Maybe I've seen you before - it just so happened I was cleaning my eyeglasses when I did. Maybe I've already spoken your name, just not to your face. Maybe I heard your voice, only to have it drowned by pointless chatter.

Maybe we walked the same street once, just in different directions. Maybe you stood in front of me in a line. Maybe you sat at the bench minutes before I did. Maybe we boarded the same jeepney, or took the same MRT ride. Maybe I hailed a cab after you stepped out.

Maybe we watched the same screening of the same movie at the same theater once. Maybe you sat in the seat behind mine. Maybe I got irritated by your conversation with your friend about the movie and actually told you off about it. Maybe we both laughed at the same joke, or ranted about the so-called 'twist'. Maybe you liked the ending, while I hated it.

Maybe the song I've been hearing today is the one you can't get out of your mind. Maybe you're humming the same song I've been singing for some time now. Maybe you have a copy of the CD I've been meaning to buy, but haven't gotten around to acquiring.

Maybe I left the party moments before you arrived. Maybe you danced a few feet from the table where I talked with my friend. Maybe we bumped into each other as we made our way to the exit. Maybe a friend of mine meant to introduce you to me, but totally forgot.

Maybe I've read the book you're currently reading. Maybe you love Dune just as much as I do. Maybe we can both be content perusing dozens of books in a bookstore. Maybe you let slip the copy of Good Omens I managed to snag.

Maybe you took off the condiment bottle caps I painstakingly put back when my friends and I had dinner. Maybe I made fun of the arrangement of the goofy leftovers you had picked on. Maybe the hundred-peso bill I used to pay for my food ended up as change for you.

Maybe I've come across your name on Friendster, a forwarded e-mail, or a fanfic review. Maybe I've seen it doodled on the restroom door or flashed in a TV commercial. Maybe you've glimpsed mine painted on a billboard, neatly printed on a discarded bluebook, or scrawled on a raffle ticket. Maybe we both have that feeling of familiarity when we see each other's names or photos.

Maybe you even know who I am.

Then again, maybe not.

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Author's Note: Well, I wrote this some days before Valentine's Day 2005. It came out of nowhere, actually... Not to be taken too seriously though.