Sincerely, Jayvee

08

It was early March.

I was halfway to the reception hall when I heard someone call your name.

I stopped. I turned.

And there you are...

You wore a soft sage green dress, with its simple details making you look effortlessly elegant. Your hair is a little longer now, falling over your shoulders in soft curly waves. Your lips curved into that smile I hadn't seen in years.

You looked different.

I took a step closer to you. Despite that I'm right in front of you, you didn't notice me at all.

Not until... I tripped.

Of all things that could happen at that exact moment, I stumbled over my own feet.

"Okay ka lang, Doc?" you asked.

It caught me off guard. You didn't call me 'kuya' this time, not by my name either, but by my profession.

Damn.

I forgot, I was still in my white lab coat on the way here. Unintentionally, since I left the hospital in a hurry.

Or maybe that's just an excuse, because the truth is, I knew you would be here at your cousin's wedding— my friend's wedding. And part of me was hoping to see you again.

"O-okay lang," I replied, trying to laugh it off.

We talked. About the wedding, life, careers, and about how time moved.

We laughed in between, but I could feel it... how much we both had changed, both by age and by life itself.

But one thing hadn't.

They say... feelings fade away over time. That love, when left unrequited, wilts and disappears like forgotten flowers.

However, in my case... I simply forgot how much I loved you, as days turned into months, and months into years.

And seeing you again, just like that…

Damn. I still love you.

It had never died... they had only been waiting to bloom again, just like spring after a very long winter.

When the reception ended, I saw you walking toward the parking lot. I followed you.

I was hesitant at first, then blurted out the first thing that came to mind just to stop you.

"Let's have coffee sometime?"

You looked at me.

Damn! of all the things I could have said… it had to be that.

I don't even like coffee that much.

You smiled. "Sure."

And for the first time in a long time, I thought maybe... maybe I still stand a chance?

I thought, what if I had asked you for coffee back then?