Flickers

Chapter 123

Two years.

A lot has happened in the past two years. A pandemic has struck the world. The online class has become prevalent. The election for the new president is about to start. Vaccines arrived and normality has begun to spread an over the world. The year 2022 is just around the corner. I have become a third-year student and am about to graduate in a year.

There's a lot of things that happened in two short years, yet I still feel a bit sentimental when I remember him or hear his name.

Because Eric was my first boyfriend, the first guy that broke my heart, and the first man that I have ever loved.

"Ange, do you have a smaller size for this?"

I blinked then returned to reality and saw one of our neighbors asking me with a short on her hand.

"Yes, we have, wait for Aling Marta" I turn my back and took the shorts from the plastic sack, and looked for the smaller size shorts that she's holding. "Here, it's only 150 pesos for three shorts"

"Oh don't you want to make it to a hundred?" She started to barter but I shake my head no and refused. We only have 5 pesos capital for every short that we managed to sell.

Aling Marta then agreed and gave me the bill then I started to chat with my friends, asking them if they want to buy some shorts and we'll deliver them to them.

Since the pandemic the economy has been hit, online shopping and selling have become popular, and now students from all grades wished for face-to-face classes to begin.

"Aling Bening, going to Madrigal again? Would you like some shorts here for your daughter?"

"You have now a business mind~ I'm going to send this module to her teacher, I'll take some later" I nodded at her, modules have become the worst enemy of students besides assignments.

Soon lunch came and my mother asked me to go inside, several of my friends expressed their liking while others say they don't need it. Alex in particular, I did the mistake of sending it to her and her response made me laugh.

After filling myself with food I washed the dishes and continued selling shorts; this is one of the sidelines that I started just to ease the financial crisis in our family.

The sun began to set, Rizal was still governed with quarantine and had a strict curfew and so I was helped by my fourth brother, Jhonrie, who just came out of playing basketball.

"You stink!"

"I don't smell it"

I ran after seeing him lifting his arms and was about to let me smell his sweaty, bushy armpits. We entered the home after I let him go in first and then I cooked rice after seeing that there's still some adobo left that my eldest brother, Richard, cooked.

"Did you hear that Eric- oh I mean Manong Lindon's son was rumored to have caught the corona virus that's why he died?" My third brother said in the middle of dinner.

My brothers still can't find themselves agreeing that their baby sister has been broken up and that her first boyfriend is someone that they assumed would be her last.

I remember the moment they knew that me and Eric broke up they almost fly to Cebu and wanted to fight with him. Even Kuya Jhonrie gets his balisong on the side, my mother had a headache at that time.

I pursed my lips in order to stop myself from smiling seeing the somewhat nervous looks from my brother. They thought that I still haven't moved on even after two years of being separated with Eric but in reality I was just busy with college.

"Okay, okay, we don't know the real reason. Just eat, all you know is to catch rumors" my mother clicked her tongue before giving me some soup.

My loving mother had me on a talk, the break up period messed me up a bit and she was always there telling me that she wished she could shield me away from heartaches but cannot.

My family made sure that I was happy the first month of my breakup and I honestly couldn't wish for any family in my next life. I am so lucky to be with them.

"Thank you mom and my handsome elder brothers"

...

I look at the message that Alex sent me, I felt a kind of skepticism towards her intention to publish my life to the public— specifically my failed love life to the Wattpad community.

Ange: Are you sure? Our relationship is kind of... troubling.

It was indeed a rollercoaster, after all, we break up and reconciled as if we were little kids; we don't even have the greatest nor the most impactful love story ever.

Alex: I know, that's why I call you two on and off.

I laughed at that particular word, it was indeed the definition of our past relationship. Even now I still remember the pride that always rules me, his coaxing voice and how he penetrates the hard layer coated in my heart.

The jealousy of the past, the unstableness that bugs me whenever we broke up and how he would always come to my side to make me laugh and lower his pride to be with me again.

All of those memories I types out to her, cherished by my memories leaving me with a bittersweet smile as I finished. Ultimately I sigh on the couch, my eyes looking at the ceiling thinking of the faraway yet near future marching to me.

I guess relationships are like that, just trying to balance the good and bad memories and eventually taking a choice whether to continue or end it.

And we decided on the latter, to avoid more heartaches, to leave a good impression towards each other for the last time and to leave that one thing that could connect us at this moment: friendship.

"Ange! Irish and your friends are here!"

"Coming!" I stood up, get my handbag and strode towards the door and as the light over takes me, I graced a smile.

That's right, even if we and Eric didn't work out I still have other relationships, varied ones that I can count on.

***
Fun fact: Yes they are still good friends and Ange somehow still caught some fond memories of their relationship but all is well with her.

Chapter 123 is up!

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