How To Move On In Two Weeks

X. - Fifth Day -

Richard woke up early the next day. He put on an extra jacket and quietly slipped out of their room. He went outside and sat on one of the benches by the mini garden.

He looked up and admired the sea of stars above him. The fading blue black night sky gave Richard a wave of nostalgia. He remembered the nights he spent with Claire, the times they kissed under the stars, all the laughs and jokes they shared, everything came back to him. And before Richard even fully realized what was going on, tears were already pouring down the sides of his face. He wiped them away quickly and stood up. Richard turned around, only to see Maine looking at him from the entrance of the inn.

"Bakit mag-isa ka lang jan?" she asked.

"Ah wala, sinasay ko lang yung sarili kong mag-isa. Kasi pagkatapos nito wala namang magbabago eh. Mag-isa pa din ako." He answered and Maine just shook her head from side to side.

"Hay naku, pinaglihi ka nga siguro sa hugot ng nanay mo." She said and walked towards him. Richard just smiled and sat on the beach again. Maine settled on the space next to him and looked up.

"Ang ganda ng stars no? Tsaka parang ang lapit." She said.

"Nasa bundok tayo, siyempre mas malapit yan. Pero alam mo ... na-realize ko ... ang lungkot din pala no?"

"Ng ano?"

"Yung nakatingin lang tayo sa stars. Hindi natin mahawakan ... hindi natin mayakap kahit abot tanaw lang."

"Ay jusko. Susmaryosep ka."

--

Two hours later, Maine followed Richard to a nearby mini-café. They ordered to cups of brewed coffee and sat by the window. She kept her eyes on him, wondering what he may be feeling that moment.

"Richard?"

"What?"

"I want you to be honest with me ... nakakatulong ba ako sa'yo?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know na ilang araw palang tayong wala. And I know masyado pang maaga pero ... uh ... may silbi ba ako?" she asked. After finding Richard sitting alone earlier, she realized her methods may no longer be as effective as they once were.

"Why would you think na wala kang silbi?" he asked.

"Eh kasi, nasasaktan ka pa rin kapag naalala mo siya." She mumbled. Maine instantly felt stupid for asking that question.

"Eh ... I'm sorry if you feel that way .... Pero like you said, masyado pang maaga. Of course I'm still in pain ... I'm still hurting ... but I will be fine. Thanks to you." He said and smiled at her. Maine tried to smile back but she couldn't. The smile he displayed was just too fake and sad for her to reciprocate.

She looked at him for a moment before turning her eyes away. Maine gulped and just drank her coffee in silence. After emptying their cups, the two went on for a morning walk.

"Maine, can I ask you something?" Richard asked her after a couple minutes of silence. She stopped walking and turned to him.

"Sure."

"Ano yung ituturo mo sa akin ngayon? Nasa 5th day na tayo." He said and she breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, she though he was going to ask something else.

"Ahhh , kelangan muna natin bumalik sa kwarto."

"Tuturuan mo ako sa kwarto? Wag na dun, magaling na ako dun eh." He said, giving her a sly grin.

"Baliw!" Maine yelled and they both laughed.

The two made their way back to the inn and settled in the room. Maine opened her bag and pulled out her notebook. She grabbed her pen and gave it to Richard.

"What do I do with this?" he asked.

"The idea is to write down your intrusive thoughts, all of them. You have to let them all out so they won't bother you anymore. It's applicable hindi lang sa breakup ... pati na rin sa iba pang mga bagay. You have to find an outlet to clear your mind para hindi masyadong mabigat. Yes, you have cooking as an outlet pero kung hindi yun effective then you can do this." She said. Maine folded her arms over her chest, waiting for his reaction.

"So what are we gonna do with them afterwards?"

"We'll burn them." She said and smiled at him. The next couple of minutes were then spent with him writing on the paper. He narrowed his brows and did not even look at her the whole time he was scribbling his thoughts down.

"Lots of thoughts there huh?" Maine said and Richard smirked. After a couple more minutes, he tore the papers from the spiral binding and started folding them.

"So what are we gonna do with these now? Labas tayo?"

"Tara."

Maine followed Richard outside. They went to a nearby trash bin and he held the papers away from his body. She opened the matchbox and scratched one stick on the side to produce the fire. He smiled at her as she lit the papers up.

After burning the papers, they looked at each other and smiled. The morning sunlight hit his face perfectly, making his brown eyes look even lighter. Maine felt her heart go wild. That moment was too intense for her so she looked away quickly.

"So ... what should we do next?" he asked.

"I don't know ... just chill and enjoy? Aalis na tayo dito niyan. Balik tayong Baguio."

"After Baguio san naman?" Richard asked her.

"Sa kwarto ko ... ay este ... ewan ... we'll see." She said. Maine quickly blushed. She walked away from him without saying another word.

--

Later that night, Richard found Maine sitting on the same bench they sat on several hours ago. He settled right next to her and smiled.

"Oh bakit ka mag-isa ngayon?" he asked.

"Katulad nang sinabi mo ... pagkatapos nito wala pa rin namang magbabago. Actually meron naman, makakapag-move on ka at mag-stay ako sa work ko ... pero aside dun, wala na. Mag-isa lang din ako. Naisip ko na ... medyo matagal na rin pala akong mag-isa. Nagsisimula ko na maramdaman yung lungkot." She said, smiling at him weakly. Maine then looked up and gazed at the stars above them.

"Alam mo ... pwede namang di mangyari yun eh." He said, eyes fixed at her beautiful face.

"Ang alin?" she asked and then looked at him.

"Yung mag-isa ka."

"Ay ako nga tigil-tigilan mo ah."

"Whatever. In case I haven't told you yet, I'm extremely glad I met you." He said and she smiled at him. Richard smiled back, wondering just how much things will change for them in the future.

--

Claire will re-appear soon. stay tuned :)