Whisper of the Heart (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER III

He went downstairs at 1pm, already dressed, particularly picking up that hour when he would most unlikely  see his mother downstairs, for she loved to sleep after lunchtime, and he at the moment would rather go out unquestioned. But then she was right there at the bottom of the stairs the very time he started his first step.

"Edward, where you going?" As she took the steps up to him.

"Just going to have a drive Ma."

"Why you been here just last night and now you're going out again? We seldom talk, anak." They both stopped midway of the stairs.

There sound a little reproach when she said anak. And her mother was successful hitting his soft side. But then, there was something in the way she looked at him that made him  a little reserved towards her. He encircled her in a warm embrace and kissed her temple. He remembered she was over fifty at the moment, and but still no grey hairs.

"There is just one important thing to be done Ma, i'll make it up to you another time." He started to conclude the last steps when her mother called out again.

"The Villa's invited us over to dinner next week, when your Pa's come home. I'm sure you would not cause me embarrassment any more than you did the last last time."

Not again. He started wondering why they were rushing things with Gwen.

And he wondered what Gwen must have been feeling. Could it be that she wanted it somehow? Cut it. He preferred that Gwen doesn't feel anything for him. It will make things complicated.

The Villa's were inviting them over to dinner. If it proved to be of other motive than meddling with Gwen's life and his, he would be a hundred percent willing to come. But knowing their intentions, he would rather not come. But now he was sure life is about not liking to go but go anyway. He imagined sitting awkwardly across Gwen while the others are chattering endlessly about the marriage he didn't wish.

Antipolo to Cavite drive is no joke, especially weekends, you'll get stucked at traffic. But his mind was as resolute as the sun rising up every morning, in two hours time he was already threading the Aguinaldo Hiway.

The place was no different than all the roadsides he saw. A winding road all packed up on both sides with establishments running up for miles. The lines of towering electric posts that meet at the distant horizon was a view. Now he felt a sort of vague dejavu looking about, quite different than his other two past adventures in coming here which both happened at night. It's not that he haven't ever drove this road. He did a hundred times. But passing through a road is quite different than particularly eyeing it, and now he was doing the latter, in broad daylight.

The road was long, traversing four towns in total when one is bound to Tagaytay. And so he felt a little crazy and disillusioned that coming here would do him any good because his idea was like finding a pebble amongst a thousand pebbles. Sometimes he would pass by a road canopied by tall acacia trees that looked like lovers stretching out to each other from both sides of the road. Sometimes, a stretch of barren lands. Sometimes lines of commercial buildings and what-not. Sometimes of residential houses. He gazes through every lanes and alleys that branched from the main road, every single one he would come accross. That's exageration of course. Hopeful, that just a sight of a familiar street would help him recollect memories.

The drove being an hour and a half, he reached Tagaytay without feeling that particular feeling he felt the last time. Just blank. That feeling was all he could depend on as to where in this long road should he be. Even just a faint glint of familiarity was all he needed.

But none of the sort came.

Exhausted, he pulled over on the roadside that overlooked the Taal Volcano. The view was captivating, but he was more like looking through it than at it. Had it been another circumstances he would have appreciated the azure below, turning gray in the distance is the volcano itself, and the clouds enveloping its peaks.
But nothing at the moment could relieve his heavy heart, heaved by the unknown.

It was not dark yet, but looking at the lowlands, the city lights started to emerge in the distance. He might as well start going back. This time around he forget the search. He just wanted to go home.

He turned the music on, he leaned his head sideward, supported by his left hand, and the other hand focused on the steering wheel. It was almost dark, where things looked bluish from the twilight.

He's been driving for minutes, when a few meters ahead, there was a pedestrian whose mind seemed not made up if she was going to cross the road or not for he saw her advancing and retreating more than once.

He stopped his car to let her cross, and she bowed slightly in courtesy, which she hardly did, for she was tugging two brown bags of stuffs, groceries perhaps, her lips read 'thank you," with a faint smile, and passed by his car.

Edward couldn't help but repress a smile to himself,  for she was looking very awkward in all the world, some strands of her waist-length hair was tossled agonizingly across her face, it was the wind's doing to be sure, but both her hands were pinned to stuffs she was carrying, so she couldn't brush the annoying hair off her face. He even motioned his hand to say welcome, which of course she wouldn't see, for the car  was tinted. He let go of the break at once, casting the pedestrian one last glance as she made it the the other side of the hi-way, painstakingly. He had gone hundreds of meters away, she was no longer in sight, but the smile on his face was still there, like an echo that resonated too long, too fondly.

Then suddenly his heart remembered that unexplicable warm feeling, like  the first rays of morning sunshine touching the field, awakening it with its warmth.

He stepped on the breaks abruptly. His heart beating fast.

"Hey, you idi*t! You out of your mind!!??"

The driver of the car behind him was swearing at him but he was far too oblivious at the moment, only hearing his heartbeat and nothing else.

He made a u-turn at once and drove back as fast as he can.

He stopped the car at the roadside, where she saw the girl, and get out of the car. He wasn't running, but he was out of breath.

She looked around but the girl was nowhere to be seen. There was a two-lane road that extends far forth, with residential houses on both sides. Along the highway there were several residential houses too.

"She must have gone here. She have must be living in one of the houses here." He whispered to himself. But he did not dare thread the road. He leaned backward on his car for support, and slowly, like a melting candle, Edward sat on the ground.