A Shadow of a Man

Jan perpended the things that transpired that day. He was happy by the fact that Jean Mary shows interest towards him and is making an effort to interact with him. In fact, the incident made him even more eager to continue his therapy.

He decided to call his psychologist.

"Ms. Duane, I have something to tell you." Jan decided to disclose the information and tell her about their conversation, what happened in the car, and in the mall.

His psychologist was surprised about the progress of his patient. For years, Jan was resistant and showed little progress with their session. As a matter of fact, it was her idea to let Jan went to his town. Ms. Duane asked the grandfather of Jan if he could let Jan form a special relationship with an opposite sex. Maybe if Jan will develop an attraction towards the opposite, he will be determined to change his ways. His feelings toward a certain female will become his inspiration to make himself better. Since Jan has a Social Anxiety Disorder, it would be impossible for him to meet and greet with anyone. Hence, upon knowing that the grandfather of Jan made a deal with the Reynolds family of an arranged marriage she urged the old man to let Jan meet the person he's going to marry as soon a possible. Ms. Duane thought that arrange marriage in this age is not anymore a trend, but good thing that her client is one of those people who believed on that thing.

"That is a good sign upof progress. Congratulations and keep it up. You just follow your own pace of development. You don't have to rush." Ms. Duane happily replied to him and said goodbye to each other.

Jan stared the clothes that Jean Mary bought. The color and style of the clothes was bright and lively, it only reflects the personality of Jean which is a complete opposite of him. He tried the clothes to wear them and look at himself in the mirror. He couldn't believe what he saw, he seemed totally a different person but still, he felt uncomfortable wearing bright colors.

Because of all these things, Jan noticed that his little crush towards Jean is becoming deeper.

It was another day of a weekend and Jean Mary was energetic. She was so excited to make changes in her room. After breakfast, Jean immediately got up to proceed to her room and start her OPLAN room-make-over. But Jan was quick-witted and asked Jean to wait for him and "asked" what was her plans for the day (even though he already knew what is was).

Jean was puzzled because for the first time Jan was the one who approached her first. So Jean told him her plans. "I am going to paint my room and change the style, and I will be going now. The day is short to waste any minute."

"I will help you." Jan offered his help because he knew that Jean Mary would be so tired doing all works alone.

"Sure." Jean Mary agreed. She was relieved that Jan extended his help. She smiled because Jan seemed to care for her.

"I will first remove the closet then start painting the wall. The first coat was white, after painting white color, pink will follow and I will arrange the interior according to my taste." Jean Mary divulged her plan to him.

From 7AM-8AM they painted the wall white, both of them was engrossed with their work that no one spoke not unless it is important. Since the paint was quick dry and odorless, they have been able to paint the wall with pink by noon.

At 5:30 PM, Jean Mary and Jan were finished. Finally.

"Thank you Jan for helping me. I feel so homey now that the color of my room is bright. I want my dresser to be pink too. I will be putting my pictures with my friends and parents at the corner of the mirror. At home, I also have a study table where my pink laptop is. I love to study and I want my study area here to be the same when I was in my own home. And to be honest, I did not like the big wardrobe with a mirror. And I do not have many clothes to put in, so I prefer a cute one." Jean Mary turned back from being talkative again.

"Hmmm." Jan answered.

Jean Mary was disappointed to hear such response from Jan. "You know what Jan, I feel so uncomfortable that you just answer me with one word always."

Jan looked down again. "I'm sorry but this is just me. It is hard to change myself at all."

"What about if I try to help you change? Would you agree?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied.

"There you are again." Jean Mary sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"And again." Jean rolled her eyes. "I want us to be friends. In 2 weeks, we'll be getting married, and I do not want to share my room with someone whose name is the only thing I know. I want to know you for who you are as a person."

Jan smiled genuinely and tried to meet her gaze again. He was touched by Jean's effort and for him, he should compromise.

"It will be hard for me to change the way I am but for you, I will try." Jan told her.

Jean Mary felt a little romantic excitement. "See, you even know how to make a girl blush." Jean teased him.

"Did I make you blush?" Jan asked.

"Hmmmm... No." She lied.

"Come on, I feel so hungry and tired. Let's go eat early and rest." She told Jan and they proceed to the kitchen.

Jean Mary was so tired that she fell asleep right after dinner without being able to wash herself. She was in her deep sleep when Jean Mary was disturbed by the dogs' howl. She slowly opened her eyes, and she saw a shadow of a man behind the curtain. Her half-opened eyes became so wide-open and the shadow of a man moved that she froze in fear.