prmsemendinueto

[prmsemendinueto]

#2: To the girl I met last saturday (Letter to someone)

To the girl I met last saturday, Though our time together was very brief, it has made me think of myself in a bit more of a positive light. You told me when we met that you saw me alone and wanted to talk to me and share my company. It was very interesting for me to hear as the person I introduced myself to before you was surprised I talked to them. She described me as very cold, intimidating, and unapproachable. They said they felt like a lion in his den and they were a mouse. Maybe it was because I had my guard up since I was in an unfamiliar environment like a shark in a desert. Frightening but helpless.

She described me in the complete opposite way I would've described you. I honestly don't mind it when people do describe me that way. I think that's because I feel like I'm protecting the softness and sensitivity that sits within me like a turtle using its shell to protect its most vulnerable parts. You saw right through that though. To you, I was a turtle whose shell was made entirely of glass. You were secretly watching me waiting for the opportunity to introduce yourself meanwhile I was secretly watching you in fascination. With me as curious as a cat and you not quite keeping your distance but also not quite approaching, it felt as though we were playing the roles of a wild animal and friendly human looking to befriend it.

During the break, we went to the same coffee shop and ordered the same drink. As we were both leaving, we caught each other's gaze. That was the opportunity you took to introduce yourself.

Dear Alexa, I hope you were able to enjoy my company as much as I did yours. I'm glad we were both at that event and were put in the same group so that you could catch my eye and I could catch yours. I told you about how the other person thought I was cold, intimidating, and unapproachable. I'm glad you didn't think of me that way. I'm glad you introduced yourself to me. You told me to be confident and to believe in myself. Part of me thinks you saw yourself in me and wanted to encourage and nurture that part of me.

You live very far and don't share the same community as me. Meeting you felt very destined (cliche, I know) and though I might never actually meet you again, I hope I do and I'm very glad that I did. Hearing your last words to me be "see you when I see you" was very heartbreaking. I wanted to rewind and relive our time together so I can cherish each moment deeper. However, that's not how time works. Maybe it's silly for me to get attached to a stranger so easily but I appreciate how safe and seen you made me feel in an environment where I felt very cornered and alone. As for my (hopefully not) last words to you, I hope I meet you again somewhere someday.

~ Promise M.

[prmsemendinueto]

#1: Frankie The Frog (Description/Self Introduction)

My name is Promise Mendinueto and I used to hate frogs. Frogs, toads, bullfrogs; slimy, horrifying creatures that come out during rainy seasons to hop from place to place to the deepest depths of your subconscious. Sometimes they grow frog-sized, human-like hands and feet, and crawl out a blackhole. One turns into two, two turns to four, four turns to eight, and they’d keep multiplying. Each pair inching out of a slit in a preformed frog’s forehead. They’d leap out into your seemingly peaceful dreams when you least expect it.

I used to hate frogs until I met Frankie. She loved frogs. She loved everything about frogs. She had a handcrafted frog hat she loved to wear. She was the cutest frog I’d ever seen. I actively started trying to love frogs just as she did. I’d reluctantly stare at pictures of those horrifying creatures trying to convince myself they’re ethereal beings worthy of praise, all for the hopes that Frankie would like me just a little better like she did frogs.

Frankie eventually did tell me she liked me and I liked her too. She was a frog that wasn’t covered in mucus. She didn’t have webbed feet, nor did she hop from place to place. She did however, slowly seep into the depths of my subconscious and leap out into my dreams when I least expected it. My perfect little frog. Everything was going so well until Frankie started to change. Her skin started turning green, her eyes popped out and her fingers and toes connected themselves. It was fine at first. I thought I could adjust but she started leaping from place to place. I could barely keep up. Sometimes I wouldn’t know where she’d gone until the air was cold enough for her to come out. When she did come out, she’d whisper the most deafening words I’d ever hear. The air would become toxic. My lungs started giving up and I’d slowly start losing the ability to breathe. My vision would go blurry and my knees would go weak. So I decided to leave. Once I did, everything became clear. I realized what being around Frankie and frogs like her could do to me so now I stay away. My name is Promise Mendinueto and I hate frogs.