5 Days of Summer

Chapter 19: Wednesday

Despite the park being filled with people, I can still hear the silence; it’s like there’s no noise when in fact there is. The five of us walked around the park to digest the food we ate back at Seawave, and to give me the opportunity to take a look around and admire its beauty. I didn’t have the chance to take it in since the sea called out to me first. It’s been a year since I last went here with the whole family — it was just a 2-day vacation.

The whole place was enchanting! Aside from the streetlights giving light to the place, some of the trees were wrapped in gold Christmas lights. It’s just like the enchanted place in Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses. Everything I see is gold! The grass’ color turned from green to greenish-gold, the black park benches also illuminated a tinge of gold. Even the guys’ hair glistened from the light.

My eyes caught something from afar; it was a pavilion with golden lights wrapped around it. As far as I remember it’s an –

“Oh look!” Keith pointed at the pavilion like a kid who found an ice cream shop. “The ice cream shop’s still open. Who wants to come?” Ivaun and Justin raised their hands.

“Pass,” I said, and pat my tummy, “I think my stomach can’t handle it anymore.” I sighed. I do want ice cream, but I already reached my limit. I don’t want my stomach to suffer because of my gluttony.

Line sat on one of the benches before glancing at his bandmates. “Too tired,” he said and stared straight ahead.

“Alright, whoever comes last will pay for the ice cream.” Keith dashed off after informing Justin and Ivaun.

They both ran after him. I even heard Justin say, “Keith, you sly fox!”

Silence. It was neither comfortable nor gauche. I sat beside him — maintaining a good distance — and watch children play tag on the grassy grounds. They were happy; their eyes sparkle as they ran around, trying to catch the other. One of them even dragged their parents to come to play with them. They looked at each other, filled with love, and laughed. The child giggled too.

Nostalgia came creeping up my mind as I continued watching them.

“You don’t have a sibling right?” I internally let out a sigh of relief when I realized I manage to strike up a conversation first without messing up. He glanced at me for a second then went back to watching the kids play on the wide grassy lawn.

“I had a sister, but she died.” His face didn’t change but his eyes were longing. Just when I thought I successfully manage to start a conversation, I just had to pick out the wrong topic!

“Do you want to talk about it?” I immediately covered my mouth with my hand. Stupid mouth, why do you have to act on your own? “Forget what I said. I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but my –” I let out a nervous and awkward laugh and look away. I said too much!

I stared at him when he laughed; his eyes turned into squints, showing those little wrinkles beside his eyes. Is it me, or the lights from the trees made him look more beguiling?

He stood up and offered his hand for me to reach out. “Now, I’m craving for ice cream,” he stated as he looks me in the eye. “Let’s go?” I gladly took his hand and stood up.

As we walk side by side, he started talking about his little sister. Turns out she died from cancer when she was five — Line was eleven years old at that time. His mom got sick from depression because of their loss and almost lost her too if he didn’t stop his mom from swallowing the whole bottle of sleeping pills.

“You know, when Keith told us they got Mr. Jefferson Ember’s daughter to sing for the Summer Ball, I was actually surprised.” He casually changed the topic.

“Why? Because you didn’t expect Mr. Ember has a child?” I spat out bitterly. He looked at me with furrowed brows, confusion visibly written on his face.

“Why would you say that?” He asks, catching me off-guard. Aside from confusion, it also had a hint of disappointment in his tone. Why? Should I expect that my "wonderful" father talks about me? “There’s not a student under Mr. Ember who doesn’t know you.” That made me stopped from my tracks.

“What do you…?” I trailed off, realizing what he means. I hung my head low; somehow I felt a tug inside me.

“No days will pass by that he won’t talk about you. Every little thing that would just make him remind him of you, he will waste no time but tell us a story. We even used you so that we can move our quiz the next day since we didn’t study.” He chuckled. We stop by over the bridge; I leaned on the railings and stared at my reflection from the man-made river. My hands automatically went inside my pocket and searched for a coin. I close my eyes as I make a wish, and throw the coin into the river by flipping it. “Your father loves you so much, I hope you know that.” He gave me a gentle smile; the kind of smile that sympathizes, the kind of smile that reassures you that everything he said is true.

I got lost into his eyes, and even more when he was accidentally pushed towards me by a passerby. Our faces were so close to each other; one wrong move and our lips would certainly brush past each other. His arms were planted on the railing, imprisoning me. His eyes are unfocused as he stares into mine – wide eyes due to shock. Leaves start falling as the cold wind of the night playing with the trees. The golden lights seemed even brighter than it is. Time seemed to slow down, patiently waiting for the both of us.

“I can feel you watching even when you're nowhere to be seen –”

I jolted, breaking off from the trance. Line seemed to be back in reality too; his ears were as pink as a baby’s cheeks as he tries to avoid my gaze. I took my phone out and saw who was calling.

Perfect timing dad.

I cleared my throat and sniffed – gosh why is it so cold all of a sudden – before answering the call.

“Hey kiddo, I’m on my way to Oroquieta already,” he paused for a while, “are you guys finish?”

“Yeah,” I nodded – as if my dad can see me. He sighed on the other line and told me to wait at the park before ending the call.

The walk towards the golden pavilion was quiet. Nobody talked about what happened at the bridge, and I guess that’s good. I don’t want it to be more awkward, for both of us, than it already is.

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Ah geez, I'm feeling guilty. Anyways don't forget to vote and leave a comment.

Sincerely L♡ving,
Zeen