EPHEMERAL - Short Stories Collection #1

Your Name

~*~*~

The first time I saw your name, I felt something different.

I didn't know what it was. It couldn't be love, no. How could I love someone by just reading their name on a paper with the words "Corrected by" written in red ink? At first it wasn't love that I felt.

It was curiosity.

I was curious of your existence. I haven't encountered your name in this school yet. I felt this sudden need to know you. I didn't just want to know you, I need to know you. And I didn't know the reason why. All I knew was that I'm curious.

But, as people say, curiosity kills the cat. I was scared of being curious so I just shrugged my curiosity off and continued living the life I lived.

Yet, I couldn't get you off my mind. I felt as if sooner or later I would meet you. You would become a part of my life.

That night, I received a message from you, saying congratulations because of my score. I instantly knew it was you. I read your name a few times before replying. And I confirmed it was you.

Was it my gut that I knew I would eventually meet you?

That night started everything. We talked most of the time, asking each others interests, and the like. But we never did in real life. We never talked even if we're literally studying in the same school. We just chatted online.

We became best friends, online best friends. We chatted day and night, we laughed and smiled through the messages we sent to each other. We even created a nickname for each other. You called me, "Miss Edi Wow," and I called you, "Kuya Bes." But we mostly called each other "bes," short for best friend.

I heard your stories, your life, your interests, your favorites, your dreams, your dreams, everything. I learned about who you are. I knew about your talents and skills. I knew basically all about you.

But, I never let you knew who I was. Because I knew, you'd rather not know.

One night, as usual, we chatted. You suddenly opened up the topic that you liked a girl in my class. I didn't know why but at that moment, I heard something breaking. My heart. But I stayed composed and calm. No, I should be happy because you liked my classmate. She's luck because you liked her. And then I told you what I knew about her. Unfortunately, she had a boyfriend. And you asked me not to tell her. I vowed not to.

I kept my mouth shut. I continued to talk to you on social media, trying to hide the pain I was feeling that I also denied over and over.

I can't fall for you, no. You liked someone else. And that someone wasn't me. Though I wish it was me.

Another usual night came, we were chatting about how our day went and all, but I sensed something different. You didn't have your usual emojis, you didn't have your usual laughs, you didn't have your usual nickname to me.

My heart beated fast. My mind was full of questions. Could this be the start that you're going to stay away from me because of the girl you liked? What did I do wrong? Why did you act so differently?

And then, out of the blue, you chatted, "I'm going to tell you something."

I patiently waited for the reply. I watched the three dots go up and down as typed what you're going to tell me. As you typed, my heart went crazy. What were you going to tell me? I embraced for the worst though.

The dots stopped moving and your reply popped out. I read every word that you typed. Over and over and over. I read every syllable. My eyes couldn't believe it. No, scratch that, my whole self couldn't believe it.