Running Out of Songs (LenRisa One-Shot Stories)

Museo

SINING'S PART 2

A/N: This is dedicated to Caryxie!

'Di ko maiwasang pagmasdan ang 'yong larawan
Kahit 'di mo mamalayan, ikaw lang ang gustong tignan
'Di ko man masabi, kahit na 'di maaari
Puwede ba 'kong manatili? Ikaw lang ang gustong pagmasdan

Leila, one of Risa's closest friends and her publisher, borrowed her phone to airdrop some of the pictures they took during their recent book signing in Tagaytay. As she scrolled through Risa's gallery, her finger paused on a familiar face—a series of candid shots of the same woman, taken at different times and in various places. In each photo, the woman beamed, her smile so radiant that it seemed to leap out of the screen.

"Sino to?" Leila asked, raising an eyebrow, curiosity mixed with something else—concern, maybe?

Risa's posture stiffened, her fingers twitching slightly. "Wala yan."

Leila glanced at her with a knowing smirk. "Wala? The last time you had 'wala' like this, we were in high school. Remember?"

Risa exhaled, chuckling a little. "Naalala mo pa yon?"

"I thought it was just a phase," Leila said, her voice softening. Her tone wasn't judgmental, just honest, like someone who had seen this all before.

Risa hesitated, a faraway look in her eyes. "I also thought that way... Pero ewan, ang ganda kasi ni Leni." Her voice trailed off, almost as if she was admitting it to herself for the first time.

Leila's head snapped up, recognition dawning on her. "Wait, Leni?"

"Bakit?" Risa's voice faltered, as if she already knew where this conversation was headed but wasn't ready for it to unfold.

"Same name nung crush mo nung high school—or baka nagkataon lang?"

Risa's laugh was short, but her face had already turned a shade paler. "E Maria Leonor Gerona name nun."

Leila's eyes narrowed playfully, but there was a seriousness underneath. "E ano ba name nyang nasa pictures?"

Risa swallowed hard upon realizing. "Leni Gerona... Shit."

Leila leaned back, a slow smile spreading across her face. "It must be fate working its way."

---

Risa had taken the day off, something she rarely did unless absolutely necessary. Lately, writing felt impossible—every time she sat in front of her laptop, her fingers would hover above the keys, but no words would come. Her thoughts had become a labyrinth, with every path inevitably leading back to her. Leni. It was like a cruel joke her mind kept playing—reminding her of their chance encounters, of how the universe seemed to be teasing them with the notion of "fate." And after her recent conversation with Leila, where her old friend suggested that maybe this was more than coincidence, Risa found it harder and harder to focus on anything but the possibility that maybe—just maybe—fate had plans for them after all.

To clear her head, Risa decided to fly to Iloilo, their hometown. It had been years since she last set foot there, and the familiarity of it—the sights, the air, the history—might help shake her out of the daze she found herself in. Besides, she told herself, it was time for a break. But even now, sitting in the plane, her mind kept drifting back to Leni, like a magnet she couldn't resist.

As the plane began to fly, Risa glanced at the people around her. Part of her was hoping for peace and quiet—just a moment to breathe. But another part, a more irrational part, thought, Pag pati dito, nandito ka, ewan ko na lang. She laughed at herself silently, shaking her head. As if life could be that poetic.