Until August

Chapter 5

"I ran into my ex today," I said finally, breaking the silence that had settled between us, "at the grocery store." 

She turned to look at me, her eyes soft with concern. "Nagka-usap kayo?"

I nodded, staring down at the bottle in my hands. "Yeah, and. . . she's engaged now. Seeing her like that, it just. . . threw me off, I guess."

August didn't say anything right away, just let the words hang between us. I appreciated that—how she didn't try to fill the silence with empty sentiments.

"Kahit ako man nabigla, though hindi ko pa naman siya nakita, or nakilala. Kaya niintindihan ko kung bakit ganiyan ang nafe-feel mo ngayon, considering na sariwa pa ang break-up niyo," she said eventually. "Pero alam mo, mabuti na lang inaya mo'kong samahan ka. At least to make you feel na hindi ka nag-iisa."

There was something in her voice—sincerity—that cut through the noise in my head. Nang silipin ko siya ay gumaan kahit papaano ang bigat na nararamdaman ko.

"Thank you," I said, my voice quiet. "For everything. . . I don't think I can fully explain what I mean, but. . . just, thank you."

She smiled a small, understanding smile. I swirled my bottle, watching the liquid catch the light from the street below. 

"I met her in college," I began. August looked up, her eyes soft and encouraging, so I continued. "Magkaklase kami sa isang subject, programming. She was sitting in front of me one day, struggling with a piece of code, and I offered to help."

August smiled faintly, and I couldn't help but notice how she seemed genuinely interested in what I was saying.

"We started working together on projects, and it just. . . clicked. Lagi kaming nagkakasama sa projects, parang sinasadya ng tadhana. . . And then we'd spend hours coding, bouncing ideas off each other, hanggang sa napadalas na 'yong pag-uusap namin."

I paused to sip my drink, humagod ang init nito sa lalamunan pababa sa dibdib ko. "At first, it was great. We had this connection—like we understood each other in a way no one else did. Halos hindi rin kami nagkakasalungat sa mga gusto namin. Pero habang tumatagal, unti-unti na ring nagbabago. We graduated, started working, and suddenly, the things that brought us together weren't enough to keep us close."

August nodded, her gaze fixed on me. There was something comforting about her silence like she knew exactly when to listen and when to speak.

"We just. . . grew apart," I continued, my voice dropping. "It wasn't anyone's fault. Sa buong pagsasama namin, wala kaming matinding pinag-awayan, wala ring nagloko sa amin—we just stopped. . ." 

Mabilis kong pinunasan ang luha sa mata ko at nagpatuloy, "She wanted different things in life, and so did I."

"Basta na lang kayong hindi nag-work?" tanong niya, nag-iingat sa bawat salita.