WHEN FOREVER MEANT UNTIL (WHEN SERIES #1)

Chapter 5: The Encounter Under The Tree

Zayden's POV

It was one of those slow Saturday mornings when you wake up feeling like the world isn't rushing you for once. Walang klase, walang kailangan i-submit. Just... peace. I decided to go out. Maglibot-libot lang sa city. I didn't even have a plan. I just wanted to breathe—away from the pressure of school, the noise of people, and the weight I'd been carrying since I came back.

I took a random route. My feet seemed to have a mind of their own. Dala ko lang ay jacket ko at earphones, sabay play ng old playlist ko na puro luma at mellow na kanta. Songs that reminded me of childhood—of times when things were simpler... when I was still with her.

Her.

Shayla.

Or as I used to call her, Lala.

As I walked, I turned a corner and my heart suddenly skipped a beat.

My feet had led me back to a familiar place. A place I hadn't seen in years.

A small park, tucked between two quiet streets. Not many people knew about it, and I don't even remember how we found it before. But to us, it was our secret world. And at the center of it, stood the tree.

A large, old mango tree. The one we used to call "puno ng pangako." The tree where we made our childish promises. The tree where we carved our nicknames—Lala & Den-Den—inside a heart with a stick. The tree where we used to sit after school, eat ice cream, and talk about dreams and nonsense.

The same tree where, for the last time, I saw her... before I disappeared.

I felt something tighten in my chest.

I walked closer, halos hindi ako makahinga sa kaba. I wasn't sure if the tree would still be there, but it was. Mas lumaki na ito, mas madahon, pero nandun pa rin ang mga bakas ng kahapon. I searched for the carving. Medyo kupas na, pero nababasa pa rin:

"Lala & Den-Den" — forever friends.

Napalunok ako. Memories flooded my mind. I remembered her laughter, her pouting face whenever I teased her, the way she'd say "Den-Den, ang kulit mo!" and then laugh anyway. I missed all of it. More than I'd like to admit.

I sat under the tree, letting the shade protect me from the morning sun. My hands brushed against the grass. I leaned back and closed my eyes for a second.

But when I opened them, I saw something—or rather, someone—that made my heart freeze.

A girl was standing a few feet away from the tree, staring up at its branches. She had a book in her hand, and her hair was tied up in a loose bun. She looked... familiar.

No. Not just familiar.

It was her.

Shayla. I knew it, it was her.

I felt my heart thump so hard I thought she might hear it. For a second, I thought I was hallucinating. Was I dreaming? But the way she brushed her hair behind her ear, the way she tilted her head while looking at the carving on the tree—it was undeniably her.

I stood still, half-hidden by the trunk. I couldn't move. My mouth felt dry. Ang dami kong gustong sabihin. I wanted to shout, "Lala!" I wanted to run to her, hug her, apologize for leaving, for not saying goodbye, for everything.

But I didn't.

I just stood there like a coward.

She walked closer to the tree, and I saw her fingers lightly touch the carving. Her expression softened—nostalgic, maybe a little sad. She still remembers.