ONCE: stories of what could have been and what should have been.

The Last Adieu

"Now tell me, if destiny and time weren't on our side, could our love still make it through 'til our last goodbye?"

This one shot is dedicated to @enapatoottie
Thank you for the imprompt, "write me the saddest lines" ❤️

I'm walking back and forth at the waiting shed of this bus stop. I cant help but show signs of uneasiness. Hands on my pocket and nibbling my lower lip to lessen the tension I was feeling inside. What if she doesnt come back for me? What if she chooses to run away?

A bus stopped right in front of me. A sign of hope manifesting on my smile. I saw her picturesque rushing towards the door.
I know she wont fail me. I know she loves me. I know she does.

"Maymay!!" I quickly hurled my way towards her and welcomed her with a tight hug. A hug that was meant to last forever.

"I know you would come. I know you can't bear with the idea of leaving me behind. Does this mean that you're willing to run away with me, Maymay?" I asked exhilaratingly with an anticipation to hear her answer.
She didn't give me an answer, but, rather she held my hands and looked straight to my eyes.
My heart was pounding as fast as it could, somehow leaving me breathless. I was dazzled with how she responded to my question. No signs of excitement were seen on her face but her eyes convey sadness and apologies.

"Maymay, are you okay? Is everything okay? Are we still okay?" I said while trying to hold back my tears. No, not this time, Edward. You know you have to hear her side yet.

"Maymay, why aren't you talking to me? What's wrong?" I couldn't stop myself from worrying because tears were slowly streaming down her cheeks. She was sobbing in between and her hair covering her face.

I wiped her tears using my bare hand and brushed off her hair that's also been dampened by her tears. Her eyes all puffy and drenched.
"Maymay, you could tell me your problems. I'm here Maymay, I'm always here."

It took her a while before she blurted out the first word she ever said that night.

"I'm sorry, Edward." She said in between her sobs.

"Why? What did you do Maymay? You love me right? We love each other, that's what matters now." I tried to hold back my tears while saying this in front of her. But, I couldn't, hearing her apologize was enough to know that she's about to end everything that we have.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I love you, but I couldnt stay. I couldnt give you the love you have given me. I dont have the power to fight for the two of us. Even if I wanted to, time and fate is not on our side, Edward. What we have now just doesnt seem right." Maymay said while exerting all the force left in her to push me away. But, I was too persistent to know why she had to give us up. Why now? When everything is starting to feel right.

"But you still love me right Maymay? I'm not begging for too much of your love. I'm not asking you to love me the same way I love you. Knowing that you love me Maymay is enough reason to make me stay. If your love isn't enough to suffice the love I can give, then let my love fill up all the spaces of your heart. Just stay, Maymay." I completely lost it. Here I am, begging for someone's love. I dont care if it makes me less of a man but I'm willing to lose everything for the woman I love.

"You know very well Edward, that what we had and the love we shared is irreplaceable. You taught me to value myself when everyone else thinks I'm nothing but a failure. You showed me what true love is, Edward and there was never a time that I am not reminded of how grateful I am for having someone like you. But, if only I met you earlier. If only you came into my life when things weren't complicated, then maybe, I could still fight for the two of us." I can see in her eyes the sincerity as she tries to recompose herself.

"The moment you said I love you, Edward, you knew by then that you're going to have yourself broken but you were too persistent, so I cant help but to give you a chance because I myself was falling for you, too."

"But, Maymay, you love me more than you love him. I can feel it Maymay. You don't love him anymore." I am now on bended knees trying to change her decision and maybe after this night, she'll end up choosing me instead.

"Yes, Edward. I love you more than I love him but you dont understand, HE'S MY HUSBAND, Edward. At the end of the day, in God's eyes, he's still the one that I should choose and not anyone else and not even, YOU."

Hearing those words from Maymay was like having my heart operated out from my chest while waiting for it to be shredded into pieces. I ran out of words to say. Tears became my source of strength. I never thought I'd see myself falling in love with someone like Maymay. I met her at a wrong time and at the wrong circumstances and destiny isn't even making a way to make things work for the two of us. She warned me about the consequences, she can't promise me a lifetime of i love yous and that her single goodbye could mean forever of separation.

I tried to fake a smile and looked at her while wiping away my tears.

"So, is this goodbye, Maymay? Does this mean that we'll have to forget each other like neither of us existed in our own worlds? Dont ever think Maymay that I didnt fight for the two of us, I did Maymay, with all that's left of me, I gave you everything. You drained all the parts of myself leaving me with nothing." Saying these to the girl I love most was a torture but who am I to make her stay when she wants to leave?

"This would be the last time I'll be saying I love you, Maymay and I hope you could say it, too before we bid our last goodbyes."

"I love you, Marydale. I always do and I always will and if ever God permits, I'll like to meet you again in another lifetime. When destiny and time is on our side."

"I love you too, Edward. And I'm sorry for breaking your heart."

I hugged her for the last time and kissed her forehead while savouring the last time I'll ever have her in my arms.

"Goodbye, Edward. Thank you for everything. Please be happy, not for me but for yourself. You'll forget about me, soon."  This is the time she finally turned her back against me and the assurance that she's never coming back. Never again.

I whispered for the last time, "you forgot to tell me how to un-love someone like you, Marydale."

----------- END.