Daisy Chains Of Unsaid Words

Harder Each Day Without Her

I look at her and pretend that everything's okay.

But it's not. And I hate this feeling.

"You okay?" she asked with her pretty girl smile.

I tucked the wayward strands of her hair behind her ear. She tried to move her head, away from me. I held her face, ever so lightly.

"You already know how I feel," I said with a sigh.

"Well... Yeah...," she said tentatively, avoiding my gaze.

I locked my fingers, laced in hers, and squeezed her hand, "And you know what's darn annoying? I'll be missing each of the 10 days I'm not with you."

"Come on, Kief," she said, looking away, into the darkness of the night, "we've been in this situation before..."

"I know, and I hate the feeling, that very same feeling of not having you around," I replied, pulling her to face me.

She looked at me with tenderness and timidity, "Ang OA mo lang talaga."

"Ly," I called out her name, "mami-miss mo rin ba ako?"

She turned her back on the table and pulled herself up to sit on it. She started swinging her legs, in time with the swaying of the branches of the trees, in this cool summer breeze.

"Kief, I'll be too busy with volleyball to pay heed to this... to this feeling...," she said in her sing song voice.

I sat beside her and pulled her head to lean on my shoulder.

I'm physically drained, after the i3i event. Plus the grueling traffic on the way to watch her play with the Lady Eagles vs. the Golden Tigresses.

We have earned little victories today on the sport we love, which is an added high, but the coming of morning means we'll be separated physically, which I'm dreading, as much as I am grateful for the opportunity presented to me.

I took a deep breath and whispered, "I'll miss you, Ly."

"Thank you for inviting me for dinner," she evaded, removing her head from my shoulder. I grabbed her arm. Held on to it.

"We... We have our priorities, Kief. Let's be good soldiers," she said, rubbing her hand on mine.

I took her hands and kissed them, "Sleep with me tonight. In my bedroom. Please. I want to feel you next to me before I leave tomorrow."

She shook her head no, "Kief, you know my rules." She wrapped her arms around my waist, "and it's not proper for us to be that intimate, especially in your parents' house."

I sighed with a tinge of annoyance. I looked at her, and she held my face, "Let's be happy for the moment, of us being together."

I drew my face closer to hers, until our noses touched, "Tell me how will I survive tomorrow, until the day I'm back?"

She closed her eyes and inhaled, "We'll have tonight in our memories, Kief."

She then took my hand and rested her cheek on my palm, like a kitten purring contentedly.

And I look at her, the woman I choose to love forever, and the agony of not seeing her still haunts me. I wanted to take her inside my pocket, and never let her go.

"I love you, Alyssa."

"It will only be a series of nights apart, Kief. We'll take it one day at a time," she said softly, with her eyes closed.

I closed my eyes.

And she kissed me. A soft tentative one, on the lips. I slowly opened my eyes, savoring the moment. And I see her big wonderful eyes looking back at me.

Yes, one day at a time. Until I'm back home. In her arms.