There You'll Be (One Shot)

                                                    There You’ll Be

By: Alan David Toledo Patani

“… in my dreams I’ll always see you soar above the sky …”

“… in my heart there’ll always be a place for you for all my life …”

August 19, 2012 (Sunday)

“You know, it is always my dream that someday, I’ll be able to fly up high and soar around the skies above…” he utters as he stands beside me.

I look at him. It is no other than Joshua. Scruffy dark brown hair, good stature, fair skin and brown eyes with a flash of a smile across his face are his physical characteristics. Well, for me, he is very good looking. He is looking at what’s above us, an airplane trailing above the radiant blue sky. ‘’… like that airplane.” He continues as he turns and looks at me that make us stuck at the glances of each other.

We barely talk, it’s as if we’re lesser than strangers even though we are somewhat ‘friends’. Well, that’s only when we’re close to each other like this. As a matter of fact, I’m his stalker, because I do have a crush on him, though; and the more I come to know him better, the deeper the feeling gets.

Love at first sight, they say…

We have known each other since we were both first year in high school, and instantly he became the apple of my eye as we became ‘friends’. That’s until now that we’re seniors, but too bad I have to keep myself and watch him from a distance, because I’m just one of his friends and there is a very small possibility that we are meant for each other since he’s very friendly. He’s always surrounded by most of his friends and even other students at school. Well, how much more about me? As I’ve said, we barely talk. We’re not close and I’m not one of those that always surround him. Well, I’m not that type of a person… You know, that ‘feeling-close’ attitude, it’s not one of my traits. I just don’t feel like it, and I can’t ‘eat’ my pride just to get closer to him.

Anyway, now that he has said it again… Yeah, every time we talk, the conversation always start with his signature line “You know, it is always my dream that someday, I’ll be able to fly up high and soar around the skies above…” although sometimes he rephrases his sentence, maybe trying something for a change. And that’s only when we happen to be together and an airplane passes above us, maybe except for the time that we introduced ourselves. That makes airplanes special to me. They make us somewhat connected somehow.

“You always do.” I say then I flashed a smile and I turned my head so I may face the ground before me. By the way, we are both standing at the grassy area of the town’s park.

“Mau, we could be closer you know…” Maurice is my name. Most of my friends, relatives and other persons call me Maurice. He’s the only one to call me Mau. And I like having it that way. It’s kind of special.

I tuck a strand of my long black hair at the back of my ear then say, “I know.”

“What day is tomorrow, anyway?” he asks me and I answer “Class day. Monday.”

That reminds me. Tomorrow is my birthday, but it seems like it isn’t. And I don’t feel like telling him about it because I don’t want him to know.

“Okay, then. Well, you should look good tomorrow.”

I don’t know what he means, so I just said “Yeah” and an ear-breaking silence follows afterwards.

August 20, 2012 (Monday)

I looked at myself in the mirror. I see a girl, a woman with long black hair that falls until her waist, cat-grey eyes, good stature but not as good as Joshua’s, and fair peachy skin.