'TILL I FINALLY FOUND YOU

Chapter 6- Her Confidant

Renze Adrian's POV

I heard little sobs behind the tree. Could it be...?

A ghost?

Damn! Why am I still joking? I know for sure that it's her. I can't be wrong. She might be strong but I know deep inside she's fragile. I don't want to see her like that. I feel hurt everytime she sheds her tears over something that she only knows. Because of that, I slowly approached her.

*deep sigh*

She turned to face me but I decided to hide in the nearest tree near her.

"No need to hide! I know you're there. You'll show up to me or I'll---"

"I'm here. He-he-he."

I decided to respond to her by the time she noticed my presence. If looks could kill, I'd be dead by now. But then, she turned her gaze back to what she was looking at earlier before I came. The silence between us is deafening. It seems like no one wanted to speak.

"What happened?/Why are you here?" –Renze/Stella

We both said in unison as if by queue.

"You first" –Renze/Stella

For the first time today, I heard her giggle. It feels good to hear her giggle that way. it seemed as if she forgot about her problem a while ago. But still, I can see that there are tears in her eyes and sadness behind her laughter. I can't help but admire her strength. She's trying very hard to hide all the pain. I didn't know she had this side, as if I knew for quite a long time already. Now, I know another fact about her. She may not know about but I'm glad I did. I did it without even asking her, just plainly observing her today. I can't believe I'll discover a lot of things in just a single day.

"Funny! You may say I'm crazy 'coz I can cry while laughing. Ha! ha! But you know what *sob* I-I *sob* m-miss *sob* her *sob* I m-miss *sob t-them *sob*"

I can't take it anymore. I'm still a gentleman; I can't afford seeing her like that. As if on queue, I hug her. I know she's controlling her tears.

"Feel free to cry. Don't keep it to yourself coz the more you keep it, the more you'll get hurt. I may not know what you're going through but I can be your confidant if you want. "

She didn't argue with me anymore until I heard another group of sobs from here. She is really hurt, huh? What am I going to do to see her smile again? I don't really want to see girls, especially her, break down like this. It's so unlikely in her character but I can't blame her though. She has her own problems to be handled.

"Thanks Adrian. You can now go back to where you are supposed to go. Sorry for disturbing you. I never in---"

"Stop apologizing Stella. I know you're not feeling well."

"I'm OK. Don't worry about me. FYI, I'm feeling well."

"No, you're not. Physically, yes, but emotionally, I don't think so. Come on. You can tell me."

"But---"

"What's the use of crying when you can't share what you kept in your heart? To tell you, it's hard to keep it to yourself. The tendency is that you might burst due to the mixed emotions that you kept in your heart. It would be a problem that you never wish would happen. Did you know that someone already died because he/she kept the emotions to himself/herself? It has something to do with the mental health. We all need to keep it healthy, along with our physical health. I tell you, there's no wrong in crying nor sharing to other people, may it be someone you personally know or a stranger whichever is applicable to you, as long as you'll feel a lesser burden in your heart."