It's Called Destiny
"Miracles are for FOOLS." Serena said, looking at her best friend with her lips pressed tightly together. The lamp light shone on Serena's clean face.
"Where is that statement coming from?" Mina replied, her voice showing her exasperation. At first glance, people would mistake them for twins. She was tan and willowy but Serena was fair, half a foot shorter, and voluptuous. "All I said was that you should go to the Christmas ball with the girls. What's so wrong about that?"
"You said that I might meet someone wonderful that would sweep me off my feet." Serena answered, refusing to remember the last god-awful man she was in a relationship with.
"Okay, I apologize." Squinting her eyes at her once-beautiful best friend, Mina found it difficult to believe that she used to be eaten up with jealousy over Serena's looks. Now Serena's hair was always tied up in a bun. She looked lifeless and miserable with her pale complexion. Serena looked like a high school student without make-up. Instead of the beautiful clothes she used to wear, she now had on frumpy jogging pants and an unflattering hoodie sweater that Mina knew had belonged to Serena's brother.
"You used to be the most gorgeous girl at the university," Mina said wistfully. "I remember us girls during the graduation ball. Remember that white dress you had with the sheer fabric where everyone could almost see your soul? Those legs of yours had every man in the room drooling. Every man in Todai was drooling that Diamond had to glare the whole night."
Over her coffee, Serena gave a scowl. "The travel back to memory lane isn't helping me with my mood you know."
"Give me a break!" Mina wailed. "Sure that asshole of an ex-boyfriend of yours should really just die in a hole but you can't seriously be shutting yourself out of the society just because of one man? You're young at age twenty-six and very much in your prime. You should be going out, partying and getting to know countless men. I'm older than you by two years and have had bad relationships too but that hasn't stopped me from looking for love." At that Mina got up and strode over to the sink to get another cup of coffee.
"Point made," Serena said. "And just to be clear, Diamond was not just my ex-boyfriend but my ex-fiancé. And no matter how young or old I am, that doesn't change the fact that I am not ready to be in a relationship." When she said the name, there was contempt in her voice, as though she were speaking the devil's name itself.
Mina gave a great sigh. They'd had this conversation many times. "Diamond was an idiot and everyone who knows you both knows it. Lita offered to have him beaten up and thrown over Tokyo bay in a ball and chain and you refused. He's been out of your life for almost a year already. It's time you started living again."
"I know I should. But it still hurts to know that the person you loved and been in a relationship with for 6 years would just throw you away. We were already planning the wedding and..."
Mina's face was full of sympathy for her friend, and reaching across the table, she clasped Serena's hand and squeezed. "I know he was everything to you, but you can't just waste away your life like this. You deserve a man who will love you and cherish you but how will you find that person if you don't even try?"
"No!" Serena said sharply. "No man on earth will hurt me again, and I'd never allow anyone to try." She got up from the table abruptly and walked to the window. "No one understands. Diamond and I were more than just lovers, we were partners. We were equals, we shared everything. And yet, despite our history he still betrayed me. I will not allow myself to be vulnerable in front of a man ever again. Can you understand that? I don't ever want to be like a toy who has outlived her usefulness ever again. It would kill me the second time around."
There was nothing that Mina could say to contradict Serena, for Mina had seen first-hand how good the relationship was and how badly it ended and affected Serena. But now Mina and their other friends were sick of seeing their beloved friend hide herself away from the world.
"All right," Mina said, "I'll stop." She shook her head and decided that maybe a change of topic would be better. "Tell me what new gossip you have in that job of yours." Mina's tone of voice said a lot about her opinion on this matter.
Serena turned to face her and smiled. "Oh Mina, I could never doubt your opinions on my job. I know you don't approve but it helps me pay the bills."
"So sue me. I think you're worth more than just being a secretary. Why are you settling?"
Serena chose to ignore her friend's question "My job is fine. Being a secretary is a respectable job." she said, sitting back down at the table. "Everyone is well and everything is going fine. Also, I have no use for gossip so don't even try to start with your whining that I don't tell you anything."
Mina's eyes lit up. "So anyway, tell me about your divine, drop-dead gorgeous boss."