I'm Here Again

Chapter 25

Yung nawala na naman si tren of thoughts 😭 Pasensya na at nagiging busy kasi kaya ayun.. 😔 Penge nga po ng inspirasyon pweasee?

- Bun

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"When did you get back?" I asked him as we stroll hand-in-hand at this mini-plaza near the resort. I tried to get my hand back many times this entire time, but he didn't want to let go no matter what. In the end, I just gave up.

We ended up out here in the streets and not in some sort of private room where it would be just the two of us. This is his weird definition of "privacy."

Rhyn has his other hand inside his pocket. "On-and-off siya, actually."

"On-and-off? Anong ibig mong sabihin?"

"It all started when I told you -- I mean, the now old Rhyn -- about Abriel's mental condition, his obsession towards you. I will refer to the now old Rhyn as a 'he' ah? Para hindi magulo."

I nodded. "Okay, continue."

"Ayun. Simula nun, he had been having dreams about what happened back then. Naguluhan siya nun, kasi hindi niya alam kung totoo ba 'yun o panaginip lang. That was the start of him gaining my memories from the old version of the novel."

"Tapos?"

He exhaled. "Tapos isinasawalang-bahala niya ang mga ito. Kaso, sa mga lumilipas na mga araw, minsan lumalabas na talaga 'yung ako nang saglitan tapos agad na babalik 'yung version niya. Hence, the reason why he had been MIA during those weeks. Kinailangan niya 'yun to find out what was wrong with him."

My eyes went wide as I remembered how the now old Rhyn told me that he did something important during those more than three weeks that he did not contact me. And when he appeared, he was more vocal with what he feels.

Could it be because he knew that the old him was coming back?

"I'm sorry you have to go through that struggle." I nibbled on my lip.

We suddenly stopped walking and he held my chin up between his fingers. "You shouldn't. I don't regret, nor does he, going through that messy process of getting back, since it meant that I could go back to you."

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes. "Tigilan mo ko sa pambobola mo. Kanina ka pa. Tuloy mo na ang kwento."

Chuckling, we continued our walk as he continued his story. "There's really nothing left to say. Hmm.. well, like I said earlier, the more days had passed, the longer I was able to appear. The way it worked was, the more na naaalala niya ang nakaraan, the more and the faster ako nakakabalik, per se."

"So.. 'yung tumawag ka nung isang araw bago ka dumating.. anong version ni Rhyn ang gumawa nun?"

"Bit of both."

"Excuse me?"

He smirked. "It was me who said the opening about the fish. The rest was him."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Ano 'yun, on the way ka na dito nun nung tumawag ka?"

He nodded. "Dahil half-aware na siya nun tungkol sa dating version niya, meaning me, he had more access then sa pagiging omniscient kaya alam niya ang malaking posibilidad na mangyayari between you and Abriel.. and so I took over for a bit and messaged Jace about the trigger part -- of course, hindi niya alam na trigger 'yun."

The more I hear about his side, the more I realized how complex this life is, in a way. I mean, what do I expect? This is a novel world after all.