To Catch a Gust of Wind [COMPLETE]

Chapter 6 - Full Circle [#24]

Thea Marie looked out of the window of the Ceres bus as it sped along the highway towards Saravia, the next town north of Silay City. Rafael was sitting beside her. He was telling her how much he enjoyed the company of his former batchmates, that after ten years, they had not changed much in character, at least to Rafael, as far as he's concerned. The faces had become mature brought about either by age or disposition in life, but the way his batchmates spoke and laughed and joked remained the same, the nuances of language, the mannerisms, the little acting and tone of voices were the same as he had remembered them of his friends and classmates during high school. For Rafael, the homecoming was an affair to remember that would last as long as he lived.

Indeed, Thea Marie talked to herself softly, in a whisper, with a sarcasm as bitter as boiled serpentina leaves that leave an awful after taste in your tongue. The wind blew across her face and the pent-up emotion she felt began to come up to the surface. Was she jealous? Of course, I am jealous, Thea Marie was so angry deep inside. How could he do this to me? And he didn't even mention about the woman he met and talked with in the shed.

The Ceres bus stopped to a screeching halt. Thea Marie shouted to the driver at the last minute to stop when they reached the bus shed on the right just past the crossing to Central Hawaiian. Passengers got bumped against their seats. She got up abruptly and motioned to Rafael to stand up and get off the bus. Rafael, looking perplexed, obligingly stood up and disembarked.

The bus stopped on the highway beside a waiting shed that led to a beaten path beside the creek and ended at the concrete bridge in front of the village elementary school. Rafael, scratching his head, followed Thea Marie who walked briskly towards the gate, stepped heavily on the concrete pathway, passing the flagpole and stopped when she reached the corridor. There she waited for Rafael to catch up.

"What is happening with you?" Rafael asked when she caught up with Thea Marie. They were standing on the corridor in front of the office of the school. Beyond the school building to the south was Thea Marie's house.

"You tell me that," Thea Marie angrily said. "Don't take me for a fool, Raffy. I saw you and that woman, what's her name, sitting beside each other in the shed at the parade ground. By the look of it, you're not only friends. You have a thing for her. I know it." Thea Marie was in a burst of emotion, almost uncontrollable, bubbling with anger, her face turning red all over.

"You mean Rica Suarez?" Rafael said. "We're friends, we have not seen each other for years. We just saw each other again. We have so much to tell each other. She's close to me when we're in high school." It's the truth.

"No, you're more than friends. I had known it long ago. You two had a past. You just won't admit it," Thea Marie blurted out, on the verge of tears. A second more and she would let them out.

"What are you talking about?" Rafael raised his voice an octave higher. "You're saying things I know nothing about. She's a close friend of mine...was a close friend." Rafael added. It's true again.

"I could sense if you're lying, Raffy," Thea Marie said. "I could do it by just looking you straight in the eyes. I have known you long enough to know your weaknesses. You can't lie to me. Ever since you had had an affair with that girl from Dagupan, you haven't changed a bit. You fooled me once. Don't fool me again." Thea Marie started to cry, but instantly gulped back her sobs. Hold it, girl. You can do it. Don't cry in front of him, that lying flesh of a man.

"I tell you what, Thea. Rica and I we're just friends," Rafael explained. What we had before is in the past. We just reminisced about what we did when were in high school. Whatever feelings I had had for her before, it's gone. It was just adolescent infatuation." Now this time it's a lie.

"And you expect me to believe you? I have had enough of your lies. I can't go on like this, we can't go on like this. You're lying to me every time you have the chance in every which way you got. You think that I love you so much I'll just be blind to all your foolishness with every woman you fall in love with. I don't have an iron heart, Rafael. I hurt, I feel pain, I bleed. You're taking me for granted. Just because you got me pregnant once, I'm sticking with you forever," Thea cried. This time she couldn't hold back the tears. She let them flow. Now, girl, cry to your heart's content.

They stood there in the corridor. A gust of wind blew from across the playground, from the big acacia tree at the end of the single-story building where the Grade Six room was, from the little mound where the statue of the saint after whom the school was named stood against the passage of time, oblivious to what's going on around it, protected against the elements by a cluster of Chinese bamboos, swaying in the wind together with cypress trees standing in front of each room, like green sentinels guarding the school building.

Thea Marie cried. She was angry and hatred seemed to envelope her, hatred for the man standing before her, the man whom she loved and gave her heart and soul, the man who betrayed her trust, the man who kept on lying to her. She cried all the more.

Rafael stood there, motionless. Now, what man. Quo vadis, Rafael? Will you tell her the truth? Rafael haltingly tried to touch Thea Marie's hair. When she didn't move away, he stepped closer and touched Thea's face. He tried to hug her.

Thea Marie sobbed against Rafael's chest. "Why, Raffy? Why are you doing this to me? Don't you love me anymore? Just say it and it will be over. It will be over between us, I'll just walk away, away from your life, and you'll be free."

Rafael held Thea tight. He hugged her as if it would be the last time he's doing it. "I'm sorry, Thea. I know I hurt your feelings once, and I think I'm doing it again. But I won't tell you I don't love you anymore. I can't bear thinking of you in someone else's arms."

Thea Marie stepped back and got away from Rafael's arms. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, still crying, this time trying to be silent as she could. "You're selfish, Rafael. You're not only a liar but selfish. You cannot bear to become hurt or feel pain or lose someone you love. It's all an ego trip for you."

Rafael was taken aback. He thought he had it under control. You think so, man? Now think again.

"But Thea, I-I have loved you. I-I still do," Rafael said softly, now feeling less confident. It's clear in his voice.

"No. You don't love me, you love yourself. You just want me in order to prove to yourself you can do it. I'll be the one to say this. It's all over between us. I don't, and I won't love you anymore." Thea Marie pulled the necklace she wore with such a force that its chain got broken and the heart-shaped gold pendant came off bouncing on the corridor. She threw the broken chain towards Rafael. Thea Marie turned around and walked away towards the far end of the corridor.

Rafael was stunned. His tongue got stuck inside his mouth. His lips froze. He followed Thea Marie with his gaze as she walked in hurried steps towards the end of the corridor. When she reached the end, she turned right and was gone. That's it, man. It's all over. You won't get her back. She's forever gone now.

Rafael picked up the broken chain and the pendant. He looked at the broken pieces. It would be difficult for him to fix them to make the necklace whole again. Like Thea Marie's heart...