First “The One” Experience: My Experience With a Glowing Woman

It was late 2019. It had only been a few weeks since I’d started this role as an account manager, and I’d been picked up by a good friend and colleague for a sales meeting in the city. People from all over Victoria were attending. I was happy to go, happy to meet people I otherwise wouldn’t cross paths with.

It was in the foyer that I had a very unusual experience. I guess you could add it to the hundreds of other unusual experiences I’ve written or will write about.

I was standing there with my mate and a group of others when I looked up and saw a girl I’d never seen before. She was glowing. I don’t know how to explain it, she was like a super bright light. I was speechless.

I asked my friend, “Who’s that girl over there?”

He said, “I think that’s Sarah, or something like that.”

There was something happening I couldn’t logically explain. I was extremely drawn to her. I wanted to go and talk to her, but I didn’t know how. It would’ve seemed odd.

We broke for lunch and I saw her sitting down. I almost went to chat but stopped. What the fuck would I even say?

I let it go.

Over the next few months, I’d gently think of the glowing woman every now and then. But I was so busy with work that it rarely stayed in focus.

Until one afternoon I got a call from a number I didn’t have saved. I assumed it was a customer.

“Hello, Chris speaking.”

A woman’s voice began speaking on the other end and I somehow knew it was her. The glowing woman.

She’d called because part of my role involved managing a contract and database that affected account managers and customers across Victoria. We had a short chat, I said I’d help her out and get back to her, and we hung up.

From that moment on, over the next six months, we gradually became friends. Then closer. I realised I really enjoyed chatting with her. Her name would pop up on my phone and I’d feel like I was having a heart attack. What the fuck is going on here?

There wasn’t a word for it. But I was in it.

At some point she told me she had a boyfriend. And for some reason, I wasn’t surprised. I had a strict moral code about things like this. I couldn’t tell her how I felt, if I had a partner and someone at work had feelings, I wouldn’t like it. So I kept it to myself.

I told her if she was ever around Prahran, to let me know and we could grab a coffee. Maybe a month or two later she called saying she’d be in the area. She came and picked me up. We went out.

She was nervous. I was nervous. I think she felt guilty maybe just for catching up. I figured she was nervous when she pulled out from the curb without looking and nearly took out a cyclist.

Yeah, this bird’s nervous, I thought.

Fair enough. So was I.

We had coffee. I enjoyed her company. Our chats got more personal. There was an undeniable connection.

Then I made a mistake.

I confided in a female friend about what was going on. Turned out she wasn’t a friend at all. She took what I said, twisted it, and went and told this woman a bullshit story that wasn’t true.

One evening I was working when I got a call from my boss. It wasn’t unusual, we had a great relationship.

He said, “Look mate, this is awkward and I don’t want to have to say this… but she doesn’t want you calling her anymore.”

I was stunned.

“Is she okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s fine. But it looks like someone’s gone to her with something you apparently said. She’s upset. She wants no more contact.”

He apologised. I hung up. It felt like someone had shoved a sharp knife into my chest and left it there.

I stared at the wall for 20 minutes. I don’t even remember blinking.

Even now as I write this, my heart hurts remembering it.

I never found out exactly what had been said. But I knew who had said it.

Four or five months later, I was having dinner at a customer’s house, we’d become friends. One of the women there asked if I had anyone in my life. I said no. But I told her about this strange situation from work.

She listened. And then she said something I didn’t expect.

“You have to call her. Just explain it.”

I said, “What? No way. My boss told me not to call. I don’t want to harass her.”

She said, “Who gives a fuck about work? This is about love. You haven’t done anything wrong. Just tell her the truth.”

I sat with it. I took it in.

The next morning, I picked up the phone and called.

To my surprise, she answered immediately.

“Hey,” she said, sounding cheerful.

I told her plainly, sincerely that whatever she’d heard wasn’t true. I’d never say anything disrespectful about her or her partner. I knew who said it. I just wanted her to know because I really valued our connection.

She thanked me for the courage it took to call. She said it was all good. Totally fine.

For a while, things went back to normal.

Then something else happened.

It wasn’t a private conversation, it was a chat in front of a bunch of people. But a mate of mine overheard her talking to one of our bosses. He told me what she said and said it was weird as fuck. I made the mistake of calling her again. I cared about her wellbeing.

But that was it.

Not long after, I got another call from my manager: she didn’t want any more contact.

I thought fuck it. I’ve done my bit. If you can’t speak to me directly, like a human being, then it is what it is.

And I left it all there.

It’s been years since I’ve really thought about all of this. But I still feel comfortable with how I handled it. I shouldn’t have said anything to anyone about what was happening, it gave people ammunition. Unhappy people love to tear down what they don’t understand.

But I don’t regret it.

I spoke from the heart.

And speaking from the heart is never wrong.

At one point I even rang a psychic for a reading. She told me we had been together in a past life, that she died giving birth and it ended traumatically. Maybe. Who knows?

All I know is there was something real there.

Life took me in another direction. I’m content with that.

But I’ll never forget the first time I saw a woman who glowed.