Strings of Memory

Chapter 28

The Notes She Left Behind

That line kept repeating in my mind, just like the note. Parang kusa na lang siyang umaawit sa isip ko, giving itself its own sound, like it had a melody only I could hear.

Pagkauwi ko, hindi na ako nagdalawang-isip. Agad kong sinulat ang linyang iyon sa notebook ko, as if afraid that if I didn't, it would disappear—just like everything else.

That night, I had a dream.

The darkness stretched endlessly around me, swallowing everything in sight. Wala akong makitang kahit ano—walang stage, walang ilaw, walang kahit anong pamilyar. Just emptiness. Just me. 

And him. 

Dad stood a few meters away, his figure clear despite the void surrounding us. He wasn't saying anything, just staring at me, his gaze heavy with something I couldn't quite understand. Parang may gusto siyang sabihin pero hindi niya magawa. Or maybe, he was waiting for me to say something first. 

I tried. 

Or at least, I thought I did. But no sound came out. 

My throat tightened as I tried again, my mouth forming the word over and over, pero wala pa ring lumabas na tunog. Napaatras ako ng bahagya, panic settling in my chest. 

Bakit hindi ako makapagsalita? 

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to move, to step closer. But my feet refused to budge. Para bang may nakapigil sa akin, keeping me rooted in place. 

I looked at him desperately, hoping he would understand, hoping he would be the one to come closer. 

But he didn't. 

His face remained unreadable, his expression calm, almost detached. Yet, I could feel it—something lingering in the air between us. A tension, a weight, a message that I couldn't decipher. 

At bago ko pa magawang intindihin ang lahat— 

The darkness swallowed him. 

And then, it swallowed me too. 

I jolted awake with a sharp inhale, my chest rising and falling rapidly. The weight in my heart was suffocating, an ache that spread through my entire body. My vision blurred, and it was only when I wiped my face that I realized— 

I was crying. 

Pinunasan ko ang luha sa mga mata ko, pilit na pinapakalma ang sarili. My gaze landed on my study table, where my notebook lay open. The same notebook where I wrote that one line over and over yesterday. 

Slowly, I got up and walked toward it. Hinaplos ko ang pahina, binasa ang mga salitang isinulat ko. 

Dad showed up. And I had a feeling I knew where I needed to go.

Huminga ako ng malalim. 

I was going back home. 

Back to our hometown. 

And this time, I wouldn't run away.

So, I made my decision. Bukas, babalik ako sa amin. Sa lugar na tinakasan ko.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" tanong ni Mommy, her eyes filled with worry.

Tumango ako at binigyan siya ng isang tipid na ngiti.

"I'll be alright, Mom. Mabilis lang 'to. And I'm going to be back tomorrow morning," pagre-reassure ko sa kanya.

She still looked hesitant, pero tinanguan niya ako at pilit na ngumiti.