WHEN FOREVER MEANT UNTIL (WHEN SERIES #1)

Chapter 3: The Bookstore

I don’t know why, but something inside me shifted.

Maybe it was the way she looked so exhausted yet still willing to fight. Maybe it was the fact na parang nakita ko na ‘tong eksenang ‘to noon pa.

Or maybe… I just didn’t want to win this fight.

Not this one.

Not against her.

I slowly let go of the book.

“Ayan na, sayo na,” I said.

Napatingin siya sa akin, stunned. “Ser—talaga?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Go ahead.”

“Eh, kailangan mo rin ‘to, ‘di ba?”

I shrugged. “We all need a lot of things. But sometimes, you let others have it.”

She paused. For a second, mukhang gusto niyang mag-back out, pero halatang pagod na rin siya. She clutched the book to her chest and gave a small, awkward nod.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

“No big deal.”

I turned to leave before I said anything else.

But as I walked away, I felt it. That pull.

That lingering feeling that maybe… maybe I had just bumped into a piece of my past, and neither of us recognized it.

Yet.

Pagkalabas ko ng bookstore, ramdam ko agad ang malamig na hangin. Nasa kamay ko ang wala—empty, no book, no backup plan. Pero sa loob-loob ko, ang bigat ng dibdib ko hindi dahil sa nawalan ako ng reading material.

I was bothered.

Bothered by her.

The way she held that book so tightly, like it was her lifeline. The way her eyes darted down when I let go, as if she didn’t expect it. Or maybe… she wasn’t used to people giving way.

Sino nga ba siya?

I’ve seen her before—more than just this week. I’m sure of it now. May familiarity sa kilos niya, sa boses niya, kahit sa paraan ng pagtitig niya—parang laging handang makipagsabayan, pero may lungkot din sa gilid ng mata.

She reminded me so much of Shayla.

No. I can’t keep thinking that.

It’s not like I haven’t tried to forget Shayla. I did. I had to. We were kids, after all. Childhood best friends. Malapit kami noon, inseparable. Then I  moved. No goodbyes. No letters. Walang kahit ano. Iniwan ko lang siya isang araw na para bang wala kaming pinagsamahan. Iniwan ko siya and I have reasons, I don't want her to suffer and know the truth that time.

Maybe that’s why when I saw this girl—this version of her, if it’s even really her—my walls started shaking again.

I kept walking, trying to shake off the thought, pero my mind replayed the scene.

How her eyebrows knit together when she argued.
How her voice softened just before I let go.
How she looked surprised, almost… confused.

Was it really just a coincidence?

Or was fate trying to play its long game?

Stupid thoughts, I told myself.

I reached the small bench outside the bookstore and sat down. Binuksan ko ‘yung phone ko para sana mag-check ng notes or messages, pero wala akong ma-focusan. My fingers just hovered over the screen.

Instead, I found myself watching the door.

Minutes passed. Then the bell above the bookstore door rang.

She stepped out, the book hugged tightly to her chest. She looked around—siguro tinitingnan kung may jeep na or baka kung saan siya papara.

I don’t know what came over me, but I didn’t look away.

She turned in my direction and our eyes met—just for a second.

Then she looked down, fixed her bag on her shoulder, and walked away.

No words. No “thanks” part two. No smile.

And still, I couldn’t move.

It was her. I was sure of it now.

Same intensity. Same presence. Same effect on me.

Pero paano? I mean yes it's possible na magkita kami ulit but I didn't know ganito. I left her all alone.

Twelve years. A whole lifetime.

I never thought we’d cross paths again—much less in a university, fighting over a required reading.

At ngayon, here I am, still confused, still wondering.

Ang ironic lang. All those years, I used to imagine what I’d say if ever magkita kami ulit. Akala ko babaha ng tanong, ng galit, ng “bakit mo ako iniwan?”

Pero sa unang pagkikita namin—kung siya nga talaga ‘yun—wala akong nasabi kundi, “Sige, sayo na.”

Maybe… that’s all I needed to say.

Or maybe, that was just the start.