If Only I Could

PROLOGUE

"Ma? Ahh I just need to attend the 5:30 mass. Yes. I'll head home after. Okay."

The moment my mom dropped the call, I put my phone back in my pocket and walked in the brick path towards the church. It's not actually just a path since the whole lot was covered with bricks, and since this church was beside the school I worked at, I exchanged hellos with some of my students who were on their way home.

I usually go to the left wing where our family used to sit whenever we got the chance to attend mass as a complete family. Come to think of it, I don;t even know how many years it has been since the last time we went to church together. It has been difficult to gather since my brother now has his own job and is always busy, my dad is also still working and so is my mom.

And as the youngest, I'm also working as an English Teacher.

I made the sign of the cross as I entered and sat on the backmost row and settled my bag on my side. It was a Friday afternoon and there weren't many people inside.

I looked at my watch to check if I was late, but realized I was 10 minutes early. I brought my phone out and put it on silent as I didn't want it to keep buzzing while the mass was ongoing, and afterwards, put it back in my bag.

10 minutes later, the entrance hymn began and I stood as the mass started. My thoughts were getting a bit noisy, causing me to close my eyes for a bit and breathe out, and the moment I opened them, a stranger's voice made its way to my left ear, making me look to my side.

My eyes met with a pair of black ones, looking at me as I heard "Hi, may nakaupo ba dito?" pertaining to the row where I was seated. "Oh, just me." I answered and put my focus on the priest as he started speaking.

Without knowing that I had just talked to someone who was going to be more than just a stranger asking if she could sit beside me.