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My mother had always encouraged me to read since I was very young. She started me off with the Mother Goose nursery rhymes, then the fairytales, and when I was about 5 years old I started reading Enid Blyton books. By the time I reached 11 or 12, I was reading Barbara Cartland and Mills & Boons. Some would say those authors may be too "adult" for a mind of a kid that young and maybe to a certain extent they could be right, but I didn't care. I just wanted to read.

I guess it is safe to say that reading had turned me into a dreamer. When I wasn't reading, I would be off in my quiet corner somewhere daydreaming and creating my own stories in my head. It was fun for awhile but those stories I created in my head, they didn't stick. They would disappear as soon as I go to sleep and wake up the next day. And that was how my love for writing began.

I started to create my own stories and wrote them in my notebooks. Obviously, I was the heroine in my stories but unlike most girls who dream and imagine themselves as Princesses being swept off their feet by Prince Charming, in my imagination I was never a Princess. I was always the Queen awaiting on her King. 

In my imagination, I had a very clear picture of what my King would be like - not in terms of looks, but more of his characteristics. The more stories I created about him in my head and in my notebooks, the more he came to life; to the point where I began to believe that such a man truly exists in this world. While all of my other stories remain hidden in my notebooks to collect dust over the years, this was one story I had an inkling was going to be different. I truly believe in my Soul that he does exist and he is out there somewhere just waiting for me to find him.

As I had mentioned, my love for writing began at a pretty young age but all my writings have always been for my eyes only. I've never shared them with anyone, not even my mother. That was until I agreed to do a writing project with my big brother, Carl.

When Carl talked me into collaborating on a book together, I already had a clear idea on the direction I was going to go with. I pitched the idea to him and he loved it. And that was the birth of "Midnight, Moonlight & Magic".

"Everybody needs love. You need love, I need love and we also need to be loved in return. Even the brokenhearted and nonbelievers. Love is just something that we all need."

"Go on.... I'm listening."

"I have more or less shared with you my story with Nicky - how we met, how our paths crossed, the things I've gone through to get to the place I'm at with him today."

"Yeah, that's like a whole movie on its own right there."

"Exactly. My story with Nicky does seem like something you would get out of a Nicholas Sparks movie but in this case, it is not a movie. This is Nicky's and my reality. This is a true story and the journey of Zee and Nicky."

"Kinda like 'The Best Of Me', huh?"

"Well.... kinda but not quite. Our story has only just begun. We are nowhere near the end yet."

"I hear you Sis. And I can see that."

"See, I want to tell my story not because I want to blow my own horn or in search of publicity, no. I want to tell my story to show that the kind of love and romance that people read about in books and watch in movies do happen in real life. I am hoping that in some small way it will help to inspire the brokenhearted and the nonbelievers to believe in love again. I was once in their shoes too but Love found me when I found Nicky."

"Baby Sis, even though I only know half of the story; the bits you have shared with me, I can tell you this much.... I am inspired. I want to have what you and Nicky have."

That was the conversation I had with my big brother, Carl. It was my pitch to him when we discussed the possibility of doing a collaboration together. I thought Love would be a good theme for our project for like I mentioned, we all need love. Even though the focus of my story is based on my story with Nicky, Carl's focus was more on love in general. He wanted to show the power of love that was shown to him by his family who had not given up on him even when he was serving a Life sentence in prison. It was the love of his family that had helped him cope with the insane and brutal life he was forced to endure throughout the 32 years of his life in prison. Not many people in his shoes have been as fortunate. Many have had their family turn their backs on them.

In all the years that I've created stories about me and my "perfect" man, there has never been a part where I met him for the first time or how our paths crossed. He was always just there, present in my life. And even though I had visualized his characteristics in extreme detail, but when I tried to picture his face in my mind, it would always turn out a fuzzy image. As far and as wild as my imagination can go, this was the one barrier I could somehow never be able to penetrate. In my mind's vision, I could always just see the physique but never the face. It didn't matter to me because I knew that when I finally do find him, I would know. I don't know how I know, I just know.

I have done my share of dating in my life. Even though some of them have almost the same physique and some even had a few of the characteristics of the man I had visualized in my head, I knew that they were not the one. Not the King that I was meant to find. I wasn't disheartened because somewhere deep inside there was a voice that told me he was out there waiting for me.

Did I ever imagine that a 16 year old boy who used to skateboard in my neighborhood could possibly be my King? Did I ever imagine that a 20 year old Playboy who used to DJ at "The Jump", just three doors away from my office could be the one I've been trying to find? No and no. And yet, when our paths finally crossed he had turned out to be that exact 16 year old skaterboy and 20 year old Playboy. Everything fits and at long last I was able to put a face to the physique and characteristics. The wait was over. I have finally found my King.

Was it a smooth ride from the time we first met to the place where we are today? Hell no! Like all good stories, there was a lot of drama, a lot of heartache and pain, a lot of tears, and there's a lot of love too. Would I trade it for anything? Not in a million years. Does it bother me that he is much younger than me? Not at all. I have full confidence in him to rule our Kingdom. He is my King and I am his Queen. He has spoiled it for all the boys because after finding him, no one else comes close.