The Story of Us

Another Lifetime (Part 1) (Jeric Teng - Wensh Tiu)

Life changing moments can happen within a split of a second. One moment she’s in your line of sight, then in a blink of an eye; she’s gone.

He clearly remembers the first time she saw her. The first time he decided to watch a volleyball game way back in season 74, a girl watching patiently on the sidelines caught his eyes. He observed her meticulously and etched every single detail about her in his mind – the way she taps her left foot when her team was down, the way her mouth forms a smile whenever her teammates would score points, and of course the way her eyes gleamed of longing to play the sport she loved the most.

He couldn’t help it; he wanted to find out who she was. So he asked around, asked his Lasallian friends if they knew who their school volleyball players were. And he received questioning looks, looks that asked why would a Tiger like you want to know? The Lord heard his prayers and someone finally answered him, Wensh Tiu was her name. Like a normal stalker would do, he immediately turned to Google to find out more about her.

She used to study in DLSU Dasma, also a beach volleyball player, from Ormoc, recently transferred to DLSU Manila and so on.

But what caught his attention was an article containing the reason why she wasn’t on the court and was simply waiting on the sidelines. The article mentioned that there was an issue regarding her eligibility to play and the coaching staff decided to not field her in to prevent further issues. He felt two things at that moment. He felt sad because he couldn’t imagine what he would do if that happened to him. But at the same time he idolized her for being so patient and understanding, because he probably wouldn’t be if he were in her shoes. Ever since he found out more about her, the thought of her never left his mind

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“Jeron Alvin Uy Teng, you did what????”

Jeric doesn’t know whether to give his brother an upper cut for doing what he did without consulting him or hug him because he’s given him a chance to do what he was too much of a coward to even think of.

“Ahia, we’re just trying to help you! Look, it’s just a friendly lunch. Getting to know each other and all those things. Achi Wensh is really nice; I know you two would get along.” Jeron reassured his brother.

“Fine, pero kapag napahiya ako. Lagot kayo sa’kin.”

And with that, Jeric started rummaging his closet for something to wear for his “friendly lunch” with Wensh. His mind was all over the place that he didn’t realize that if he wouldn’t pick anything to wear sooner, he’d be late.

Jeron told him to meet her at Zarks near DLSU at 12 noon sharp. Also adding that it would lessen his pogi points if he arrived late. After fixing his hair, he looked at his watch, it was already 11:15. With that he grabbed his keys and headed for the door

While driving to Zarks, Jeric was debating whether to get her flowers, chocolates or anything at all. His gut told him to at least bring something for her, but his mind told him to not bring anything because it wasn’t a romantic date. So he just followed what his brain told him.

He arrived at Zarks at exactly 12 noon. The place was buzzing with people, mostly DLSU students who eyed Jeric suspiciously.

He looked around for a free table, but instead he saw her reading a book at the corner of the restaurant. He walked towards her, heart beating out of his chest, palms sweating like crazy.

When he was just mere steps away from her, he composed himself by taking deep breaths. Slowly, he approached her, taking the opportunity to look at her angelic face up close.

“Um, hi. I’m Jeric.”

“Hi, Wensh nga pala.”

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