Broken Harmony

Reminiscence

It's been 7 years since I last came here. Am I ready? My hands are shaking, and my heart is pounding so fast as if I'm out of breath. I take a step backward, letting out a long sigh. If I don't deal with it now, I'll always end up being a robot, just endlessly working. Gathering my courage, I take a deep breath. Despite my fear, I pull myself forward, gripping the doorknob as tears fall onto my cheeks. As I step into the room, memories come flooding back. The walls are painted in calming blues, shelves stacked with dusty books, and a guitar sits untouched in the corner. Seven years of silence hang heavy in the air. It's like stepping into a time capsule of forgotten dreams. But now, it's time to break the silence, uncover the buried secrets in these walls, and reclaim the lost pieces of my heart.

7 Years Ago

"Bakit hindi mo sinabi?"

"Look, Yuki. It's not true," Tino said as he took my hand and set the guitar down. "I love you..."

"Pero hindi ako ang pipiliin mo? Yun ba?!" I couldn't hold back my emotions and ended up shouting at him. I don't understand what has happened to us. We were once so happy, always honest with each other. His pain was mine, and my happiness was his. We used to communicate openly, sharing everything, but this time I feel betrayed. In an instant, he feels like a stranger to me.

I thought I knew him. For seven years, we've been together. For all the darkness that I am struggling with, only he knows. He is the only one I trust in everything, but now that something has happened to him, the picture of our good relationship has gradually been crushed.

Pilit kong pinipigilan ang mga luha ko. I looked straight at him. "Do you love Chloe? Are you really getting married?"

"Let me explain---" I raised my hand to him, but he hugged me tightly. "This is my mom's last request. She likes Chloe a lot. She is responsible, and her mother is my mother's best friend." I pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"So it is true. If I hadn't found out from my aunt, you wouldn't have told me?"

"It's only a civil wedding. Pwede naman..."

"What do you mean?! Out of everyone, Tino, you are the only one who knows that I hate what you are thinking right now."

"Chloe and I can get annulled, after all of this." I shook my head and turned away. The tears I had been suppressing for a while now flowed down my face. He hugged me from behind.

"I hope you understand. I love you...." I swallowed and waited for what he would say next. "But I have to do it even if I don't want to."

"M-Mahal?" My voice stumbled, struggling to find the right words to express my emotions. "But you won't choose me?" I shook my head.

"I love you, baby. Alam mo 'yan," he said while crying in front of me. His eyes... his piercing blue eyes, when I first met him, though accompanied by a smile, held a hint of sorrow that didn't quite reach his gaze. But now, as tears stream down his face, his once vibrant blue eyes mirror the depths of his pain. I know he is speaking the truth, but... it will never change the fact that he is marrying someone. Bakit hindi niya ako kayang ipaglaban? I know what he's going through too. But this time, I cringe at his words professing love for me, yet he's not going to choose me. Before I can tell him that I can't do it, that I can't live without him, his phone rings. His eyes narrow, his hand shaking.

"I....." He gulped and hugged me. "I have to go. Always take care, Yakura." It hits me. He slowly removes his hand from my back. I try to make eye contact with him, but he avoids it and goes out of the door. The way he says my name, I knew it.

My heart, which was once in sync with his, is now starting to fall out of tune. I gaze at the guitar, and slowly its strings come loose, echoing the shattering of my heart. The melody of love has become a broken harmony.