Play of Fate [COMPLETED]

Chapter 29

We're down to our penultimate chapter.

---
Maine and her group got back from Bohol yesterday and their original plan of going to Quezon Province was canceled due to an urgent matter that Ruzzel had to attend to. And since she had nothing to do at home, and no one to talk to because her parents are somewhere for a business conference (well, there's Jerald, but she's still annoyed with him) she decided to spend her idle time keeping in shape, preparing herself for the basketball training her team will go through when school starts.

She's been jogging around their village for almost an hour now, oblivious to her sweat trickling down all over her body. She turned left to 716 street, head banging slightly while she sings along to the music she's listening to. She even closed her eyes for a moment to feel the high note Demi Lovato is singing.

And she immediately regretted what she did when she opened her eyes and saw a man on a bike rapidly coming towards her and before she knew it, her leg was grazed by the front wheel, sending her on the grass-covered vacant lot, butt hurting due to the impact.

She was cleaning off her butt, removing the grass that stuck on it, when she heard the sharp intake of breath from the man who is standing a few steps from her. Curious, Maine turned to him and she too held her breath when she saw who it was.

"Maine."

"RJ."

---
One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

The number of stones RJ has thrown against the nearby post, bouncing off and rolling back to where he was. His bike was left lying on the ground beside him, wheels still turning but are close to stopping.

He turned his head to the right when he heard bout of laughters coming from that direction. Soon enough a group of 5 kids - 4 guys and 1 girl emerged. The girl was riding her pink bicycle which has a basket in front. She's wearing a pink helmet, and pairs of pink elbow and knee pads. One of the boys was assisting her, one hand holding the shift levers while the other is on her back. Another boy was at the back, holding on to the seat, keeping the girl in balance while slightly pushing it. The other two boys were standing on either sides, cheering for the little girl. RJ smiled at how happy they look.

"Parang tayo dati." Maine said. She was hugging her legs, head on her knees, watching the kids go about their activity.

After recovering from their shock of accidentally bumping into each other earlier, Maine decided so sit on the sidewalk, and stretched her legs. RJ, after minutes of contemplating, sat a few steps from her. And they stayed there, in silence, like how they used to minus the awkwardness, minus the desire to grab her and hug her, minus the pain, minus the need to shout expletives at him. They used to love being beside each other, enjoying the quiet.

"I missed you." He said as he intently stared at her peaceful, beautiful face. Maine turned to look at him, raised an eyebrow and propped her chin on her knees. She plucked a grass and tore it into pieces.

"I know." She said.

"I'm sorry." RJ said in a small voice. Maine thought she heard his voice break but immediately dismissed the thought.

"Para saan?" Maine asked him.

"Kasi..."

"Kasi manhid ka? Kasi tanga ka? Kasi bulag ka?" She chuckled but her bitterness and sadness were evident in her voice.

RJ felt his heart thumping aggressively against his ribs, making it hard for him to speak and breathe. He breathed slowly and deeply, in an attempt to ease them lump he's feeling at the pit of his stomach. He took her eyes off of Maine and focused his attention in the white, tall wall in front of him. It was immaculately clean from a far, like it has not cracks or dirt whatsoever, but he knows that it's not perfect. For the long years he's been living in this village, for the numerous times he's passed this house, RJ has memorized the lines of cracks and the black spots the wall has. It looked perfect from a distance, but like everything else, perfect does not last a long time.