Lost and Found • mikhaiah au

19. Of Dishes, Kittens and Kisses

"Coach! Sino kasi 'yung mga yon? Yung ano! Yung Glen, Shen ba? Ay! Sienna? Tas may Casey pa, tas Job, Jov?"

Agnes stood by the edge of the pool, her hand resting on the edges. Her eyes narrowed as she followed Colleen, who was busy jotting notes down on a clipboard.

"Huy, Coach!"

Colleen's pen paused mid-stroke, but she didn't look up. She continued scribbling, her expression unreadable. "Old friends nga lang namin ni Malia." Colleen replied, her tone light as if to brush the topic aside. "Focus on your drills. You've got more important things to worry about."

But Agnes wasn't ready to let it go. "Old friends? 'Eh bat di mo ibigay sakanila? Samahan ka pa namin ni Maiko." she pressed, her voice tinged with a mix of confusion and concern.

Colleen sighed, the weight of the past pulling at her. The night they had found those letters came rushing back—a night filled with tears and the sharp sting of loss.

FLASHBACK

Agnes gave her a warm smile. "Anytime, Coach. We're all in this together, right? Count Ate Malia too."

Maiko nodded, leaning in a bit closer. "Maybe Ate Maki and Althea are up there, watching us right now, happy that we've found our way to each other."

Colleen felt her eyes welling up again, she gave a small, shaky nod. "Maybe they are."

Colleen took a deep breath, steadying herself as she carefully folded Maki's letter, her fingers lingering on the edges of the paper. With a slow exhale, she tucked the letter back, almost as if she were sealing away a piece of her heart.

Maiko, sensing the weight of the moment, gently reached out and began helping Colleen gather the scattered photographs, placing them back into the worn box with delicate hands.

Agnes, meanwhile, knelt down and picked up the other letters, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Coach," she began, her voice tinged with curiosity, "Sino sila? Besides you and Ate Malia, I don't recognize any of these names."

Colleen glanced at the letters in Agnes' hands, her expression softening with a mix of nostalgia and regret. "They were our old friends," she replied quietly, her voice tinged with a sadness that came from deep within. "Sienna, Glen, Casey, Jovanna... we were all close once, but life has a way of pulling people apart."

Agnes nodded slowly, still piecing it together. "Ibibigay mo ba 'to sakanila?"

Colleen sighed, her voice thick with unspoken memories. "I wish I could give them these letters, but we all drifted apart after Maki and everything that happened. I might not be able to reach them now, I don't even know where they are anymore."

END OF FLASHBACK

Colleen glanced up, her gaze weary. "As I've already told you, Agnes, even though I'd like to give these letters to them, I can't. We all drifted apart nga after everything happened, and I have no way of reaching them."

Agnes' face fell, her heart aching. "But they deserve to have those letters back. Maki wrote them for a reason."

Colleen sighed, trying to shift the mood. "I know, Agnes. But sometimes, things just don't work out the way we hope.

—-Teka nga! Ang obsessed mo na sa buhay ko, bata ka! Remind ko lang, you need to focus on your training. The next competition is coming up, and Maiko is still your rival ha!"

Agnes' face fell as she heard Colleen's reminder. "Nye, nye, nye." she grumbled, trying to sound dramatic.

Colleen chuckled, giving her a knowing look. "Oy, oy! I hear you two have been getting pretty close lately. All those flowers and the sweet gestures, what's that all about?"