Threads of Love

Prologue

It's been 5 years since I left the Philippines and today I decided to go back.

We just landed and we're now leaving the airport heading to my house I just bought recently.

For some reason, I just felt the urge to come back out of nowhere. It's like there's this unspoken calling.

The suitcases are brought upstairs by our helper.

Dawn's eyes softened with a mixture of curiosity and concern as we settled into the familiar surroundings of my living room.

"How are you, Lea?" My dearest friend, Dawn, asked as we sat on the couch in the living room.

I took a moment to absorb the question, then met Dawn's gaze. "I'm holding on, I need to. It's not just about me anymore. I have someone else to think about."

Dawn nodded, a silent acknowledgment of the weight carried in those words. The room seemed to exhale a collective breath, as if the walls themselves were eager to hear the stories that had unfolded in the five years of my absence. Dawn's eyes sparkled with a blend of empathy and admiration. "You're stronger than you think, Lea."

I slightly smiled. "I don't even know why out of the blue I decided to come back. It's like something is telling me to," I admitted.

Dawn's eyes sparkled with understanding, and she reached out to grasp my hand. "Minsan, Lea, home is not a place but a feeling. Maybe it's time to reconnect with what truly matters."

It's 5pm when I decided to stroll around the city. I missed it so much. It holds so much nostalgic memories. The city, like an old friend, welcomed me back with open arms.

Suddenly, fate played its hand. In the midst of the city's chaos, I bumped into someone familiar—a face engraved in my memory. Time paused as our eyes connected, and in those once-familiar eyes, recognition sparked. It was him, the man whose absence had defined my solitude.

The city sounds faded away as we stood still, caught in a moment that connected five years of quiet. His name, longing to escape my lips, stayed trapped in my heart's silence.

In the pause of a heartbeat turned eternal, the space between us carried the weight of our shared history. seemed to freeze, allowing our reunion to unfold with the city as a quiet observer.

Memories flooded in as my heart raced. The wounds I had endured was once again exposed, and in the quiet, a rush of emotions hit—love, longing, and the clear ache of unfinished business. Deep within me, an unspoken truth emerged—I still love him.

But the unspoken words hung thick in the air, and neither of us broke the silence that's terrorizing us. The city's steady rhythm framed a frozen moment—an encounter that could change our shared history. In the quiet of the city night, I faced a truth I couldn't ignore—the longing to reach out, pull him close, and let the years apart melt away in an embrace that said more than words ever could.

His gaze, once familiar and warm, now held a cold detachment. It seemed as if the passing years had erased the love we once had. In that moment, his eyes denied recognition, as if the memories we shared had become mere shadows in his mind.

The connection and love that once bound us felt distant, replaced by a blank stare that hinted at a stranger in his place. It was a painful realization that the love I thought we shared now existed only in the echo of my own memories, as if we never loved each other, as if our great love had never existed.