The One I Cannot Touch

String 3: Something in the Silence

Ally: [softly] "Is it because you think it's moving on from Lance?"

Jade: "No. It's because... what if it's still him?"

The next day, Jade joined Reese and Jules for lunch at a minimalist garden cafe in Makati - all white walls, glass ceilings, and too many succulents.

Reese: "So what's the update with mystery doctor?"

Jade: "I don't even know his face."

Jules: "Then stalk his paperwork. LinkedIn. Field contacts. Something."

Jade: "I don't want to turn it into a hunt. If fate is real, it'll lead me."

Reese: "Fate needs a little help sometimes. Ask Seb. He's connected to some of the medical outreach circles. You trust him, right?"

Jade: [hesitant] "I barely know him."

Jules: "But he likes you. Or at least he looks at you like he's curious. And that's rare."

Jade: "Curiosity isn't connection."

Reese: "Sometimes it's the start of one."

That weekend, Jade joined another hangout - this time at Seb's condo in Rockwell, a space that looked like a bachelor Pinterest board exploded: matte black counters, leather couches, a vinyl record player in the corner.

The group was smaller this time. Jules. Reese. Seb. Noah. Ally. And Jade.

Seb poured whiskey into crystal glasses.

Seb: "To healing. Or at least trying."

Jade: [raising her glass] "To people who leave, and the ones who stay."

They clinked. The mood shifted.

Later, as the others played card games, Seb sat beside her on the balcony, the city lights casting shadows across his face.

Seb: "You're somewhere else again."

Jade: "You ever feel like something's coming but you don't know what?"

Seb: [nods] "I felt that the night before my dad passed. Like the air changed."

Jade: "This doesn't feel like death. It feels like... a return."

Seb: "Of who?"

Jade: [quietly] "I don't know yet."

He handed her his phone.

Seb: "You were asking about medical contacts. I know someone from the Mindoro team. Want me to ask about Dr. Miller?"

Jade: [surprised] "You'd do that?"

Seb: "Only if you want me to."

Jade: [after a beat] "Not yet."

Seb: "When you're ready."

Days passed.

Jade resumed work. She attended a charity dinner. She ignored Noah's flirty texts. She declined three invitations to date, two brand endorsement offers, and one interview about Lance.

At night, she still dreamt of the string.

It wrapped around her fingers in sleep.

Pulled her gently forward.

Always forward.

One afternoon, she drove alone - no driver, no schedule - until she reached Intramuros.

She walked the cobbled streets in silence, ending up in a quiet courtyard chapel. Tourists murmured prayers. A fountain whispered nearby.

She lit a candle.

Closed her eyes.

Jade (prayer): "Kung may natitira pa akong tali, sana tama 'yung dulo."

When she opened her eyes, a little girl had walked beside her, holding a red ribbon in one hand.

Girl: "This is for you. Mama said it's lucky."

Jade: [soft smile] "Thank you."

She took it.

And for the first time, she felt it again - that static hum.

Closer now.

Back at her place, she opened her email.

There it was.

A new folder from the foundation team.

Subject: Mindoro Mission - Updated Lead Profiles

She clicked.

And there, hidden in the fine print, was a line:

Dr. Chase Miller will arrive in Manila for coordination week. Meeting scheduled with Vera Holdings next Friday, 10:00 AM.

Jade stared at the screen.

The static hum became a thunderous silence.

She placed her fingers over the red thread around her wrist.

And somewhere, she swore she felt a tug.