WRITTEN BY: DaneToGo
PROMPT:
PROMPT BY: Forever_Rimaine
Sixty clicks per hour...eighty...ninety...
As she kept her foot on the gas pedal, she thought that maybe, this was the only way to make things right...
***
Two months ago, Maine stormed out of the house she and RJ worked so hard for. She wanted to forget the reason why they fought. For probably the millionth time. In just a week. They had been together for five years, and that time, disagreements kept increasing. Issues piled up. Emotions spilled over.
Maine knew things had gone from bad to worse for RJ since then.
"Napaaway si Paps sa bar the other night, mare," Jerald hesitantly told Maine over the phone one night, a few weeks after she left.
"Je, how is he?" she asked, on the brink of tears.
"Masama 'yung tama," Jerald went on, close to tears himself. "Pinagtulungan ba naman, tapos 'di na siya makatayo kasi...kasi sobrang lasing na. Ayun, bugbog na, naba...nabagok pa 'yung ulo noong bumagsak siya..."
"Oh, my God," Maine muttered.
Jerald tried to fight back his sobs some more. "Conscious na siya mula kagabi, pero parang...parang nahihirapan daw siyang makakita. Baka may na-damage sa mata niya noong nabagok 'yung ulo niya."
Even Maine couldn't fight her own tears any longer.
"Tangina, mare, wala akong nagawa. Sorry, Maine...sorry..."
"No, Je, 'wag mo sisihin sarili mo. I know, nasasaktan pa rin siya sa paghihiwalay namin. Kung...kung nakapag-usap lang kami nang mas maayos, Diyos ko..."
***
One hundred...a hundred and ten...she wasn't stopping anytime soon. Maine seemed to be driving aimlessly along the empty provincial highway. She stayed quiet through that drive, but there were so many things going through her mind—actually, all leading towards one person: RJ.
***
"'Di ko masyadong alam 'yung mga detalye, pero...pero, sabi sa 'kin ni Riza, mukhang kailangan daw ni RJ ng corneal transplant," Jerald told Maine over the phone another night. "Kung hindi, wala na. 'Di na siya makakakita nang maayos. Or, baka 'di na makakita, period."
"Oh, shit," Maine sadly mumbled.
"Alam mo, mare," Jerald continued, "kung p'wede lang kitang ipuslit dito para makita mo siya, ginawa ko na. I know miss mo na siya, gusto mo siyang makausap. Pero...'di pa siguro ito 'yung time..."
She sighed, "Alam ko naman 'yun, Je. Sana lang kasi, somehow, may maitulong ako sa kanya. Para makabawi man lang ako sa lahat ng sakit...para at least, may closure na kami kahit pa'no..."
"'Pagdasal mo na lang muna siya, Maine," Jerald said, "kahit gano'n lang muna. 'Yung makahanap man lang sana ng donor agad-agad para sa mata niya."
And just like the previous nights, Maine wept silently. Partly because of regret, partly because of helplessness. There in some hospital bed lay the man she loved...the man whose heart she broke by leaving...the man whose life almost ended up in danger...she felt that he ended up there by her own fault. And the fact that she couldn't do anything about it seemed to eat her alive.
But she still loved him, after all. And she wanted to make it up to him. For them to be together again, somehow.
About three nights later, after that last talk with Jerald, Maine neatly laid out a few things on her desk, and left her condo unit bringing nothing else but her car keys and her wallet...
***
She drove steadily now at about 120 clicks per hour. No one else was on the road. She couldn't even tell which town she already was in.
"This is it, Maine. Para kay RJ," she started talking herself through, "kahit 'di na niya ako mapasalamatan nang personal."
Her heart was racing faster than the speed her car was going. But her mind was telling her that it was time...
"Lord, patawarin 'Nyo po ako. Pero Kayo na po'ng bahala kay RJ. I love him. So much."
Slowly, Maine's hands went from the steering wheel to over her eyes, as her right foot pushed as hard as it could on the gas pedal...
***
"Doc, Doc," RJ called out as he slowly opened his eyes, "ba't po gano'n? Medyo malabo pa rin paningin ko?"
"Nag-a-adjust pa 'yung mata mo, RJ. It will be like that for a few months," Dr. Veloso explained, "but don't worry, your vision will gradually improve. Baka nga lang kailanganin mo mag-glasses uli temporarily, we'll find out a little later today."
"Thank you very much, Dr. Veloso," said RJ's father Richard as he shook his hand.
"Wala pong anuman, Mr. Faulkerson," Dr. Veloso turned to Richard, "it's part of our responsibility. Ang importante, makakakita na uli nang maayos si RJ."
"I just...feel bad," RJ said, "I mean, siyempre, 'yung donor nito, wala na..."
"Don't, RJ," Dr. Veloso reassured. "Ang isipin mo, there's a part of that person that will continue to live through you. I'm sure, kung nasa'n man 'yung pamilya ng donor mo, naiisip din nila 'yun."
RJ smiled, thankful for being given a new lease on his sense of sight.
