"Kuya Wally, you know I'd never ask you to help me if it wasn't important. Thank you po talaga." Maine tells the old man as they walk briskly across Le Chateau's lobby.
"Itong batang to talaga, oo naman hija." Wally turns to face her as the walk, giving her a smile. "But keep this as our little secret, I don't exactly have authority or access to open the letter box."
"I know. I owe you heaps, Kuya Wally."
It was only that morning that Maine was in utter panic, the thought of losing the perfect design for a veranda just putting her at wits end. And unfortunately for her, the last time she saw it was when she was waiting for Richard at the cafe for the results of the board meeting. She had been writing a letter to Tisoy to distract herself, and it worked a little to well, in her opinion.
Because, thanks to her clumsy self, her sketch was missing and now probably sealed in the envelope along with her letter to Tisoy.
Never sketch on random pieces of paper, why are you so scatter-brained, Nicomaine?
They finally reach the letter box and Wally starts to fish out what she assumed to be the keys out of his pocket. "You're very lucky Miss Maine that this letter box isn't functional, otherwise, you would have lost your sketches."
Maine nods earnestly, just itching to get her hands on her sketches again. But her panic didn't deter her from thinking, If the letterbox was functional, Tisoy would have probably read all of my letters.
She was completely aware about how this whole set up was silly, childhood even. Oh, and how unfair it was. There were times she found it unfair that she was the only one that tried to keep their promises. But then who could blame Tisoy for forgetting, it was so long ago. It was a promise between two kids--it was her with the hung-ups.
She knew that.
Wally fiddles with the key ring, with what seems like forty to fifty keys dangling on it. "I never asked Miss, but why do you write those letters anyway? Kung okay lang ha."
"Opo naman, Kuya." She replies, but immediately regrets it--It was only a childhood promise after all. "Bale, when I was a kid I used to stay here a lot, and during one particularly difficult summer, I met my best friend. And that grumpy little boy helped me go through uhm...that difficult summer." She watches Wally try on key after key, while surreptitiously glancing around the perimeter of the letterbox.
"When the summer was coming to a close, we promised to see each other the year after, and in the meantime, we were supposed to write each other letters. He told me to send his letters to the hotel, since his family spent more than half the year in Le Chateau, and I told him to send mine at my childhood home. But due to some unfortunate circumstances, we had to move, and I only received one letter from him."
Maine noticed Wally stopped fiddling with the keys and looked at her with sad puppy dog eyes as he listened to her story, "Sige, hija, tuloy mo", he egged her on.
"Ayun nga po, since then, come hell or high water I go to the hotel to drop a letter at least once a year, hoping that he'd at least read one of them. Ayaw ko naman na isipin niya na hindi ako tumupad sa promise. Pero parang kahit isa naman hindi niya nabasa." She smiled wistfully at the old man.
Did he ever think the same thing? Was Tisoy ever worried I'd get upset if I didn't receive any more of his letters?
"Magkikita rin kayo ng best friend mo, sa tamang panahon. It might not be through these letters, but if it's bound to happen, it will." The old man reaches to pat her shoulder lightly. "Oh, ito na pala ung tamang susi, ready ka na ba?"
"Oo naman, Kuya Wally. Kukunin ko lang naman ung sketch ko dun sa huling envelope na nilagay ko eh."
"I know, hija. Pero don't you think this is the perfect opportunity to take back all those letters you wrote? These letters were part of your childhood, and I saw you at least through half of it. You've grown so much since then, and I wonder if you're still going to take this part of yourself moving forward."
The thought did cross her mind--She knew it was futile anyway. What are the chances that those letters were ever going to be read by Tisoy? Was it time to let go of their silly promises?
"Alam mo, Kuya Wally, tama kayo. If Tisoy and I were meant to meet again, it'll happen." She feels a pang in her chest as she says it--Tisoy was a huge part of childhood, and the thought of reuniting with her best friend was a huge part of her adolescent and adult life.
Wally smiled at her and she watched as he opened the letter box. He inched its doors slowly, careful not to scratch its golden surface. Maine watched as Wally's smile turned into a frown, his forehead creasing, a confused look on his face.
"Kuya, bakit po ganyan ung itsura niyo? Did anything happen?"
"Hija, are you sure you dropped your letters here?"
"Oo naman po. And you even saw me drop them off a couple of times, di ba?"
"Oo nga, I was only making sure I remember things right." He motioned to grab her arm so she could take a closer look, "Because hija, all of your letters, they're not here. Not a single one."
*************
A/N: Time and time again, THANK YOU for supporting Letters from Spring Street <3
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Letters from Spring Street
Fanfiction"To that clumsy boy I met when I was seven" She knew it was futile and quite superfluous, but for the past thirteen years or so, Nicomaine has been writing letters to the clumsy boy she met at Le Chateau. What are the chances that years later, he fi...
