Can We Still Be Friends

Part 1

Bamboo Boracay Beach Resort 
February 13, 2009 
Friday, 8:00 pm 

That Friday the 13th brought me a bad luck. Jenny and I came up to end our relationship. My expectation that my favorite beach would witness the most romantic and sweetest date I would have with Jenny for the next day had faded. I was just carrying my guitar that night on the shore while hatred kept my feet alternately kicking the sand. My ruined heart beat like the waves tossed in the ocean. My eyes blurred while I was trying to glance the winks of the countless stars over the sky. I knew I couldn’t play the guitar well. Instead, strolling over the shore might help my weary mind refreshed even in a little way. On that moment, I unintentionally found a girl sobbing beside the shore. 

“Are you okay?” I asked while I came nearer to her. She faced to me and she was familiar. All of the sudden I didn’t expect that she gave me a frown. 

“How stupid you are to follow me here after what you had done to me!” she exclaimed while she took handful of sand and threw the sand toward me. 

I immediately put down my guitar and blocked her offense with my hands partially covering my face. “Wait, Miss! I don’t know who you are,” I explained. 

“Until this point, you’re trying to fool me, Edward?” she gasped. 

“Miss, I’m not Edward,” I protested. 

She turned back into her sanity and stared to me. “Butiki, is that you?” 

‘Nica,’ I thought. Nica was only one calling me butiki. 

“Don’t you remember me, Mark? I’m Nica,” she added. 

“Of course not. How can I forget you?” I replied gazing to her eye-catching face. “I’m just surprised because you have totally changed. You’re no longer like a pig.” 

“Thank you for your insulting praise,” she uttered. 

“I’m not kidding. Honestly you look prettier than the last time I saw you here.” 

“In fairness, you still look like a handsome lizard. Peace..! How are you now?” 

“By this time I’m fine because you’re around,” I answered while I felt there was an unexplainable joy washing all my pains I had before. 

“Are you sure that you didn’t get hurt?” she posed as she approached me with her warm touch on my left arm. “I’m sorry. I thought you’re Edward because both of you are tall and skinny. He’s also used to play guitar. Besides it’s very dark here so I didn’t identify you easily.” 

“What happened between you and Edward?” I asked curiously. 

“He broke me up this afternoon without saying any reason. I speculated that he saw a woman much better than me.” 

“How ironic!” I reacted with a giggle. 

“Why?” she made puzzled. 

“I made our break-up with my girlfriend this afternoon because I found out that she’s pregnant and…” I paused. My heart began to bleed again. 

“And… she got pregnant because of other man?” she guessed. 

I only nodded. 

“I knew you well. You’re so gentle and respectful lover of a woman. You can’t do that silly thing to her,” she concluded. “But did you ask her why it was happened to her?” 

I shook my head. Then I also questioned her, “Are you sure that Edward replaced you with another woman?” 

“No, I have no enough evidence,” she sighed. She sat down on the sand and spoke again, “You know I remember what happened to our affair before. Each of our situations tonight gets our past flashing back on my mind.” 

“Yes, I also feel the same. Both of us jumped into wrong conclusions so we decided to have our break-up here in our favorite place four years ago,” I said before I got my guitar. I sat beside Nica and faced to her. I saw her eyes going teary. Then I played our favorite song on my guitar. I began to sing. 

We can’t play this game anymore 
But can we still be friends? 

Nica continued to sing the next verses. 

Things just can’t go on like before 
But can we still be friends? 

We had something to learn 
Now it’s time for the wheel to turn 
Grains of sand, one by one 
Before you know it, all gone. 

I recalled my childhood memories with Nica up to our high school life. We could say that we were always together no matter what happened. Then a conflict between our families made us struggling to our relationship. We gave it up for the sake of our families though from the start, we promised to each other that we’d never be apart. 

The song kept dwelling inside our hearts. 

Let’s admit we made a mistake 
But can we still be friends? 
Heartbreak’s never easy to take 
But can we still be friends? 

Nica put her head over my shoulder. I still played my guitar. We’re both waiting the dawn to appear on the east as we sang together. 

Can we still be friends? 
Can we still get together sometimes? 
Can we still be friends? 
You know that life will still go on…