Richard and Nicomaine.
They were like Asymptotes-two figures moving close, but never meeting.
This is a story of near misses, and the kind of love that transcends life.
She was sprawled out in bed after a very tiring trip from Batangas. They left early in the afternoon but they found themselves stuck in a traffic jam. It was late at night when they reached home. She was so tired all she wanted to do was collapse in bed.
She was replaying the events of their weekend getaway with a smile on her face. Just as she was starting to drift off to sleep, she remembered the letter-the one she found stuck on her slippers.
All of a sudden, she sat up straight in bed and rummaged through her pile of clothes ready for laundry. There, inside the pocket of the denim shorts she wore going to the beach yesterday, was a crumpled piece of scented paper.
She went back to bed and unfolded the paper. The letter was unfinished, written legibly in male handwriting. She started to read.
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She felt like an intruder while reading the letter but there seems to be an unseen force that was encouraging her to go on. She was crying so hard after she read the letter. Her heart was reaching out to the stranger.
As luck would have it, her phone rang in the middle of her crying. Erwin was calling. She answered the call amidst her sobbing.
"Hello?," she sniffs.
"Umiiyak ka ba? Anong nangyari sa'yo?," the worry in his voice could not be denied.
She felt her heart soften. There are times when she wondered what made her fall for Erwin but the empathy he is showing now made her temporarily forget how much of an asshole he can be sometimes.
"Eh kasi, may nakita akong letter kahapon paglabas natin ng McDo. Ngayon ko lang naalalang basahin."
"So anong laman ng letter at nagkakaganyan ka?"
"I don't know who wrote the letter because it wasn't finished yet. Pero this was a letter from a son to his mother who died 3 years ago. I swear sobra---"
She did not get to finish because Erwin was laughing so hard at the other line.
"Hoy! Hindi mo ba narinig sinabi ko? Ba't ka tawang-tawa dyan? May funny ba?"
"Oo, ikaw. You don't even know who that guy is tapos iiyak iyak ka. Baka nagda-drama lang yan. Sometimes, Maine, you can be too much."
"Tangina mo, Erwin! How dare you make fun of me! But more than that, how dare you make fun of the miseries of other people! You are one heartless, ass." She was so angry she was literally shaking.
"So pag-aawayan ba natin yang taong ni hindi natin kilala? Makinig ka na lang, may kwento ako sa'yo. Nagkita kami ni Red kanina, ibang chicks na naman ang kasa--"
"I DON'T CARE. Ayokong marinig ang mga kwento mo tungkol sa mga kaibigan mong playboy who brag about their girl conquests every chance they get!"
"So mas gusto mo pag-usapan yang walang kwentang letter? Sige! Pag-usapan natin. Para sa ikasasaya mo."
"You know what? Huwag na. And please don't dare call or text or come near me again. We're done." With that, she disconnected the call.
She stood up, walked to her landline at the corner of her room, plopped on a giant bean bag, and dialed Ola's home number from memory.
A pleasant male voice answered after five rings. She immediately went on beastmode.
"Ola! Gagong Erwin na yan. Wag lang talaga siya magkamaling magpakita dito sa bahay namin at ipapabugbog ko siya sa kuya ko. Sobra na kasi ang ginagawa niya sa'kin. Hindi ko nga alam kung bakit nagustuhan ko yung gagong yun eh! Tama si Coleen, itsura pa lang, hindi na mapagkakatiwalaan. AYOKO NA! Ayoko na tala---"
"Um, excuse me miss?," the voice on the other line hesitantly asked, "May I know who you're calling?"
"Oh, shit," Maine thought. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping she did not just rant to a stranger. "Is this Ola?"
There was a smile in his voice when he answered, "Sorry, wrong number po kayo. Faulkerson residence po ito."
She didn't hear his last sentence. She was so embarrassed she hung up.
