Rj had just arrived from work. His phone rang as he was walking down the hallway to his bedroom.
"Hello, Love?" Rj answered. He had seen Maine's name on his screen.
Maine had been crying for the last 20 minutes. She knew what time Rj came home so she timed her call.
"......" she didn't say anything; she just quietly sobbed.
"....what's the matter?" Rj asked.
"......"
".....are you hurt?"
".....no...." she replied in a very soft voice.
".....what happened?"
"........"
"....are you alone?"
"......" she whimpered.
"Love....can you tell me what's wrong?"
"......"
"Do you want me to go there?"
"......" she whimpered some more.
"....ganito....if you promise to stop crying...pupunta ako dyan...."
"....." she covered her mouth to stop herself from sobbing.
In about 30minutes, Rj was at Maine's house.
"....kanina pa nga sya umiiyak...." Sally said as she opened the gate. "....sabi ni Manang Pepe, nasa loob daw sya ng CR nila...."
Rj entered the house and went straight to Maine's room. Yaya Pepe was by the bathroom door. She knocked gently. "....andito na si Rj....buksan mo na ang pinto, please..."
Rj came closer. "Anong nangyari?"
"....hindi ko rin masyadong maintindihan....ang sabi nya, madaming tao....di ko alam...." Yaya Pepe shrugged her shoulders.
"....Maine....Love...." Rj gently knocked on the door.
A long while later, they heard the doorknob click so Rj let himself in. Maine was balled up in one corner, sweaty and sobbing. Rj sat beside her.
"....I don't know what happened so I will just sit here....." he said as he handed Maine a towel to wipe her sweat. Maine just held on to the towel and continued sobbing.
Minutes passed and Rj just sat there not saying anything or doing anything. He sat beside her like he did when they first met. He took out his phone and "worked". He knew that his presence alone could help Maine calm down.
After some long minutes, Maine's sobbing finally ceased and she leaned her head on his shoulder.
".....can you tell me what happened?" he asked calmly.
"....ang daming....tao......ang dami....nilang....tanong...." she said, haltingly.
"....okay....saan?"
"....hospital...."
"Hmm...pero remember, nung na-hospital ako, ikaw din ang kumausap sa kanila?"
Maine didn't answer. She closed her eyes and covered her face with the towel.
"....andyan na naman ba yung mga monsters?" he asked.
Maine nodded slightly.
"....you feel pressured?"
She nodded again.
"...okay.... wait...." Rj said and reached for his pen in his pocket. He drew on Maine's wrist then he drew on his own, too.
Oops! Ang larawang ito ay hindi sumusunod sa aming mga alituntunin sa nilalaman. Upang magpatuloy sa pag-publish, subukan itong alisin o mag-upload ng bago.
"This is to remind you that whenever you feel that the monsters are there, just press on the heart and remember that I am connected to you with this heart. We will fight the monster together.....take a deep breath and remember that everything will be alright....." Rj said as he finished drawing on his wrist. He then put his wrist on hers, pressed it tightly, and then kissed her on the forehead.
Maine put her arms around Rj and hugged him tightly.
".....fail na naman...." she said while her face was buried in his neck.
"....what did we read about failure?.....failure is the opportunity to begin again....diba? kung hindi tayo mag-f-fail, hindi tayo matuto....don't dwell on the failure, instead, count your successes...."
".....pero bakit nakayanan ko na dati tapos ngayon....."
".....lahat naman tayo dadaan at dadaan sa mga pagsubok, diba? You overcame your fear of facing and talking to people before and you did well....hindi ka nag-iisa, Maine....lahat kami, nararanasan din yung mga monsters na yan....iba-iba lang tayo ng ways to fight them....some do it quicker than others...." Rj said as he began wiping Maine's sweat under her shirt. He could feel that she was more relaxed compared to how she was when he arrived. She allowed him to "enter" her personal space and wall. "Love, bihis ka muna o....pawis na pawis ka na e....sige na....I won't leave..." he assured her.
Maine stood up and grabbed a shirt from the cabinet nearby. She washed her face and changed her shirt.
".....labas na tayo....baka mamaya nyan, ipasok na nung Yaya mo ng unan mo at dito ka patulugin...gusto mo?" Rj teased.
Maine giggled. "....ayaw...."
"O then, let's go!" He opened his hand and she held on. They walked out of the bathroom together. They went to the kitchen so that Maine could drink some water.
It had been months since Maine began speaking again. There were many occasions when she would be overwhelmed and anxious in certain situations. Somehow, today, she could not overcome her fears and anxieties that's why she broke down.
Rj expected this to happen. He knew that although Maine had "finally" broken her silence, there would come a time that she could go back and keep quiet again. He needed to reassure her that he and her family were there for her, no matter what.
