breaking free (completed)

4. ice breaker

Interacting with people was a difficult thing for Maine. She struggled at making friends at school because she could not even say "hello" to anyone. She would often sit alone at her desk or in a quiet corner of the room, away from the crowd. She felt overwhelmed and anxious around "unfamiliar" people.

Rj knew this all too well. He, too, had the same anxieties as a child but he transitioned out of his "silent state" in a much shorter period than Maine. Although he had a speech disability as a young child, and was bullied because of it and caused him to have selective mutism in elementary school, he just began talking again before he moved on to high school. Maine had been silent for the last 10 years.

Rj, worked at a speech therapy clinic while studying to be a Speech-Language Pathologist. He liked playing basketball and often did this at a nearby park. One afternoon, as he was playing alone, shooting hoops, he saw Maine sitting at a far bench. He had seen her picture from the file he was given and they lived in the same village. He'd seen her before but never approached her. She seemed shy and quiet and was always with her family. However, in the many random afternoons where he'd practice shooting alone, she'd be there on the same park bench, in the far corner of the park.

He cautiously approached her and sat on the bench nearby. He did this quite often or pass by near her to familiarize himself with her face (and to make him familiar to her, too).

"....at eto na naman tong lalakeng to...." Maine thought to herself when she noticed that Rj sat on the bench a few meters away from her. "....ang dami dami namang benches...dyan ka pa talaga umupo...." she 'rolled' her eyes in her head.

A few weeks later, he was already at the benches when Maine came and sat at her favorite spot. She took out her book and began reading.

"Hi....I'm Richard....uhh...Rj....Rj....mind if I sit?" Rj approached and extended his hand and smiled at Maine.

She didn't answer. She didn't even look at him. She kept her head bowed, pretending to "read" her book. "....cute naman pala si koyah....at shet! Mabango sya ha?" she thought.

Because he knew about her already, he just sat down and ate his snack. He offered her some but did not get any response.

"She really doesn't talk much...." Ate Niki said when she approached Maine and Rj. He stood up and introduced himself.

"I'm Niki....she's Maine..." Ate Niki said.

Rj nodded and smiled. "I'm Rj. Hello."

"We'll go ahead ha? It was nice meeting you, Rj...bye..." Ate Niki said as Maine stood up and followed her out of the park.

"Di ka naman ginulo nun?" Ate Niki asked as they walked home.

"Hindi naman. Umupo lang sya dun."

"Remember, kung may manggulo sa yo, umalis ka kaagad...."

"Alam ko...."

"Hi....Maine?" Rj said as he approached her again one afternoon. He placed a small paper bag beside her. Visible was a tag that had "Maine" written on it. "....I baked some cookies....these are for you...."

Still, Maine did not respond or look at him. He turned on his heel and walked out of the park. Coleen came from her friend's house near the park. Maine went with her and stayed in her usual spot to wait for Coleen.

"...uy! kanino galing to?" Coleen said when she noticed the paper bag.

"....sa yo nalang kung gusto mo...." Maine replied.

"....may nanliligaw sa yo?" Coleen asked as she peeped into the bag. "....uy! cookies!" she exclaimed.

One of Maine's favorite food was soft oatmeal cookies.

"....hmm...oatmeal pa ata....na walang raisins" Coleen inspected the container.

Maine looked at Coleen who opened the cookie jar and offered some cookies to Maine.

"....uuyy! masarap! Koyah, can you make me more of these?"

"Masarap sya.....but I like chocolate chip cookies more.....kanino nga galing to?" Coleen spoke.

"....Rj...."

"Rj? Sino yun?"

"....madalas maglaro ng basketball dito sa park....neighbor siguro...."

"Hmm...." Coleen nodded as she munched on a cookie.

"Sabi ni Ate at Coleen may friend ka daw sa park?" Nanay asked.

"....di ko naman friend yun..." Maine replied. "...pero Nay! Ang cute cute nya! Ang lalim ng dimple!"

"....ano naman ang kinukwento nya sa yo?"

"Kung anu-ano ang sinasabi....feeling ko nga kausap nya lang sarili nya talaga....ang daldal e...."

"Ahh talaga?"

"Minsan tungkol sa sports, basketball.....favorite daw nya si Stephen Curry at yung Golden State Warriors....minsan naman, nagkkwento ng ibang hobbies nya....nag-c-collect daw sya ng action figures..."

"Hmm...."

"Madami syang sinasabi.....madaming kwento....minsan naman, tahimik din lang sya......."

"....crush mo?"

"Nay!" Maine exclaimed. "Nay naman! Sino naman ang hindi magkaka-crush sa poging yon? Maputi, matangkad, ang cute ngumiti, may dimple, magaling pa magsalita.....haaaay"

After several weeks of their "meetings" at the park, Rj was a more familiar figure not only to Maine but to her family as well. Her parents knew that he worked at the therapy center recommended by their good friend and Maine's doctor but they kept this from Maine. They knew that if Maine found out that he was "another" therapist, she would not respond or react to him. To her, he was just their cute neighbor who liked playing basketball and baking.