Someday, I'll Find My Way Home

Axel takes the initiative, again.

Karl walked towards the beach, away from the reception and the bar. I forgot how fast he could walk, being trained in UPLB for this matter. I ran to his direction.

Before he could walk away, I held his wrist.

"Hey, Karl," I whispered. "Can we talk?"

He didn't answer.

"Karl... please."

He tilted his head. We walked towards the shore and sat cross-legged. 

He maintained his distance away from me and released my grip on his wrist. He hugged his knees and gazed on the night sky. The waves caught our feet.

"So, how are you?" I began.

"Fine," he answered in his monotonous tone. "Why did you follow me here?"

I smiled. "I want to be with you."

We let the song of the sea fill the silence between us. I could hear the faint laughter from the party and the rhythm from the nearby bar. Nobody was walking nearby.

"What happened to the girl you're dating?" he asked.

"I realized I wasn't giving her the effort she deserves, so I let go of her. It's for the best."

"I see."

I stretched my arms and rested it on the sand. The sand and waves made their way in between my toes.

He was inches away from me. 

"When did we become strangers with memories to each other?" I asked him.

"I-I don't know," he said.

"I miss you, you know."

We let the waves crash in our feet.

He wrapped his arms underneath his knees and rested his chin on top of his knee. He closed his eyes as soon as the breeze flew right in our faces.

"We had our happy times before, huh?" I moved my hand a little closer to him. "I'm sorry for what I did before."

He turned his head to my direction.

"I was too selfish before, and maybe I still am right now," I confessed. "All I thought before was how I wanted my old life back when I was falling apart. And you were a large part of that life before."

I moved closer to him, and he didn't move away.

"I want to tell you something important," I mumbled.

"I-I need to tell you something, too."

"So..." we chorused.

"Alright, you first," I said.

"I don't know how to start."

"It's okay. Take all the time you need."

He heaved a heavy sigh.

"Sometimes, I feel like I'm being unfair to you," he said. "I feel like I was selfish for hiding my feelings to you."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to ruin the memories we had back then. I didn't want to ruin the friendship that we had. But, along the process, I ended up doing that exact thing."

I glanced to him.

"I guess I never really told you the whole story."

He turned at me and gave me a wistful smile.

"Paula told me that if I wanted to move on, I should tell you everything. I kinda snapped at you back then, and I never got to properly tell you my side."