CHAPTER 6: AFTER A WHILE…

She finished her concert work and was feeling fulfilled. She begins her day by saying her prayers and she felt her emptiness kicking in. She felt lonely again. During her concert work, all she thought inside her head was Ivan. She regretted in blocking him. But she let it sly because she was so busy at that time. She was focused on doing her concert and work stuff.

But after a while... going back to her normalcy, without Ivan, it felt empty. She thinks she has moved on from him but turns out she has been thinking about Ivan after her concert was done. Without things to do from her work, she's going back and forth to either or not she wants to unblock him on Whatsapp and Instagram.

She wonders to think if she didn't block Ivan during her concert time what it would be like but as the time pass, she decided to unblock Ivan and see what happens.

On the 2nd March 2020, she then finally unblocked Ivan, after many thoughts and going back and forth. The reason being, her gut telling her that Ivan is real and is not a scammer.

She then begins to chat with him again after two weeks of not chatting with him.

"Hi. Sorry I was away." - She texted him. It's been a while. She felt her heart is bursting to her chest while waiting for his reply. She wasn't sure either or not he would reply to her but she just went on with it because she likes to gamble her heart and rolling her dice upon the opportunity.

After a moment, he finally replied, "You blocked me. You were not away."

She then didn't want to admit that she's blocking him before for what she called a confusing reason due to peer pressure from Mark so she immediately replied, "Nope. I'm away. Been busy with the concert. Sorry. <Heart Emoji>"

Then he quickly replied, "Anya, just let me be. I really did not believe such an act could come from you."

She then replied, "I'm sorry... It's just I wasn't sure if you are a real person or a scam. That's why I need to talk to you in a video call. To know that you are real. But after a few days, I can't stop thinking about you. So I decided to trust you and contact you again. I've been scammed a lot, so I'm sorry if I blocked you. Hope we can still be friends?"

He didn't reply to her for a while, but after one hour, he finally replied, "So tell me, what made you change your mind? I was really shocked. I never expected such an act from you. You really think low of me to ever think that I would be one of those scammers....."

He then added, "Anya, I look forward to a very serious relationship with somebody that would love and trust me for who I am."

She thought, 'Wow, this is deep.' and then she replied to him, "You've been on my mind... and my gut telling me that you are real. I'm sorry. I've been scammed a lot and you don't want to have video calls with me when I just want to see you."

He replied, "Anya, please... let's take one step at a time...."

She agrees with him. He then added, "I really did not like the attitude... Talking of scam, what exactly happened? How were you scammed?"

She begins to write her story to him, "There's this guy named Bill, he's also from Instagram, he talks about the future together, ask me if I live by my self, and he said he's from the UK, but when he talked he sounded like Nigerian with his accent. It was pretty bad makes me scared. When I ask for a video call to prove that he's real, he has so many excuses, and he doesn't want me to see his face IRL.... I'm sorry, I told you that I also have trust issues..."

He replied to her, "Anya.... you really mean a lot to me... that is why I really want to take things slowly... I don't like it when people I really care about don't take me seriously. It hurts."

She then replied, "Aww... you too. You came into my life when I was just alone you know..."

She added, "I'm really sorry... I didn't trust my gut, I followed my friend's advice to block you while I know deep in my heart that you are real... after a few days, I can't stop thinking about you. It's like you are there for me to fill in my void and my lonely days..."

He replied, "I really know what I want in a woman and I see all those qualities in you."

She didn't believe what he is saying about her, so she texted, "Really?"

He then added, "Yes... You really mean a lot to me and I wish you could take me seriously."

She felt the guilt starts to kick in. She begins to think that she made a mistake by blocking him. He really cares about her. So she replied, "I'm really sorry... can we start over? I'm flattered, thank you. I liked when we laughed together... What did you see in me?"

Forty seconds later he replied to her, "We would talk about it when I get back. I am on my way to the office. I have to catch up with something. I would text you when I get back or probably give you a call. Do take good care of your self."

She quickly replied, "Ok. It's late here, I'd probably going to bed but leave me a message and I will reply to them in the morning. You too, take good care of your self."

He replied and added, "Ok then... Always know that you mean a lot to me. Always have that in your mind. Bye."

Wow. This is mind-blowing. He really truly cares deeply about me. I don't know what else to say other than replying to him with OK and I will keep that in mind. That longing for him after two weeks of blocking him is cured. He still wants to talk to me. After all this time but the old question still remains... who is he?