MGA PAKIWARI AT PAGMUMUNI-MUNI (An AlDub Collection of Poems and Short Stories)

His Eyes (A4Day23)

Can be a continuation of my Thanksgiving fic. Can also be a stand alone fic. Up to you na lang mga mahal. 😅

//

He was staring. Just staring. His poker, non-smiling face, completely devoid of emotion as he stared at the wall in front of him, as he stared at nothingness. There was simply a blank look on his face. And he could actually pass off as a statue - if one would be able to pass by his room and see him as he was.

But his eyes... His eyes always say otherwise.

His eyes.

His deep, dark brown eyes.

Windows.

Emotions.

Fathomless.

They had been trying to tell me something for a while now. Something that I did not understand. Something that was eluding my brain.

Though my heart...

My heart says otherwise.

I observed him from the window of the door of his totally white room. A room that was almost empty, stripped bare to the essentials and necessities - a twin bed with white sheets and a white pillow, a small table at the corner with a chair to match it, white curtains on the sole window inside the room.

The room was white. Too white in fact. Devoid of any personal effects of the person that was in it. It was blank. It was empty.

Just like the person currently occupying it, dressed in all white, who was sitting on top of the bed, legs dangling on the side - still staring into nothingness.

It was a room of white.

A room of nothing.

A bare room.

A room that was specially designed for people like him. People who had a different view of the world. People who had a special outlook in life. People who were special, period. People with mental disabilities.

A mentally-disturbed patient.

Like him.

"Nics, are your rounds done?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as I turned around and smiled at one of my co-nurses, Anna, who just came from the other room, probably to give her own patient's meds.

"Not yet. This one is my last though," I replied gesturing to the room that I was just looking into.

"Who do you have there again?"

"Oh! Uhm... Richards. Alden Richards."

"Hmm..." my co-nurse hummed. "They transferred him here then, huh. He used to be at the--" she shook her head before smiling tentatively at me, "Never mind. Be careful with him though, Nics. He's quite different than those of our other patients here in this ward."

I slightly frowned before looking back through the small square window. "Yes, he is kind of different," I whispered under my breath just as my co-nurse passed by me and squeezed my shoulder.

I was once again alone in that hallway, back to observing him, back to trying to decipher him, back to him. He hadn't move one bit, staying the same way, still staring.

I then took a deep breath before knocking lightly and opening his door. Only then did he move as I peeked my head inside, a nervous but ready smile on my face as he turned his enigmatic eyes to look at me.

"Hi, Alden. How are you this morning?" I asked softly as I slowly approached him, the tray of medicines in my hands, trembling slightly.

He smiled, and I was caught off guard again with how bright it looked. No matter how many times I already saw him smile for the past months that he was assigned to me, I would never get used to how he does it - especially to me. With a wide grin on his lips, teeth showing, eyes forming into small slits, the deep dimple on his left cheek appearing - I couldn't help but smile widely back.

"Hello, Nics," he answered normally in his deep, baritone voice. "I'm quite better now, seeing as you are here."

I blushed as I looked down. Even when I knew I shouldn't.

He's your patient, Nics! Don't even think about it.

"Were you able to sleep good last night?" I attempted at a normal conversation, ignoring the fact that tingles were erupting in my spine, making me aware of how I, was now the object of his gazes. I walked towards the table by the corner, placed his tray of medicines on it and opened the curtains, making the room even brighter.

"Yes. I dreamt of you."

I stopped and closed my eyes, trying to dispel thoughts of him and me - together.

Not gonna happen ever, Nics.

I sighed softly and opened my eyes, smiling when I saw the yellow carnation that I gave him last week was still alive and even blooming in its vase on top of his table.

The only colorful thing in his otherwise bland room.

"I took care of it. Just like I told you I would," he told me, as if he knew just what I was thinking.

I didn't answer, instead - I occupied myself with preparing his medicines. I was told before that he never wanted any tablets and syrups for his weekly medicines. His patient file indicated that only injectables would work on him seeing as he spits out most of his meds given by other nurses.

Dr. Williams, his attending physician, advised me about it. Even going so far as asking me to bring a male nurse with me to help, if ever there was a need to sedate him.

Everyone was surprised, however, when they found out that I had no problem giving him his tablet meds as well as the syrup ones. He even took them willingly and with a smile on his face. Even talking to me at times like what he was doing with me that moment. With that progress - his doctors were now very positive that he might be on the road to reclaiming back his sanity.

While you lose yours, pining over him.

Shut the fuck up, self.

I turned around with small cups in my hand containing his medicines, smiling when I noticed him still staring at me. I then walked closer to where he was and gingerly sat beside him on his bed. "Here. Drink all of these. You know the rules already, Alden."

He didn't say anything, simply took the cups from my hand and dry-swallowed his pills, washing it down with his syrup meds. I quickly went to my tray to give him the small bottle of water I brought with me, letting him wash all of it down some more.

Once he was done, he looked expectantly at me and I once again drowned in the swirling depths of what he wanted to say through his eyes.

His deep, dark brown, enigmatic and very expressive eyes.

We didn't talk for the next few minutes. Heck - I wasn't even sure if it was only minutes. Maybe it was hours, weeks, months or even years... With the way we were simply staring through each other's eyes as I tried to decipher all of what he wished to say. All of the things that he couldn't say. All of--

"Nics..." he finally whispered, still not breaking eye contact.

"Yes?"

"You're my yellow carnation. My salvation."

And I finally knew then, what it was that I had been trying to decipher from the fathomless swirling emotions within his eyes.

What he had been trying to tell me all this time.

What my heart knew from the very start.

Oh God... I love you too, Alden.

I love you, too.

//

A/N: Unbeta'ed as always. Plus I don't know if naitawid ko yung prompt, lekat. 😭

Tweet me at @wuthie16 😘

Salamat sa pagbabasa 💛