I stumbled upon this (printed on continuous form paper using a dot matrix printer) while I was looking for something. I actually do not remember writing this but the 'cover page' had my name and the year I apparently wrote this piece (It was more than two decades ago...yep, decades..).
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Nicole and Jonathan had been close friends ever since they were kids. Their parents were very good friends so they grew up together and attended the same school. It was not a surprise that they also transferred to the same village. When they became teenagers, Nicole and Jonathan developed a relationship and it was as if they were really meant for each other.
"When are you leaving?" Jonathan asked, quite shaken.
"...next month..." Nicole answered.
Nicole had long been suffering from a lingering illness and her parents were going to bring her to the States for treatment; and there was a possibility of her having surgery. Jonathan did not know what to do or what to say because he knew it would take time for Nicole to come home again...maybe even never. The only thing that made Jonathan feel better was a promise from Nicole that she would write often and call whenever she could. Jonathan promised to do the same.
Nicole and her family left a few days before Jonathan's 17th birthday. On the day of his birthday, Vincent, his bestfriend, and Eunice, Nicole's bestfriend, went to his house to greet him. Vincent noticed a different, unhappy look on Jonathan's face.
"What's with the face?" Vincent asked.
"...nothing..." Jonathan replied, whispering.
"...I know...Nicole, right?"
Jonathan sighed heavily and looked away.
Nicole's first letter arrived soon. It contained stories about what she had been doing since she arrived in the States. It was mostly about her trips to her doctors and the exciting places she went to. These were not new to her but these were definitely better than the doctors' offices and hospital. Reading the letter, Jonathan remembered the times when he and Nicole would hang out together. He definitely missed those times. He missed Nicole.
Almost every two weeks, each would receive a letter from each other. It contained 'reports' on the latest goings on in their lives. Since it was summer vacation in the Philippines, Jonathan excitedly told Nicole about the fun her was trying to have with their other friends. Nicole continued to 'report' about her check-ups and hospital trips.
A month passed and all of a sudden, Jonathan didn't receive any letter from Nicole. He wrote her thinking that perhaps her letter just got lost in transit. Instead, he received a message from Nicole's sister, Niña that a month ago, Nicole had to be rushed to the hospital and needed to undergo immediate surgery. The surgery was necessary to try to save Nicole and her family took the risk.
Not being able to bear the news, Jonathan turned to car racing to get his mind off the thought of the possibility of not being able to see or communicate with Nicole again. Fortunately, Nicole's surgery was a success and she immediately told Jonathan of the good news when she recovered. However, he was now very much into racing that it took him a while to reply. They had talked about his love for cars but he never mentioned that he had gotten into racing.
"Hey! I heard that you're going to be in the race tomorrow..." Vincent said when he called Jonathan upon learning about the race from another friend.
"Yeah! I can't wait! I can just see myself on that podium..." Jonathan said excitedly.
"Just be careful, okay? Eunice and I will be there to watch."
"Great! See you!"
Unfortunately, Jonathan wasn't able to finish the race. His car skidded on the track and hit the barriers after spinning several times. Jonathan was rushed to the hospital but in very critical condition. He was given a 70-30 chance of survival.
Eunice informed Nicole's parents about the accident. She and Vincent had witnessed everything and were the ones who accompanied Jonathan in the ambulance.
Nicole wasn't satisfied with what Jonathan wrote in his last letter to her. She wrote him several letters but never got a reply. Puzzled, she wrote Eunice. Eunice responded by saying that she was busy with school that she rarely got to see Jonathan. Even Vincent, who also wrote letters to Nicole, did not mention anything about Jonathan.
On the day of Nicole's 17th birthday, Jonathan passed away. Her parents received the news from Eunice and Vincent. They called Nicole's parents because they didn't know how to tell Nicole what happened. A week passed when a letter from Eunice arrived. Eunice told Nicole everything – from their barkada's regular activities, to Jonathan's races, Jonathan's accident and passing away.
Nicole could not believe what Eunice wrote. To her, it was just Eunice's way to test how much she loved Jonathan and how they were getting along with their long-distance relationship. For Nicole, Jonathan was alive and is waiting for her to come home.
