Fear of Rejection

This is a (not so) true story..
Setting: 1992

The Love Story of Jack and Dianne

They'd known each other since their school days and had since become the best of friends. They shared everything and anything and spent lots of time together in and after school. But the friendship never developed into anything deeper. Diane kept a secret: her admiration and love for Jack. She had her reasons for keeping it a secret. FEAR. Fear of rejection... fear that he might not feel the same... fear that he might not want to be her best friend anymore... fear of losing someone that she could always find comfort in. At least if she kept her feelings to herself she would still be able to spend time with him... and hopefully, he would be the one to tell her how he felt towards her.

Time passed, and soon school was over. Jack and Diane went separate ways. Jack continued his studies overseas, while Diane got herself a job. They still kept in touch though... penned letters, sent each other photographs, and mailed each other gifts.

Diane longed for Jack to be back. She decided that she would tell him her feelings once he got back. And then out of the blue... the mails from Jack stopped coming. Diane wrote to him, but there was never a reply. Where was he? What happened? Lots of questions ran through her mind...

Two years passed and Diane was still hopeful that Jack would come back... or at least send her a note. And then her prayers were answered. One mid-August day, she received a note from Jack. It said:

“Diane,

I have a surprise for you. I'm flying over. Meet me at the airport. My flight comes in at 4pm on Saturday. I can't wait to see you again! There's something I need to tell you, something I've been keeping inside all this time.

Love & Kisses,
Jack”

Diane's fingers shook as she read the note. Her heart soared. Diane was thrilled. Love and kisses... it meant a lot for a lady who had waited so long for those words. She was ecstatic!

The day arrived, and Diane waited anxiously for Jack. She had slipped into her best dress, and did her best to look as pretty as she could. She looked around... but Jack was nowhere in sight. She waited and waited, wondering what she would say to Jack when he got there, what their meeting would be like. Would there be love in his eyes? Would there be longing, bred from years of separation and hiding each others' feelings? Oh, how she longed to see him! How she longed to throw her arms around him and tell him she was a fool to ever let him go without ever telling him how she felt! And she was certain Jack felt it too. There was always a certain magic about them when they were together.

Then a lady in a sexy, tight, blue dress approached her. She had a very concerned look on her face, "Hi! I'm Lynn. Are you Diane?" she asked. Diane just nodded her head. "I'm afraid I... I have bad news for you. Jack is not coming... he won't be coming back anymore," said the lady, placing a hand on Diane's shoulder. Diane shook her head in confusion. She felt her heart constrict. What could possibly have happened? Diane felt an overwhelming fear inside her. Her hands turned cold. Her voice shook as she asked: "Where... where's Jack? What happened to him? Please tell me..." Diane begged the lady... The lady looked intently at Diane... and then she gave Diane a nudge on the shoulder and said.............
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"HOY GAGA! IT'S ME, JACK... JACKILYNN!!! LYNN NA NAME KO NGAYON TITA!!! DI MO VAH AKO NAKILALA?! ANG GANDA-GANDA KO NGAYON, DI VAAAAH?! ECHUSERA KA NAMAN MASYADO SISTER! KAKALOKA KAH HUH!! TEKA, SANDALI... MEET MY 'PAPA'!!"