In The Midst Of The Universe

I.

           It was a long, tiring day. I finished my coffee, closed my laptop, took my glasses off, and carefully put it on my bedside table. It has been twelve hours since I started writing for my new blog post. Eh pa'no ba naman kasi, nira-rush ako ni Ludus.

          I usually sleep early every night but Ludus Benjamin Garcia, who happened to be my neighbor (and best friend) kept on bugging me to finish my blog. I glanced at my window to see the shining stars. Gosh, it's already past midnight! I bet Ludus is already fast asleep and here I am wide awake. But of course who lets their best friend sleep in peace while you're fully awake? I grabbed my phone that is lying on my bed and immediately dialed The Great Ludus on my contacts. It took exactly six rings before he picked up the phone.

          "What do you need, Felicity Torres? It's 1:00 freaking a.m.!" I laughed at him. It sounds like he was really having a good sleep. "Well, I just called to let you know that the stars were bright tonight. And I wanted to interrupt your sleep. Good night then, Ludus! Oh, and stop calling me Felicity. Just Eli, okay? E-L-I." Then I cut the call.

          The next morning, I almost woke up late. Good thing my mom's good at disturbing everyone's peaceful sleep. In fact, in April, she wanted us to look at her new zumba dance moves but we were soundly sleeping so my mom turned the volume of the radio up. The speakers were literally blasting. The music reached the next block and my dad compensated for it because our whole neighborhood got really annoyed. Such a mess!

          It was 6:03 a.m. when I decided to get up. I did my morning routine: stretch, take a shower, put some lip balm on my dry lips, then head downstairs to eat breakfast.

           I am halfway through my favorite Oreo O's cereal when Ludus entered our kitchen. He sat down to the chair next to mine, grabbed four strips of bacon, then shoved it into his mouth all at once. Masiba din talaga, eh. This annoying guy eats his breakfast in our house almost every day kahit may sarili naman siyang bahay.

           Right after having our breakfast, Ludus and I went back to his house just next to mine to get his white Kia Soul. It was his parents' gift for him when he turned 18 last summer. What a lucky guy. Ludus has been showing off his car ever since he got his hands on it.

           As he drove to school, we talked about classes and friends and the blog he was waiting for.

           "What is it called again? Your new blogpost?" Ludus asked me as if he is really interested. "Principles of Dating," I reminded him as he stepped on the brakes to make way for the crossing pedestrians.

           "Anyway, why do you want me to finish that blogpost immediately?" I asked him like I don't know the answer. "It's because I want to date this semester," he said then made a left turn. "You know I haven't dated ever since I was dumped by Clarisse even before we officially dated, right?"

           Ludus met Clarisse in a stargazing event that happened more than a year ago. I wasn't able to go to that event because my family had a vacation in Hawaii. "She was the most beautiful star I saw that night," Ludus told me days after. His eyes were sparkling like a prince who saw his princess for the first time. Ludus fell for her; he loved her as much as he loved the universe – maybe more than that. They went on dates, ate together, and watched movies. Ludus was undeniably happy, I was happy, too. Seeing him smile like that. One night, I was laying on my bed, thinking for a new concept for my blog when my phone suddenly rang and The Great Ludus appeared on my phone. He was crying. In between his intense sobs, he told me where he was. The rooftop in the abandoned building a few miles away from our house. I didn't know how I got there. I didn't even know that I'm wearing different pairs of slippers along with my pink pajamas. All I know is that I need to be where he was right away. And as soon as I saw him, my heart shattered into pieces. I shivered with fear. Ludus was standing on the edge of the abandoned building. Any wrong move, he might fall. I told him to hold my hand and go down as tears ran down my cheeks. But he wasn't listening. He kept on saying that he loved Clarisse more than anything – that she was his favorite star. Everything seems hopeless, I don't know how to make him go down. Then I suddenly remembered the poem he wrote for our literature class on 9th grade. It was his favorite one.