00:00A woman watched her beloved boyfriend walk away, she didn't call out to stop him, her
00:04pride wouldn't let her give in, Anna stared at his back, hoping he would turn around,
00:08he was waiting for her to say his name too, two stubborn people who wouldn't bend finally
00:12split apart, their story started back in the college entrance exam hall, Mike had turned
00:16in his paper early because he wasn't feeling well, as he rushed out he knocked over a desk
00:20in the front row, in that moment their eyes met, Mike crouched down to pick things up,
00:24out of the corner of his eye he caught the name on the answer sheet, Anna's name was
00:27burned into his memory, Mike was in a hurry to leave, he didn't notice he'd left a long
00:31scratch across Anna's answer sheet, that scratch could have cost her all her points on that
00:35section, but Anna looked at the damaged sheet, and a small relieved smile crept across her
00:39face, when Mike came back from the bathroom the exam hall was empty, he chased after her
00:43on his bike through the summer streets, he only saw Anna getting into a taxi and driving
00:47away, this brief moment of love at first sight ended before it could begin, that image of
00:51her leaving became something Mike couldn't shake for all four years of college, throughout
00:55college people kept trying to set him up, but he was never interested, his friends joked
00:59that he was still hung up on the girl from the exam, Mike couldn't explain it either,
01:03but he always kept a space in his heart for that stranger he'd seen just once, fast forward
01:06to graduation and job hunting season, at a job fair Mike spotted Anna in the crowd instantly,
01:11he walked right up and started talking to her, but she said she didn't remember him, he
01:15quickly recounted what happened in the exam hall to jog her memory, but Anna cut him off,
01:19she said if he was there to interview he should hand over his resume, otherwise he should
01:23leave immediately, Mike quickly handed over his resume, but Anna turned him down saying
01:27he wasn't a good fit, he walked away disappointed, he didn't notice Anna watching him leave with
01:31a sly little smile on her face, she had recognized him the moment she laid eyes on him, she was
01:36giving him a hard time on purpose just to make him remember her, Mike didn't give up, he waited
01:40outside her office building for two full hours, Anna told him he was like a bad penny that kept
01:44showing up, but as she left she told him to meet her at a bar at 8 that night, Mike
01:48showed
01:48up right on time, the bar was full of greasy middle-aged businessmen surrounding Anna, they kept
01:52prying into her personal life, their comments were full of sleazy jokes, during their conversation
01:56Mike overheard Anna mention a favorite author, his heart skipped a beat because it was also
02:00his favorite writer, Mike immediately called the bartender over, he raised his voice on purpose
02:05and gave a drink a special name, that name happened to be the same one the writer had coined, Anna
02:09froze when she heard that name, their eyes met through the reflection in the mirror, but
02:13the creepy middle-aged guy next to Anna kept making snide remarks about her life, Mike wanted
02:17to rescue her from the awkward situation, he spoke louder on purpose and asked the bartender
02:21for another drink with that same name, Anna immediately spoke up and explained what that
02:25name meant, the feeling of being soulmates brought them closer in an instant, after
02:28the party ended they talked about Edgar Allan Poe's classic stories, they shared a cab,
02:32taking turns reciting lines from the stories during the ride, in that moment they celebrated
02:37a spiritual love that transcended the mundane, they felt a connection that went beyond physical
02:41appearance, a mutual understanding that needed no words, two lonely souls finally finding their
02:45perfect match, they talked until the sky started to lighten, as if they'd known each other
02:49for over a decade, as dawn broke Anna asked if he'd dare to go home with her, they took a
02:53train
02:53to Anna's hometown, on the way she confessed that she'd cut off contact with her mom after the exam,
02:58her mom had secretly changed her college application choices without asking, four years
03:02Anna refused to go back home, she brought Mike to the seafood restaurant her mom had run for years,
03:07but she only wanted to take a quick look at her mother who worked tirelessly day and night,
03:10just then her mother suddenly walked straight toward them, panicking they both ducked behind a table,
03:14the close contact made their hearts race, while talking they discovered they both grew up in the
03:18same neighborhood, there was a haunted house in the community square that everyone was scared of,
03:22both had walked past it countless times as kids, Anna dragged Mike inside to explore,
03:27in the pitch darkness Mike could barely see anything, when Anna learned he had retinitis
03:30pigmentosa, she immediately dropped her playful teasing, she reached out and held his hand tightly,
03:35guiding him step by step through the dark room, that night Mike took Anna to his childhood home,
03:40one entire wall was covered with hand drawn illustrations from Poe's stories,
03:43and on the table was a portrait of Anna, he'd drawn it from memory after that brief encounter
03:47in the exam hall, their feelings for each other were finally out in the open,
Comments