Gravity

2

Maine woke up in the middle of the night. She was startled by the sound of her phone ringing. She looked at it and saw that it was Richard calling her. She was surprised for just last night she buried her eyes to her overflowing tears. Her hands trembly picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hi Love! Hala nagising ba kita menggay?" Richard asked from the other line. His tone was happy and worried, but He remembers her. And that is weird, for just yesterday, he looked like he saw a complete stranger.

"Uhh, eh, yung ano. Hindi naman!" She answered stuttering out of nervousness.

"Ah okay. Ok ka ba diyan? Nako miss na kita love!" Richard said. Maine could imagine his face right now, scrunching and smiling, showing his lone  dimple.

Tears started flowing from her eyes again. She remembers this night. Everything of it. This is where he left her. She hid her sadness from her voice and breathed slowly.

"Y-yes, Love... ok naman ako. I miss you too RJ... sobra, sobrang sobra."

"Aww. Sweet naman Meng. Wag ka mag alala, uuwi na ako next week! Next monday to be exact, just before your birthday on thursday!" He told her gladly with the happiness invading his tone.

That... that is what happened. This night is a night Not, to be forgotten. But not to be remembered at the same time. It was where everything ended.

"Ah. Oo. Buti naman." She said, quite coldly. But tears was brimming on her eyes ang her nose was getting clogged again.

"Love, may pinadala akong letter, dadating yun mamaya or bukas. Tapos pag uwi ko mula dito sa mission namin may malaking, malaking malaking malaki akong surprise sayo." He announced like a five year old kid who keeps repeating every word.

Maine laughed and cried at the same time. She misses this. But this is not real. Its just a memory, mixed up in a little dream. She wiped the tears off of her face and sniffed.

"Sige. RJ, I love you so much." Maine said and quickly ended the call.

She was hurting so much already. She don't know if her heart could still even handle it. She clutched onto it like it was all she ever has in the world. She laid dow on her bed once again and everything went black.

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Maine woke up with a start. She stretched and yawned comfortably. She looked at her pillow and noticed that it was fairly soaked in tears from last night. She must have been crying constantly while in her dream. Her dream last night still haunts her. It was their last phone call before Richard died. Or dieded, as in the past tense of Died. Since Richard just like passed through death and went back up again without even a notice.

She stood up and went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She then took a warm bath and got dressed on her casual clothes. She would like to spend sometime in a coffee shop and the park probably, reading a book, just to keep her mind off of Richard. She keeps telling herself that Richard last night was just a hallucination or a dream or whatever. As long as he's not real. But one thing also bothers her so much aside from Richard coming back from the dead. Its just that she saw Richard and Rosaline holding hands last night. They also very sweet with each other. And as far as Maine could remember, Rosaline is Richard's ex from five years ago.

Maine picked up her car keys from the table and walked out of her unit. She rode the elevator down to the parking. Her brown hair was finger combed, her white shirt was quite loose but it matched her ripped jeans and sneakers. She walked to her car and started it. She drove to her sister Coleen's cafe, a twenty minute drive from her unit.

When she reached the cafe, she wore sunglasses before going out of her car, to hide her swollen red eyes. Well she couldn't stop her tears from flowing, even if she badly wanted to. She walked into the cafe and her sister greeted her.

"Uy Meng! Buti napabisita ka dito! Muka kang tipaklong tanggalin mo nga yan salamin mo, di naman maaraw eh." She said and teased Maine.

Maine shook her head in response but kept a firm smile on her face. "Wag na ayoko. Penge nalang ako ng mocha cake mo ate, yung isang buo."

Coleen widened her eyes in shock and laughed. "Weh? Seryoso ka? Haha babayaran mo kalahati nun sige ka."

"Oo bili na tiyaka hot coffee na rin."

"Sige sige. Upo ka nalang dun sa table na may couch, mag basa ka muna ng books na nanjan sa mga shelves." Coleen said and went inside the cafe's kitchen.

Her place is very spacious. There were 25 tables and 18 tables has four chairs and the rest are occupied with couches. Today only half of the cafe is full since it's a Sunday. People usually come and go in here during weekdays though. Sometimes there's even a line outside, waiting for a seat.

Maine sat on the corner of the cafe, the one with the most comfortable space in the cafe. She reached for a book on the shelf beside her and read it. It was a story of a free spirited girl that wandered through out the world looking for her righteous place.

After ten minutes, Coleen walked to her table with a mocha cake and coffee. She sat beside Maine and stared at her.

"Alam mo meng, kahit di mo tanggalin yang salamin mo, alam kong mugto yang mata mo! Jusko. At hindi ka rin kakain ng isang buong mocha cake ko kung wala kang problema noh. Spill na girl. Nagparamdam na ba sayo kaluluwa ng my love mo?" She asked, not meaning to insult her for she doesn't know anything that happened last night.

Maine kept her sunglasses on. A few seconds have passed and tears flowed down her cheeks. She kept a poker face on and she kept Coleen's question hanging on the air.

"Yes ate... nabuhay si Richard..."