Tall

EIGHTEEN

"WE'RE GLAD YOU JOINED US, MR. FLORES."

Eric smiled nervously as he kept himself busy spooning his stone soup. They were in Hill Station, away from the hustle and bustle of the cold city. Mr. and Mrs. Perez asked him if he could join for dinner, since Kiel and Dawn were out together somewhere. Which basically annoyed the heck out of Eric.

Sitting awkwardly in front of the elderly couple, Eric watched as Mr. Perez gently touched Mrs. Perez's cheek and smiled sweetly at her. Mrs. Perez returned the affection by squeezing her hand in his. Eric bit his lower lip to prevent himself from smiling. It's been a long time since he last saw something like this. It was like an old black and white photograph coming to life. And although he wasn't so much familiar with the Perez family, he felt for once in this trip that he was home.

Mr. Perez then stood up and excused himself, telling them that he'd be back after he took a call from his work. Mrs. Perez nodded and kiss him on his cheek before returning her attention to Eric.

"So, tell me about yourself Mr. Flores." Mrs. Perez started.

Eric cringed. He still wasn't used to being called Mr. Flores. It sounded businesslike.

"Um, well, I'm Dawn's friend and neighbor." Eric replied, feeling like a fool. He scratched his jaw. "I part-own a bookstore in the city and occasionally, I paint and write. I used to sell my paintings before and I self-published a poetry book years ago. But that's it."

"How about your family?"

"I have a younger sister. She's in college now so she's pretty much busy. My mother actually owns a little grocery shop in Bulacan. They live together."

"What about your father?"

"My father." Eric repeated, looking down to his soup.

It was a subject that Eric didn't want to go in but Mrs. Perez's eyes were eager and interested with what he had to say.

Growing up, he was close to his father. He remembered they used to spend afternoons walking to the park, playing together, and getting ice cream afterwards. He remembered his father teaching him how to play the guitar when he was thirteen. It was a beautiful moment. They were in his room, his fingers plucking the strings of the guitar his father bought for him, singing old songs and laughing. He remembered his father smiling, kissing him on the forehead, promising him that nothing would ever change for them.

He loves his father so much and there were so many things he could have said to him before the night of the car accident that ended not just a life but a tie.

A tie that was broken.

Eric smiled bitterly at Mrs. Perez. "He died when I was twenty." he quietly said.

Mrs. Perez gasped. Eric wanted to stop talking because he didn't want to relive that moment but he felt like he needed to say it.

"I think we were in some family affair that night and we had to go home. It was only me and my father that time because my mother and sister insisted on staying. It's a good thing they stayed. So there we were, with my father speeding and it was raining so hard, even I couldn't see through the windshield. And it happened so fast. Suddenly, the car was spinning out of control and next thing I knew, our car crashed against a ten-wheeler truck and everything went...black." Eric continued, his lips curling to a sad smile.

"It was instant. He was pronounced dead right away and I was hospitalized for a month and a half. I think everything in my body had been broken, especially my heart. The doctors said it was a miracle I was alive. That made me feel worse. I mean, what's the point of living now that someone dear to you died?"