Yūgen

Wedding Rings - Reprise

I bounced back and forth against his hard chest and the soft fabric of his shirt. The irony of my current state was not lost in me as I heard his heart beat wildly even though he took the slowest of steps as he traversed the busy NAIA airport. He pulls me out of his shirt and fiddled with the necklace – a habit he developed in the years he has worn me. His eyes searched for a familiar face in the crowd, trying to spot her long, brown hair, when he saw hands frantically waving. He ignored it at first, thinking she was not one to do such in public. He continued walking until he heard her voice.

"Richard! Huy, RJ! Chaaaard! Babe!"

He quickly looked back and turned around, the heart that has been following an erratic beat now at a complete uncontrollable frenzy. He saw her dressed in white, walking towards him with a sweet smile plastered on her face.

Today marked the fifth year since I last saw Maine, and seeing her now reminded me of that beautiful day he slid me on her finger.

I was part of the promise they made that day. And when that promise was broken, I was there too to witness the thousand shards of two shattered hearts.

"Maine!" He engulfed her in a hug and he kissed the top of her head.

"Kundi pa tatawaging babe, hindi titingin! Musta?" She playfully slapped his arm and her grin widened.

"Okay lang. I was asleep during the entire flight."

"We both know you're lying," she eyed him suspiciously. "May bago kang download na game, 'no?"

He laughed at her. "Damn it. We're not married anymore but you're still right."

She wrapped her arms around him and as she rested her head in the middle of his chest, she felt me digging on her cheek.

"You're still wearing it," she whispered. "Bakit?"

"Mahal kaya ng bili ko d'yan. Sayang naman kung itatago ko lang," he replies.

"Akala ko pa naman you're going to wax poetic on how you still love me. Romantic stuff like that."

They started walking towards where Maine's car was parked, their hands tightly clasped together just like before.

"Utut mu, Mendoza. 'Di ka naman ganoon kaganda," he said, grimacing at her.

Smugly, she smirked at him. "Anong hindi maganda, patay na patay ka kaya sa akin."

"'Wag kang magagalit ha, pero katawan mo lang talaga ang habol ko, Maine. Sorry ha."

"Okay lang. Biceps at pwet mo lang naman din habol ko. Quits lang tayo," she smiled and patted his bedimpled cheek.

They were quiet when they got in the car, and Maine turned on the radio to fill in the silence. Richard, still reeling in the feeling of being next to her after several years, stole glances at her as she drove through the busy streets of Manila.

---

After their divorce was finalized, the two chose to maintain their friendship. The first months were definitely hell for him – he barely ate, barely sleep, barely had any human interaction. The only conversations he had were ones shared with bottles of hard liquor and the pills he took to help him sleep at night.

They helped in shutting up the voices in his head. It was destructive, he knew that, and I was powerless to tell him to stop. I'm just a wedding ring – a reminder of a failed marriage, an amazing woman he lost, and a future that did no longer exist.

She tried to call him regularly, his phone constantly ringing from her Viber calls. He only ignored all of them – all of those including calls from his family and friends.