Walking home on Valentine’s
evening, I wasn’t expecting much. No roses, no chocolates, just me and my
thoughts. Then, in the distance, I saw her—a lady dressed entirely in red. It
wasn’t the casual kind of red; it was all red, head to toe. We were walking in
opposite directions, and something about her presence felt… off.
As we got closer, she changed
direction—towards me. Not wanting any unnecessary interactions, I instinctively
crossed the road. But, to my surprise, she did the same. At that point, I just
accepted my fate.
I kept my gaze low, avoiding eye contact, but I could sense her smiling—too much. The kind of smile that lingers, growing more unsettling the longer it stays. When she finally stopped in front of me, I braced myself.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
Not wanting to drag this out, I
gave it up immediately.
“Have you received anything for
Valentine’s?”
That was an easy one. A simple
“No” was all it took for her to reach into her bag and pull out a Valentine’s card,
still wearing that unnervingly wide smile. I hesitated but took it anyway,
flipping it open to see what was inside.
I barely read the first word
before she hit me with, “Do you go to church?”
At that moment, all I could think
was, what an awful pick-up line.
If it even was one.
She didn’t stop there. She went on
about the importance of faith, how God’s love is the greatest, and why church
should be a priority. Meanwhile, my brain was running wild: Since when did Jehovah’s Witnesses start
sending out Valentine’s missionaries?
I couldn’t shake the thought that
this was some kind of twisted, reverse Garden of Eden scenario. Except this
time, Eve
was handing me the apple to save me from sin.
By now, I had actually started
reading the card. It wasn’t exactly a love note—more of a religious pep talk,
full of motivational verses and uplifting quotes. Then, she hit me with the
unexpected:
“I’m
asking you out—but to church on Sunday.”
I won’t lie—that was funny. Credit where credit’s due.
But my social battery was running
on fumes, and I guess she noticed because she quickly asked for my contact.
Apparently, she wanted to “remind me” about church. Thing is, this church is literally
30 meters from my apartment. If I wanted to be there, I’d
already be a regular.
Now, with Sunday approaching, I’m
still debating whether I’ll go. But one thing’s for sure—this was definitely my
most unique Valentine’s yet. No grand gestures, no romantic
surprises—just a red-dressed lady with a mission and a Valentine’s Day card
full of scripture.
God bless the holy woman who made my day unexpectedly interesting.