Richard
It was late into the night when they reached his rest house, a sprawling spanish style villa situated on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. He would usually take his helicopter to cut the travel time as going by land would mean they had to drive through rough roads buried inside a lush forest. But he preferred the long ride tonight, the dull glow of the moon peeking in and out from the cloud streaked sky provided comfort and a sense of peace to his troubled mind.
He called the caretaker ahead of time, so he wasn't surprised that even in the dead of night, the villa was bathed with light, its large arches drew soft shadows at its stark white facade.
He gently nudged Maine, waking her from her slumber.
"We're here." He said softly, as she pulled herself up. The absence of her head on his shoulder made it a lot lighter than he would want it to be. "I had a room prepared for you, you should rest, we'll talk more tomorrow morning."
"Where are we?" she asked, her eyes still heavy with sleep.
"The place I go to when I want to escape," he opened his door and went around the other side to open her door but she had already beat him to it, so he took her bag instead.
"You don't have to do that." she said.
"I know. But I want to." He led her up the few steps into the main door where an old lady was waiting.
"Nanang! sabi ko po sa inyo wag nyo na akong hintayin eh," he greeted the lady with a huge hug. She, in turn, hit him on the head.
"Anak, dahan dahan, baka may mabali na naman." she smiled fondly at Richard until her eyes, which looked years younger than the rest of her, shifted and rested on the young lady behind him.
"Nanang, si Maine po, Maine, Nanang ko. Ang pinakamabait at pinakamaganda at pinakamasarap magluto ng sinigang." Maine took the old lady's hand and gently raised it to her forehead as a sign of respect.
"Nanang, pasensya na po kayo, ginabi na po kayo sa paghihintay samin," she said as the old lady blessed her with the sign of the cross.
"Ayos lang anak, hindi naman kasi palaging nakikita ko itong makulit na to" she pinched Richard on the ear and he flinched exaggeratedly. He hugged the old lady again on one side and without even thinking about it, grabbed Maine with his other hand.
The old lady eyed both of them but didn't say anything. Maine pulled her hand away when she noticed Nanang looking at them and pretended to admire the interior of the house as they make their way through a long hallway leading to the bedrooms. They first helped Nanang to her room, and then they were left alone again.
He found himself closing the gap between them, but he didn't dare touch her again. He didn't know exactly how long the hallway was, but thanked his architect nevertheless for it. They stopped at the door at the very end.
"You can sleep in this room. I'll see you in the morning. Thank you again for today." He held the door frame and stood there longer than he should, as if he didn't want the night to end yet.
She moved the door in between them until only her head was visible. "Wala yon. Good night Richard." she smiled and for a second there, he thought he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
"Good night. Kapag may kailangan ka, kahit ano, my room is right across," he said as he took a step back, but he never broke his stare until she disappeared behind the door.
He went in his own room and collapsed into one of the big cushioned chairs by the window. He looked out at the vast ocean and thought about how peculiar today's events were.
