A/N: Incredibly sorry for the late update. 😭 But thank you to you, who still opened this update despite the long period of delay. 💛
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Nicomaine woke up a little later than usual the next day. Richard and her had spent all night talking about what happened in their respective lives when they were separated. It warmed her heart that he not only tried to write to her, but he spent most of his adult life writing about her too.
Despite the lack of sleep, she felt entirely refreshed. There was this indescribable lightness that comes after finally finding something you've always been looking for. It's funny how sometimes, you find things when you stop looking for them.
Around three in the afternoon, Nicomaine practically waltzes inside Le Chateau's cafe and immediately scans the room for Richard. She could not help feeling slightly disappointed not seeing his broad back leaning against the plush chairs at their usual spot.
Wala naman sinabi sakin si Richard that he couldn't be here. Asan kaya sya?
As she walks towards their spot, she spots a yellow box sitting on top of their usual table. She inches closer, and reads the neat handwriting on the envelope on top of the box, "Menggay". She smiles immediately, knowing that it could not have been from anyone else but her Tisoy.
She flips the envelope open and takes out the card.
"My dearest Menggay, I hope that these are still your favorites. Love, Tisoy."
She lifts the lid and stifles a gasp. The yellow box sitting on her lap was filled to the brim of candy she used to hoard when she was younger.
"Wow. I didn't even know they still made these." She says out loud, grabbing one wrapped in blue and tearing it open.
*****
Sometime in 2002
Tisoy was sweating profusely from all the running he has done, but now he slowly tiptoes his way towards Menggay who sulks in the corner. He has been running around Le Chateau for the most part of the afternoon looking for her. He sighs in relief as he finally finds her--sitting on a stool in the corner of the greenhouse, brows scrunched up, lips pouting. She was staring nonsensically outside the window as large drops of rain hit the glass walls.
When he was finally within earshot, he spoke up, "Andito ka lang pala, Menggay."
She turns her head towards his direction, her eyes widening a bit at the sight of him. Yet, she turns her attention back to the glass walls and started to hum some song.
"Menggay, pansinin mo naman ako, please."
Without looking back at him, she mutters silently, "Sino bang unang hindi namansin?"
"Oh, sorry na sorry na. Basketball kasi ung lakad ko kanina with my schoolmates, kaya di kita sinama. Minsan lang ako payagan sumama sa mga ganon." She remained quiet so he added, "Saka puro boys kami maglalaro baka ma-pano ka pa, baka madapa or masugatan."
"Madapa talaga, Tisoy ha. Yung totoo, sino sa ating dalawa yung madadapa?"
"Oo na, oo na. Ako talaga ung madadapa between the two of us. Wag ka na magtampo, kid." Tisoy moves closer to her, lifting his hand over her head, attempting to mess up her hair--but she moves her head away from him before he does.
"Nakikipagbati ka ba or nakikipag-away?" Menggay now looks him straight in the eye. He noticed for the first time that her eyes were slightly glassy. Tisoy felt even more guilty when he realized that despite loving the rainy whether, his Menggay was not smiling at all.
He decides to stop teasing her and pulls out a whole packet of candy. "I'm sorry, Menggay. Smile ka na please?" He takes her hand gently and hands her the packet, "Wag ka na magalit sa akin. Please, please, pretty please?" He smiles at her, dimples out--he was well aware how she found his dimple amusing.. endearing even. He hoped that it might just do the trick.
She rolls her eyes at him and smiles at him finally, "Sige na nga, bati na tayo."
"Yung dimple, noh? Buti na lang, meron ako."
"Nope. Yung Haw-Haw."
***********
"If only Richard was here to share this with." She says out loud, a smile on her face as she looked at the box of candies in front of her.
"Sa pagkaka-alala ko, you never shared your candies with me, Menggay."
She looks up and sees him, in a white polo shirt under his dark blue blazer, with his be-dimpled smile, and eyes sparkling.
How can you be this perfect?
She sets down the box on the table in front of her as he sat down beside her. She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him. She felt him nuzzle her neck and held her closer to him.
"Ang saya naman ng bati na 'to. Maybe I should be late more often?" He says as they pull away.
"I really don't know what came over me, sorry Richard." She says and feels her cheeks flame up, "But it's like, since I finally found you, I wanted to see you, to be near you, as if I'm..."
"making up for lost time?"
"... making up for lost time."
They said at the same time, and they smile silly at each other. "You can still finish my sentences. How insane is that?" She asks him.
"Not that insane." He smiles at her and pulls her back into an embrace, circling his arms around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head, "Don't worry about all the time we've lost. We have so much more ahead of us, Menggay." He says in reply, and she tightens her hold on his torso.
"Ehem. Ehem." Jose clears his throat behind them, "Sir Rj, Miss Maine, okay na po tayo? Daming langgam dito, kinakagat na ko." He says seriously and moves to sit on the couch in front of them. "Juskong mga batang to, akala mo hindi magkasama magdamag kagabi ah."
"Bigay mo na samin to Kuya Jose. You know how long I've waited for Menggay." Richard retorted, and the old man notes the silly grin on his face. He has never seen his alaga as happy as he is now.
"Ito na nga, binibigay ko na nga. Di ko na nga sinabi na naglevel up ka na eh."
"Level up? Ano pong level up?" Maine asks, pulling away from Richard's embrace, and grabbed the yellow box of candies on the table.
"Aba itong si Sir Rj, dati sa harap mo lang ang upo, ngayon sobrang nakasiksik na sa tabi mo, akala mo parang siksikan sa jeep lang." Jose replies, chuckling.
"Onga, Rj, ang sikip ha!" She laughs in reply and moves to sit nearer to the glass window.
"Masikip pala ha!" Richard replies, and moves closer to her, his arms encircling her, boxing her in his embrace again.
Jose watches the two in front of him, giggling happily, their eyes shinning, and thinks that as much of a skeptic as he was, he might finally believe in fate or destiny or whatever it's called.
YOU ARE READING
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...
