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Cierre

She tentatively knocks on the door of apartment 3F. At first, her knocks were soft, barely a whisper. She waited a few minutes, also delaying the inevitable, until she raised her left hand to knock. "It's now or never", Maine mumbled. She rapped at the door.

"Who is it?". A male voice boomed.

Maine could not speak, so she just knocked again. On the second attempt, the door opened. The guy has not even looked at the lady standing in front of him. He was slightly dishelved, like he was cooking and wiped his hand on a kitchen towel.

"Hi, Alden."

Only then was when he looked at her. And in that few seconds, Maine saw a flash of surprise, pain, and shock in his eyes.

"Will you let me in?"

His face now blank, Alden stepped back to let her in.

"I just need to turn off the something in the kitchen. Make yourself comfortable on the couch."

Without a glance, Alden walked back to the open kitchen. Maine sat in one of the chairs. His place was immaculate. The apartment was spacious and open, with a view of the river. She heard some pans being moved, and what seems like a pot being covered.

Alden walked back into the living room and sat across Maine after handing her a water bottle.

"So, Maine, it's been awhile. 7 years is it?"

"Yes. You don't seem surprised to see me."

"I was.... How did you know..."

"I called Riza. It was very hard, and she did not want to give your contact information."

"I'm surprised Riza even picked up."

"Yes, she did ignore my calls for awhile."

"Well, what brings you here , Maine?"

He still hasn't changed. Alden is still direct to the point.

"I... just came to apologize. On how poorly I acted, and how badly things ended up for us. I was insecure, and I was wrong to keep on finding fault in our relationship."

He was silent. It kind of unnerved Maine that he was so calm, despite the chaos she brought to his life then.

" For years, it bothered me on why you left and why you did that and just... did not talk to me. We were planning to get married, Maine. And you know that I was an open book, especially with you."

" Yes, and I should not have done that. Leaving was not the best way to fix it."

"And I assume you are here to mend .... To at least be civil?"

"Yes, I know I'm asking a lot. But I just needed to do this."

"Oh, for your conscience then."

"No, because it is the right time and it is the right thing to do."

Alden was quiet then. It was like he was mentally jotting down the pros and cons of this conversation.

"Well. Is there anything else I need to know? Why you left? Why now?"

I took a deep breath.

" I am dying , Alden. "

He flinched.

"Excuse me?"

"I have stage 4 lung cancer. I have asked my doctors to stop treatment, so my body will slowly fade away. But I also wanted to do some things while I still can."