If I Let You Go

Chapter 18 - Sunrise to sunset

Rain woke up the next morning hungry. So, he washed his face and brushed his teeth before heading to the resort's restaurant to get some breakfast.

Rain's tucking into his cornsilog* at a table adjacent to the railings when someone sat on a chair in front of him.

"I'm sorry that seat's taken...Oh it's you." Rain was about to shoo away the person who intruded on his quiet breakfast when he saw that it's Theo.

"You seem prickly this morning. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?" Theo smilingly teased.

Rain smiled in return, "Nah, just want to have a quiet breakfast. But you are more than welcome to join me."

"So, we are staying on the same resort. This is awesome, we can invite you along for outings. How long will you be here, by the way?" Theo excitedly said

Rain's smile froze a little, "I will be here for a while. Ahmm, I was kind of sick and I decided to come here to recuperate." Rain paused but smiled widely again, "But, I would love to join your group on your touring."

Theo observed Rain as he smiles and nod at Rain's agreement to join them. He noticed the slight freezing of Rain's smile and the hurried and exaggerated smile after saying he will be here for a while.

Theo waved at his friends when they entered the restaurant and introduced Rain when they approached the table. Rain invited them to join him for breakfast. He made his exit after a while though, giving an excuse that he needs to get his phone from the main house.

***

Rain skipped lunch and chose to sit under a couple of coconut trees with dense leaves that provide shade at the edge of the resort, before the public beach area begins. This area has a small patch of grass since the ground is not pure sand. It is mixed with some soil that Rain suspects were remains of the soil used for the resort's landscaping.

It's a rather attractive spot. There's an old wooden boat 'parked' in that patch of grass and at the end of the boat where it was not shaded by the coconut trees, colorful zinnias bloom in the sun.

Rain sat by the grass under the shade and leaned his back on the side of the boat. He placed his iPad on his lap and opened a library/reading app. He accessed a Tom Clancy novel that he started reading when he was at the hospital and started reading where he left off.

After a while, he noticed the screen's getting a bit blurry, so he looked at the beach and blinked his eyes to refresh his vision. Tears suddenly started falling and a single sob emerged from him. Rain hated these sudden bursts of sadness because it makes him look pathetic, but it always caught him off guard.

Rain wiped away the tears and continued reading. He spent all afternoon in that spot just reading, people watching and eventually looking at the sunset. He was about to head inside when he heard his name.

"Yo! Marcus!" Theo shouted from about 10 meters to his left.

Theo signaled for his friends to go ahead without him and sat by the old, stranded boat's side.

"So, you were here all afternoon?" Theo asked and Rain nodded in assent.

"Well, me and the boys will go visit some sites for the next couple of days. Join us." Theo invited.

Rain did not say anything as if thinking about it. After a few seconds he nodded, "OK. Might as well visit places with a group. Can I invite my cousin, Hunter? The one you met at the party."

Theo nodded. "Of course."

***

Early the next day, Rain, Hunter and Theo's group headed out to Patapat viaduct for sunrise viewing. It is a long winding concrete bridge that runs along the coastline. There's very little traffic on this bridge. Tourists usually park by the side and watch the sunrise by standing along the concrete railings facing the coastline.

A few minutes from the viaduct, Rain and the group drove to Kabigan Falls' information center. Form here, a 20-minute trek is needed to reach the falls.

Rain reached inside his bag for the aquaflask that he will be bringing on the trek to the falls. As he pulled it out, a jolt of pain in his chest made him grip the aquaflask's paracord hard. He remembered that the aquaflask originally belonged to Taylor. Rain shook his head to clear it of any thoughts and followed his friends to start on the trek to the falls.

In no time at all, they reached the falls. Rain removed his shoes and dipped his feet in the water. Later he sat on a big rock facing the falls to observe its beauty. He crossed his arms and placed it atop his bent knees. His thoughts wandered to Taylor again. Thinking, 'What is he doing today? Is he eating ok? Has he ever visited a falls?'... 'Will I be able to forget him at all?'

Rain buried his face in his crossed arms when he felt tears pooling in his eyes. He blinked furiously not letting any of it fall. He faced the falls again when he felt calm enough not to cry.

After about an hour of playing in the falls, the group walked back to the information center parking lot where they left the car.

After having an extended lunch, the group later drove to Bangui windmills and Kapurpurawan Rock formation. When Rain last visited here, he was still very young. The original Bangui windmills consist of about a dozen windmills that stood in line at the side of the beach along the shoreline. Now, he noticed that aside from those, a lot has been added. Windmills doted the hills and one or two can be found about a dozen meters by side of the road, all the way to Kapurpurawan Rock formation.

They decided to end the day by catching the sunset at Bojeador lighthouse. They arrived about an hour before sunset. They climbed up the lighthouse along with other tourists. The view at the top is magnificent. Rain decided to head down ahead of the others and looked at the antiques on the small building at the base of the lighthouse. Later, Rain walked to the balcony of the small building and gazed at the sea that can be seen from where he stood.

The wind is strong causing a bit of chill in the air. However, Rain feels that he is colder inside. He continued to observe the faraway sea wordlessly. After a few minutes, Theo stood beside him and joined him observing the faraway view.

"Tell me if I am intruding too much but I am guessing some thoughtless man broke your heart.", Theo quietly said.

Rain whipped his head at Theo, "Is it obvious that I like men?"

Theo turned his head sideways to face Rain. "Not really but I can somehow tell. You see, I also sort of like men."

Rain creased his eyebrows, "Sort of?"

Theo laughed lowly, "Sort of because I like them all. Men, women, and everything in between. What was that famous line? Parang karinderya na bukas sa lahat ng gustong kumain**."

Rain laughed a little.

"Am I right though? That you are broken hearted? You don't have to answer if it's too intrusive. I hope I am not annoying you." Theo said.

Rain sighed. "It's fine. And yes, someone broke me. But it is my fault, I believe. I assumed too much. And here I am now, trying to fix myself and move pass that experience."

Theo turned his full body sideways to look at Rain who's still facing the sea.

"I may have only known you a couple of days, but I think it is not completely your fault. You will not assume too much unless he gave you the impression that he feels the same." Theo opined.

"In this lifetime, we will meet people that will hurt us. Doesn't mean all men are thoughtless dumbasses. Don't let one experience get in the way of future happiness." Theo then tapped Rain's shoulder a couple of times.

Together they watched the sun set in all its glorious colors.

A/N:

*Cornsilog – Corned beef, Sinangag (fried rice), Itlog (egg)...silogs are a popular breakfast offering in the Philippines. It has a wide variety of combinations to choose from like hotsilog – hotdog, tapsilog – beef tapa, basilog – bacon and many more. Almost anything can be called a 'silog' because it was basically any protein/main dish served with fried rice and egg.

**Parang karinderya na bukas sa lahat nggustong kumain - Literally translate to: Like an eatery thatis open for anyone who wants to eat. This is a famous movie line that basicallymeans a person who is open to having sexual relations with anybody.