, wearing a crisp white shirt with a slim-fitting blazer that was a shade of dark gray. The lapels of the jacket were pointed, adding a touch of sophistication. He paired this with well-fitted dark denim jeans that hugged his legs just right, making him look both sharp and comfortable. He also wore a classic pair of black leather loafers with a matching belt.

Did he look decent enough for the meeting? He couldn’t tell. He wasn’t really the type of person who paid attention to fashion. At work, he wore the same kind of formal suit, just in various styles.

He had never really considered what kind of clothing would be good for a personal meeting. All of his previous outside meetings included clients, investors, and other important figures, so he still needed to dress formally for the occasion.

As for personal outings…

He couldn’t quite recall having some of those. Maybe it was because he was anti-social and didn’t have much friends, but he preferred meeting for business rather than pleasure or simply for the heck of it.

However, this time, he needed to fix himself nicely. It was Hailey, after all.

Michael took a deep breath, clutching the silver locket around his neck. Suddenly, he felt reluctant to part with it, mostly because it had been with him for many years now. It was as though he was about to give away his only connection to Hailey.

But again, a promise was a promise.

***

Michael entered the doors of the café, feeling his chest tighten at every step. There was a fluttering feeling in his stomach that swept him away momentarily into the past, back when he used to look forward to those special meetings with Hailey.

Even though they belonged in different years back then, he would often seek her out, and she would always welcome him like a good friend. Sometimes she would be the one to find him, and she would scold him for his bad habits. She took her duties quite seriously, something that created mixed feelings among the students at school.

He kept it a secret from her for a while, but he would sometimes smoke or cut classes on purpose just so she would seek him out and scold him. It was a slightly twisted way of getting her attention, but he was young and immature back then, someone who didn’t know how to act on his growing feelings.

There was a saying that a boy would often pull on a girl’s pigtails if he liked her. However, Michael wasn’t the type to pull on Hailey’s hair like that, and he knew that she would only kick him in response as punishment. She was headstrong like that, one of the qualities that he admired about her. She would not back down from any challenge and was always confident. It seemed as though barely anything could rattle her.

Which was why he thought that the only chance he had of getting her attention was to keep breaking the rules and continue to act like a troublemaker.

‘I was so immature back then,’ Michael thought to himself with a chuckle.

He had been young and not even a legal adult yet while Hailey was a year older than him. They were supposed to not have that many chances to meet each other, but for some reason, they did. It was as though whenever they needed to see the other, the opportunity would often present itself.

Since Michael was an awkward teen back then who was still struggling with his growing feelings for his female senior, he was often stiff and a little clumsy around Hailey, a drastic difference to how he usually acted.

He wondered if Hailey ever picked up on his odd attitude towards her. Then again, she was always frank with him and would point out strange things or little details from time to time, so probably not. Funny how she was an observant person and yet she never even suspected that he was in love with her at that time.

Or maybe it was because she never thought of him as anything else other than a friend. That would definitely explain it.

‘An unintentional friendzone. Typical Hailey,’ Michael thought in amusement.

But now, they were adults, and in their thirties, even. It was a given that their dynamics would shift this time. Michael wondered for a moment if they would start feeling awkward around each other. It would be understandable, but he didn’t want it to be that way.

He hoped that they would become like before, like good friends that would talk about anything with each other. He missed the comfortable atmosphere between them.

‘I can’t wait to see you,’ he thought to himself.

When he arrived at the private area inside the café, the secluded area that he reserved for their meeting, that was when he saw her.

Hailey van Gowen.

Michael’s steps slowed to a stop.

It was strange. He knew that this woman was the same Hailey that he had been in love with since high school, but she looked so different now that it threw him off a little.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Some people drastically grew out of their baby-faces once they reached their late twenties, while some would still retain that youthful look in their appearances. Still, change was inevitable, and Michael could even say that he looked quite different from his high school self. His features were still pretty recognizable, though.

However, Hailey – or Camille Parker, as she called herself now – looked like a different person altogether, and that fact only solidified the moment he saw her in person.

Back then, Hailey had long, dark hair and pretty features despite not wearing makeup like the rest of her female peers. She didn’t care that much about her appearance, which didn’t really matter since she had a natural beauty about her, something that drew the boys’ eyes to her like a magnet.

However, Camille was different.

Camille had blonde hair that was pulled into a neat bun, giving her a much more mature look. She had the same olive-green eyes, but their shapes were emphasized by an eyeliner and eyeshadow. It seemed that she even applied mascara, judging by the thick, curly lashes.

Camille had an attractive face, but it stood out even more thanks to the makeup. Her skin looked fair and smooth, with a slender nose line and perfectly drawn eyebrows. Her lips were coated with a pink, glossy sheen.

Probably the only thing that Camille retained from ‘Hailey’ was the way they dressed. Camille was wearing a formal, buttoned white shirt with a dark-gray, long-sleeved vest worn over it. Her pants were the same color, and she was wearing black high heels as well as a black tie worn around her neck.

She looked like she was ready to go to work at any time.

‘And to think that I had to forego my usual suit,’ Michael thought in amusement. ‘Maybe I should’ve gone for a formal look, after all.’

When Michael approached, Camille – it was so strange to refer to her by that name now – looked up and stared at him.

She seemed surprised to see him. Perhaps she was also feeling the same way, an odd sensation at seeing each other in person after so many years.

They didn’t say a word to each other, still caught up in studying their features one by one, trying to connect their current appearances to their memories of high school.

It wasn’t until Michael finally came to a step before her that Camille snapped out of her trance.

“Oh, how rude of me. Michael, right?” she said, quickly standing up to bow respectfully. After all, Michael was a known public figure, and she never forgot her manners. “Please, have a seat, sir.”

Michael took the chair across from her and raised an eyebrow. “…Sir?” he repeated. “You would never have called me that back in high school.”

It took a second for his remark to process in Camille’s head before she eventually burst into a chuckle. “Ah, right. I would’ve never even dreamed of bowing to you so respectfully back then.” Her voice turned a little wistful. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, Noah…?”