"Eyes,"
"Your nose..."
"Ears..."
"Your lips..."
"Your chin..."
"Anong kalokohan na naman 'to Dylan?"
"Shhhh, I'm memorizing,"
"What?" I can feel that her forehead is now on creased, confused of what I am saying.
"I'm memorizing your face."
It feels like holding a valuable masterpiece.
"You're beautiful." I said, being affirmative as always. I may not able to see her face yet but I could tell.
"Hoy bulag, sinasabi ko sa'yo hanggang pagkakaibigan lang kayo kong ibigay sa'yo."
I smiled. She changed a lot from the moody and emo girl I met before to this wonderful human being in front of me.
"Ang daldal mo na, yumabang ka na din."
"I learned from the best." She said as she hold my hands.
This is torture, how can she told me that we can't be more than friend then do this things.
"I'm falling." I feel her move near me.
"Ha? Hindi naman, safe ka naman sa pwesto mo."
My innocent girl is adorable.
"Fast and deep, pakiramdam ko hindi na ko makakaahon."
"Hindi kita maintindihan bulag, ano ba." Halata na sa boses niya Ang pagkainis.
"I don't think we can be friends, Sandiel."
"What? Ang gulo mo kausap sana alam mo." She ask frustrated.
"I can't just be friends with you...kasi...nahuhulog na ko...wala ka ba talagang balak na saluhin ako?"
Elliot's partner was his whole world, but after Allan's death, his ghost haunts Elliot's dreams. Everyone tells Elliot to move on, but he isn't sure he can.
*****
It's been a year since the love of Elliot's life, Allan, passed away. Everyone thinks he should have recovered after that much time, but Allan still haunts Elliot every night. He struggles to maintain relationships with his family, and despite a coworkers interest he can't summon up the courage to date. Elliot is living for the past, because to live for the present means he'll have to live with a hole in his heart. But the question Elliot has to face chases him through his monotonous days: is mourning Allan with everything he has truly living?
[[word count: 40,000-50,000 words]]