Me & You

Chapter 5: Tomorrow

    Jane woke up extremely tired. Dragging herself to do every task of getting ready in the morning. She constantly glanced at her bed, wishing to go back to sleep. She began changing her clothes one leg at a time, then her mind woke up with a jolt, there was a loud honking sound coming from her front gate. After ten seconds, the honking would not stop. She ran outside, still in her sleeping shirt, to find out what was going on. She opened the gate to find Xander impatiently waiting.

    "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you want to wake up everybody?"

    "It's past seven. I've been waiting. What's taking you so long?"

    "It's only seven o' five! You've been waiting five minutes! You're so annoying."

    Jane went back inside to continue getting ready, and left Xander waiting outside with a scowl on his face. Xander just stood there, and felt as if he was waiting around for hours.

    Jane finally walked out of the gate, and Xander felt an overwhelming sensation of amazement. He never thought that someone wearing jeans and a t-shirt could look so beautiful. Snapping back into reality, he handed Jane a cup of luke-warm coffee.

    "You got coffee, thank you."

    "It would've been warmer if you didn't take so long."

    "I took five more minutes! Why are you always in a rush? That's one of the things I love about the Philippines. Nothing has to be rushed. Time seems to move slower here. Not like in the States or anywhere else; in other places, when you're late you get in trouble. Here, time is a luxury. So enjoy it, don't let it control you."

    "Whatever, are you ready to go?"

    "Fine."

    Just as Jane said that, she felt a pang of fear in her heart. She realized what Xander was going to drive around in.

    "You brought your motorcycle, you couldn't have rented a car or something? You know something I won't possibly die in."

    "Well the project is to learn how to trust someone right? What better way to start then by letting me protect you from your fears? Come on, don't you trust me?"

    With Xander's hand extending to Jane, she felt extremely reluctant to take it. But she felt as if she needed to start somewhere, so she took Xander's hand and got onto the motorcycle. Jane's hands were shaking uncontrollably, as she followed Xander's instructions to put them around his waist. Even though she latched onto him with all of her might, the shaking wouldn't stop. Then Xander's hand gently grabbed onto hers, and he gave it a slight squeeze to settle her down.

    "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you. Are you ready to go?"

    With an assuring nod from Jane, Xander took off.

    Xander and Jane continued to ride the busy streets of Manila. They still didn't know where they were going, and just turned to a different street whenever it seemed appropriate. Something suddenly caught Xander's eye. He stopped in front of a grand Catholic Cathedral.

    Jane looked up in awe, they don't have churches like this back in the States. The locals said that this church is the Archdiocesan Shrine of Jesus, The Way, The Truth, and The Life. The outside was simple yet elegant. A statue of Jesus rests in the center of the balcony, welcoming and blessing all who enter. When she walked in, there was a huge painting representing The Finding in the Temple. The walls had exquisite paintings depicting the stations of the cross. She looked around and took in everything she could see. The stained glass, the vastness of the room, and all of the people praying - then she realized that she was standing alone. Breaking free from her fascination, Jane looked around for Xander, and then she spotted him by the candles. Just as she reached him, she heard his offering for his dad. As Xander finished his prayer, he noticed Jane standing next to him.