Intertwined

The One Where They Finally Land

Author's Note:

Hi guys! Don't forget to use the hashtag, #Intertwined and tweet me annamacarena!

Lots of love, Annette 

--

HIM

Maine slept with my arms around her that night, and even as she awakened a couple of hours later, my arms were still around her and she didn't seem to mind. 

"Good morning," I said as she tilted her heard a little to look at me. 

"Good morning to you too." She smiled. 

I took this as a cue to gradually unwrap my arms around her and we both let out a sigh. I wasn't so sure if it was a sigh of sadness on her part, but I sure felt empty, without her that close to me.

"Sorry nga pala sa nangyari kanina ha. Paranoid kasi ako sa turbulence eh." Maine reasoned out. "But thanks for being such a great sport." She joked. "Thanks for not pushing me away and saying, 'Ano ba?!'." 

I let out a gentle laugh. Her humor was, indeed, making me all the more attracted to her.

"Wag kang mag-alala. Kahit ngayon lang tayo nagkakilala, I have a feeling na mabuti kang tao." I said. "At dahil mabuti kang tao, malaya kang makakatulog dito." I added, pointing to the spot she had laid her head on for the past few hours. 

"Rj, thank you ha. Your presence and your kindness in this trip really mean a lot to me." Maine said. "I don't usually get this comfortable around strangers, but with you.. it's really different. Well, the good kind of different." She added.

"Before boarding this plane, I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, but just sitting beside you and talking to you, helped lessen the burden somehow."

I smiled gently in reply. 

"We haven't even had a decent conversation yet, but.. you're welcome." I said. "By the looks of your eyes, alam kong may pinagdadaanan ka at kahit gustong gusto na kitang tanungin kong ano ba ang nangyari sa'yo, I know I'm not in the right position to do so." I added. "But I just wanted to tell you na, kung ano man yang pinagdadaanan mo, lilipas din 'yan." 

Maine nodded in agreement. 

"I know it will." She said, with a dash of hope in her eyes. 

As the head flight stewardess announced that in just a few minutes, we would be landing at NAIA, I couldn't help but feel sad.

I didn't know if I was seeing Maine again. I didn't know if I'd ever have the chance to get to know her, maybe over a cup of coffee or a box of her favorite pizza.

I wanted to get her number, to ask if it was okay that maybe we'd see each other once we'd get back to the Philippines, but I didn't want to seem so clingy. Not when she was still a complete stranger to me. 

But I like her. A lot. And, truth be told, I didn't really care if she was a stranger, because all I knew was that I was attracted to her and that I had to do something to see if maybe, just maybe, she was the one for me.

Alam ko na kung anung sasabihin mo. Rj, wag ka ngang atat. Rj, baka may boyfriend 'yan. Rj, this isn't one of your romantic comedies where the guy and the girl meet and fall in love in an instant . Totoong buhay na 'to and Maine's right. You have to be realistic. 

Pero gusto ko siya. Hindi naman siguro maling ipaglaban ang nararamdaman ko para sa kanya di ba? I mean, it's not like aayain ko na siyang magpakasal. I'm just testing the waters. That's it.

If it works out, lucky me. If it doesn't, I guess I'll just have to.. try again. 

After the process of deboarding the plane, passing through immigration and finally getting our luggage from the conveyor, we were all set to step foot on the arrival area and then.. that was it. We would no longer know when we'd see each other again. 

As a scriptwriter, I'd written so many scenarios where the guy confidently comes up to the girl and either asks for her number or tells her that he was going to find a way so that they'd see each other, but it was actually hard to do in real life, when I knew how torpe I was. 

I had the entire moment all planned out, but it seemed as if the words just couldn't come out of my mouth and I couldn't help but feel frustrated, knowing that I was running out of time. 

"It was really nice meeting you." Maine said as she turned to look at me. "Ngayong alam ko, na sikat ka pala na scriptwriter dito sa Pilipinas, papanoorin ko ang mga chick flicks mo." She joked. "I'm sure they won't disappoint."

"I hope they don't." I smiled nervously. "Um.. uh.. Maine? Um.." I stuttered, causing Maine's forehead to creased in confusion. 

"Rj? Okay ka lang ba?"

"Canweseeeachotheragain."

"Huh?"

I cleared my throat upon realizing that I had said the line too fast. Kalma lang, Rj. Kalma lang.

"I mean.. can we see each other again?" I asked. 

Maine looked genuinely surprised at my question, but the way she smiled back at me, made me wonder why I felt so nervous in the first place. She didn't look like she was going to decline. 

"Okay, that sounds great." She replied. "But since you're still a stranger to me, here's the catch." She added. "Hindi kita bibigyan ng number ko at hindi mo rin ako makikita sa Facebook. Which means, if you really want to see me, you're going to have to look for me."

"Wow," I smiled back. "That seems like quite a challenge, but.. I'm up for it." 

"I'm glad you are." Maine gently patted my arm. "I'll see you again, Mr. Faulkerson. Good luck with everything."

And just like that, I watched her walk away, but I didn't feel empty. 

I felt all the more eager to see her again, because for the first time in my life, I actually felt like I had found the girl who I think would complete me. I just hoped that she was looking for love, the same way that I was and that, if she was asking me to look for her, she also wanted to be found.