Anthologies {MIKHAIAH AU}

let's fall in love for the night pt 2

When they left the diner, the streets were quieter, the world softened by the late hour. The occasional hum of a passing car broke the stillness, and the breeze carried with it a gentle chill. Aiah walked with a bounce in her step, the sugar from the pancakes and the warmth of Mikha's company still buzzing in her veins.

Mikha walked beside her, her hands stuffed in her sweater pockets, her long red hair catching the glow of the streetlights as she glanced at Aiah every so often, a small, thoughtful smile playing on her lips.

"I think we nailed the redo," Mikha said as they neared Aiah's building.

Aiah turned to her, crossing her arms with a teasing smile. "This wasn't the redo. This was... the prelude to the redo."

Mikha let out a laugh, warm and easy. "Prelude, ha? Okay, fine. But the next one? Venue's on you."

Aiah tilted her head, her smile softening. "Sige. Challenge accepted, Mikha ."

"Try to top the pancakes ha," Mikha replied confidently, taking a step back as though preparing to say goodbye. "Goodnight, Aiah."

But as Mikha turned slightly, Aiah hesitated. Something tugged at her, something restless and reluctant to let the night end here. She looked past Mikha, toward the park just down the street, its dimly lit paths winding through clusters of trees and open fields.

"Hey Mikha," Aiah called out suddenly.

Mikha paused, turning back to face her, her eyebrows raised. "Hmm?"

"Do you... gusto mo maglakad pa?" Aiah asked, her voice quieter now, almost shy. She gestured toward the park. "Doon, sa park? Just for a little while. Parang... I don't want to sleep pa eh."

For a split second, Mikha looked surprised. But then her expression softened, and a slow, easy smile spread across her face. "Are you asking me out on a post-midnight walk?"

Aiah flushed, brushing her hair behind her ear. "If I am?"

Mikha took a step forward, her confidence kicking back in. "Then I'd say yes. Lead the way."

The park was quiet and serene, its paths dimly illuminated by old-fashioned lamp posts, their golden light pooling at intervals along the gravel. Aiah and Mikha walked side by side, their footsteps crunching softly against the path. The air was cool but not uncomfortable, and the trees swayed gently in the breeze, their rustling filling the spaces between words.

For a while, they didn't speak. The silence wasn't awkward—it was comfortable, warm, like the night had wrapped itself around them in its own quiet rhythm.

Mikha broke the silence first. "Alam mo, if someone told me kanina that I'd be eating chocolate chip pancakes and walking through a park at 1 a.m. with you, I wouldn't have believed them."

Aiah glanced at her, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Why not? Hindi ba realistic 'yon?"

"Honestly? No," Mikha admitted with a chuckle. "For one, akala ko tahimik ka talaga. Hindi ko alam na ganito pala ka-daldal ang nasa likod ng red cup girl persona mo."

"Red cup girl?" Aiah repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup," Mikha teased. "That's what I called you in my head. Laging nasa gilid, laging may hawak na red cup, parang nagtatago sa likod ng mga friends mo."

Aiah laughed softly, kicking a stray pebble off the path. "Well, what does that make you? Karaoke girl? Yung pinilit kumanta kahit wala sa tono?"

Mikha clutched her chest dramatically. "Ouch. Hindi pa ako makaka-move on doon, ha."