Hiraeth (on hold)

Heliotrope

He was busy playing with the pens on her desk, as he awaited for her to finish the things she was working on.

She peeks at him behind her computer, and sees his bored five-year-old face, pouting and tapping away at the pens.

"Bored na ba ang baby?" she nonchalantly asked, even caressing his face with both of her hands.

She then realises what she had done, and removes her hands quickly, going straight back to tapping away at her keyboard.

"Kahit isang kamay lang, please?" he requested.

"Ha?" she asked, looking straight at the screen but Alden could still see the red hue of her cheeks.

"Balik mo, kahit isang kamay lang," he explained.

"Landi mo," she joked, and ignored his request. "Malapit na po akong matapos. Konting hintay na lang," she added.

A few more minutes pass and she finishes her report. They exit the building and get into his car. They were silent until Maine presented him with an idea.

"Punta tayo ng resort," she suggests.

"I'm sorry?"

"Remember? 'Yong resort noong una tayong nagkita. Punta tayo."

"Maine, you need to drive, take a plane, and then a boat, to get there. Kailangang pagplanuhan 'yan."

"O, edi let's plan it now. Tapos, let's go tomorrow! It's the weekend naman ah," Maine reasoned.

"Bakit mo naman naisipan na pumunta doon?"

"Wala lang. I just want to de-stress. And to think about...things."

"About us?"

"Yes. About us."

"Are you thinking of ending up just like our siblings, Maine?"

"No. I want to be able to think, so that we won't end up like our siblings."

"Maine?"

"Hm?"

"How crazy is it going to sound if I told you I'm falling for you?"

She pauses and turns her head toward him. She examines every detail of his side profile. From his messy hair, to his pox mark. From his nose, to his shaped lips.

"Not crazy at all," she manages to say.

The car stops abruptly, and she would've slipped out of her chair if not for the seatbelt that was securing her.

She hears the unbuckling of his seatbelt, and she didn't know how it happened, but his face was now only inches away from hers.

She closes her eyes, anticipating for the worst - or was it the best?

*honk*

Maine jumps from her seat and opens her eyes immediately. Bright red lights from various cars seeped into her eyes until they no longer looked like blurry blobs.

"You okay? Nakatulog ka na ah, did you have a busy day at work?"

It was all a dream. All a freaking dream that now makes her question what she really feels for this man beside her.

She comes to think of it, but she hasn't actually made up her mind about how she feels about everything that is going on. At first they were at each other's throats, but now here they are civil, maybe even acquainted. No longer are they just co-existing on this earth but rather, harmoniously living that it's almost too quick of a change.