Rhythm and Wheel

Prologue

Binawi niya ang kamay niyang hawak ni Myles at saka nilagpasan siya. "I can charge you, you know" He said. She looked back at him in disbelief. She scoffed and shot him a What did I do look.

"For stealing my heart and hiding it for 6 damn years, Doc."

Silence filled the hallway. Maraming tao ang abala sa kanilang ginagawa, at dahil nasa hospital sila, marami rin sana siyang dapat na gawin pero hindi niya alam kung bakit nag tagpo pa ang landas nila ng lalaking ito at ginugulo na naman niya ang isipan ni Eolyne. She stopped. All she could ever hear was her heart beating again for this same damn guy right in front of him.

Na para bang sirang plaka, bumalik lahat ang kanilang ala-ala.

The rain had already softened into a cold mist by the time Eolyne reached the old footbridge. The wooden planks creaked under her steps, each one sounding like a countdown she didn't want to face.

Myles was already there, standing at the center, hands in his pockets, head lowered. He looked like he'd been waiting a long time.

Eolyne stopped a few feet away.
"Myles..."

He didn't look up immediately. When he finally did, his eyes were tired. Drained.
"You came."

"Of course," her voice wavered. "Hindi kita pwedeng hindi puntahan."

For a moment, neither of them moved. The space between them felt heavier than the gray sky above.

Myles swallowed hard. "I thought... maybe I could convince you to stay."

Her chest tightened. "Don't say that."

"Why not?" May pagbitak sa boses niya. "We've already lost so much. Bakit kailangan pati tayo-?"

"Myles." She stepped closer, shaking her head. "If I stay, I'll only hurt you more."

He let out a broken laugh. "Then hurt me. At least I'll still have you."

Her breath hitched. She reached out, but her hand stopped midair, trembling.
"You know I can't."

Myles took the last step separating them and gently pulled her into a tight embrace-one she hadn't realized she'd been craving until she felt it.

For a moment, she froze. Then Eolyne clung to him desperately, fingers gripping the back of his shirt as if she could stop time from pushing them apart.

"Myles..." She buried her face against his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

His arms tightened. "Then don't go."

"I have to."

"No, you don't." He pulled back just enough to look at her, raindrops sliding down his cheeks like tears he refused to admit. "Stay with me. Kahit sandali lang."

She shook her head, voice cracking. "If I stay any longer... I won't be able to leave at all."

Silence.

Painful, suffocating silence.

Eolyne slowly released him. Myles' hands dropped to his sides as if the strength had been drained from him.

He tried to smile, but it faltered.
"So this is it?"

She nodded, wiping her cheeks. "Thank you... for everything."

Myles inhaled sharply, as if the words themselves stabbed him.
"Eolyne... please look at me one last time."

She did. And that was the mistake.
Because in his eyes, she saw every memory, every promise, every version of a future they would never reach.

"I'll miss you," he whispered.

"Don't say that," she pleaded softly. "Baka hindi ako makalakad."

He stepped back-one slow, painful step.
"Go... before I change your mind for you."

Eolyne bit her lip, nodded shakily, and turned away.
With each step she took, the world seemed to blur.

Halfway across the bridge, she stopped.

"Myles," she called out without turning around, voice breaking, "I hope someday... we meet again. When we're no longer hurting."

Myles closed his eyes.
"When that day comes," he said, barely above a whisper, "I'll run to you."

She let out a quiet sob-and walked away, leaving Myles standing alone on the bridge as the rain finally began to fall harder, drowning out everything except the sound of two hearts breaking at the same time.

6 Years...

Their paths crossed again. But this time, will they be able to fix what has been broken before? Matutuloy pa kaya ang naudlot nilang pagmamahalan?

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This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Businesses, Places, Events and Incidents are either the products of the Author's Imagination or used in a Fictitious Manner. Any Resemblance to Actual Persons, Living or Dead, or Actual Events are Purely Coincidental.