Whisper of the Heart (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER XXX

Maymay.

This painting. Is from Maymay.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

Edward suddenly got weak in the knees. Slowly, like a melting candle, he sat on the floor.

Thousands of questions flood his mind. How did he get this painting? Was this painting a gift from Maymay? Or he just bought it from her? The latter sounds more likely closer to the truth, because if it was a gift, then it would mean Maymay was just pretending she doesn't know him. Marco even introduced them to each other. Their names exchanged.

But if she really didn't know him until the that day they met in the gallery, why did she look surprised when he saw her at the coffee shop?

Then Gwen's words came back to him.

Do you still love her? Did you really forget her? Because i don't think you did.

Is Maymay the woman Gwen was referring to? Did she love Maymay in the past and he just forgotten about her?  If that's true,  why is it that he had forgotten her, and her ALONE?

Is Marco not telling him something? And Gwen, what is it that Gwen knew which he doesn't remember?

Edward closed his eyes. And feel his heart. He saw Maymay's face, smiling. And somewhere in his heart, he felt longing, sadness. He felt pain. In the same way you'd feel when you remember something painful. Only for Edward,  there aint no memories coming. Just the feeling.

He was feeling a love he could not remember. His heart ached for someone he doesn't know who. And he strongly felt,  that feeling is for Maymay.

Deprived of sleep, Edward still went to work the next day. And looking at the outside of the office through the window, again, occassionally clicking the endcap of his pen, he waited for Cha, his secretary to come. He has to know, he has to understand what he has forgotten.

"Sir Edward. " It was Cha,  announcing her presence, though she need not to, for the moment she entered the office, Edward was fully aware of her presence.

There goes the click of the pen again. And Cha was, for the moment, trying to calm her nerves.

"Can you keep a secret, Cha?"

Cha was surprised. And she thought, maybe it really is one of her job description as a secretary. To keep your boss's secret a secret. But the last time I checked, she wasn't good at that. But she can try HARDER this time.

"Yes of course,  sir Edward. "

"See that folder on my table?" Edward did not even turn around to face Cha.

Cha's eyes landed on a black folder on the table. "Yes sir."

"Inside, is the information of Detective Santiago. His name. His contacts. Where to find him. "

Cha opened the folder and saw what Edward has just decribed to her. Attached is a photo of one clever-looking guy.

"I want you to secretly contact him, and let him find everything about a Marydale Entrata. Her picture is in the folder, too. What she does. Her family. Who are her friends. Where she lives. The detective will report to you. Don't mention my name to him. He will report to you,  and you to me."

Cha gulped. Why? She had only seen this in the movies. And now it is happening right in her very eyes.

"Get his bank account. Wire half of the money. The rest after he did his job."

"Yes,  sir. " She was suddenly got curious about this Marydale Entrata. Her eyes widened as she remembered her convo with her boss some time ago, about the heart remembering what the brain forgets. Her imagination was fast, that maybe, the rumor about the car accident was actually true, and that his boss forgets his one true love, and now he was on the go to find her.
That is what was going on Cha's mind.

How sweet.

Cha, supressed a smile, covering her lips with her hand.

"What's funny?"

"Oh,  nothing sir. I just a remembered something"

Edward dismissed her and buried himself with the tons of paperwork he left yesterday.

Edward doesn't know. But you dear readers do. That it was history being repeated. And i guess,  some things never really change, even when one's memories were gone. They'd do things over and over again, even in a different time, in a different situation.

Early that week the much awaited report came in an envelope, which Cha handed over to him in his office. And so Edward found himself, looking at the photos of that seemingly familiar humble abode, where the abundance of flowers and plants brought him inner peace. He looked at it with fondness, he felt he once belong there. That he was once been in it. He could even hear shrill laughters coming from the inside of the house.

But looking through the photos, he felt his heart ache that made him hard to breathe.

The report says Maymay has two siblings. Their mother had another family. The father's dead. She works as a freelance animator. And Maymay is supporting her siblings to school. One is in fourth year in college, the other is in the first year.

Edward smiled inwardly. And he thought, if he loved her in the past, he already knew why. Because the more he learns about her, the more his heart ooze with pride for this strong woman.

No wonder her body was like that. She works very hard for her family. She works in Makati. And she commutes everyday. Every single day.

That sure is tiring.

And he felt another waves of heartache. He felt like he wanted to protect her. To give her comfort. And he suddenly felt like a stupid rich boy. There she was, fighting so hard in life, and here he is, living in the comforts of his condo, with numerous cars, with millions of money in the bank, and could live for a thousand years without having to work.

He found himself fondly staring at Maymay's photo.

He suddenly wanted to see Maymay. He knows now where she works. Where she lives. He still doesn't remember, but he's sure it was for her, all the feelings and longing he felt strangely for days. It IS for her.

His phone rings.

It was Cha, telling him that Ms. Gwen wants to see him. He instructed her to let Gwen in while he puts everything back in the envelope.

When Gwen opens the door,  Edward stands to greet her,  with the envelope still in his hands. Then a photo of Maymay slipped, and it landed on the floor.

Before Edward could move an inch, Gwen bowed down and picked the photo.

Then she looks up at him, with that sad look on her face.

"So you found her again, Edward."