10 Days to Forever

Part 2

It was already 11pm that night and Chimon's part-time shift at the Cloud Beer was already over. It was a non-eventful night and Chimon had actually enjoyed his shift since the bar's manager hired a live band to entertain customers.

He had barely walked a few meters from the bar on his way home when he noticed someone barfing on the sidewalk. Chimon wanted to ignore the guy and just walk past him but the guy seemed familiar and was about to collapse onto the road.

He approached the guy reluctantly. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked.

"You! I know you!" the drunk guy yelled at Chimon.

And then it clicked. Chimon remembered the guy who didn't want to pick up his own trash. He rolled his eyes and sighed. He was about to walk away when the guy spoke to him again.

"Te-take me home," he said.

Chimon was flustered. "And why would I do that?" he asked curiously.

"Be-because I'm your neighbor," the guy said.

"What?"

"I live with my aunt Mary. I know you live in the house next to ours," the guy replied in almost incomprehensible words. After that, he fell on the road.

Chimon cussed and helped the guy stand back up.

---

"Can't you walk inside on your own?" Chimon asked the drunk guy when they were already in front of Ms. Alonzo's gate.

The guy just groaned.

"Where are your keys?" Chimon asked him. The guy was still leaning on him at the time.

"Pocket," the guy answered.

Chimon quickly checked the guy's front pockets for the keys.

"Hey, don't touch me there," the guy complained.

"Just give me your keys then so I can help you get inside!" Chimon hissed at him.

The guy just closed his eyes and sort of hugged him. Next thing Chimon knew, he was about to fall asleep on him.

"Fuck," Chimon said and tried to look for the keys on the guys back pocket. When he finally found it, he opened the gate and led the guy to the front door.

Chimon had been helping tend Ms. Alonzo's garden for so many years so he was very familiar with the house and it's set up.

The house was dark and quiet. Ms. Alonzo must be travelling again, Chimon thought. Ever since he started doing gardening work for Ms. Alonzo, he had gotten used to her being away for most of the year. He knew that she had a beach house in La Union where she spends a lot of her time and that she's always somewhere in Europe during summer. She also had a sister in Quezon City who she visits often. In fact, if Chimon were to be asked, Ms. Alonzo should just sell her house and rent a hotel room every time she wants to stay in Baguio. She is rarely around anyway.

He used another one of the guys' keys to open the main door.

Almost out of breath, he almost had to drag the guy onto a sofa where he carefully positioned him. "There's no way I'm gonna carry you up to your room," he told the guy who was already asleep.

He then left him there and quickly ran home. He had an early class the next day and he needed to sleep.

---

Chimon was awakened by a loud banging sound on their gate. He rubbed his eyes and grudgingly got up to check who this rude person at their gate was.

"What do you need?" he asked angrily after opening the gate. It was the guy who lived next door and he looked like he was about kill someone.