Until the Last Page ni softcayenne, winner ng patimpalak ng WattpadRomancePH na Ripple of Unexpected Encounters

UNTIL THE LAST PAGE

by softcayenne

"Is it really possible to still love someone for years even after losing track of them for who knows how long?" Zeo asked, frowning.

"It is," I replied as I took a sip of my iced coffee.

"How, though? I can't even recall interacting with her before, contrary to what she claims. But have you seen her looks? If that happens to be true, I'm sure I would've hit on her on the spot the first time I've seen her."

I shrugged. "Maybe your memory just sucks."

"You're aware my memory never sucks when it comes to girls, aren't you?" He flashed a cheeky grin, which earned him a look of disdain from me.

"Type mo naman pala siya. Then, why are you making such a fuss? Dude, you've been complaining about your single ass for a month! Now that a potential lover appears in front of you, you're still whining like a lost pup? Tatlong araw mo na siyang bukambibig."

"I'm just confused as fuck!" he hissed.

"Tone down your voice, you idiot," sita ko dahil nagtinginan sa'min ang iba pang mga customer na naririto sa Throne Café.

"Just hard to believe she managed to love me for like what? Four years? Isn't that a bit extreme?"

"Don't underestimate her feelings, Zeo. Just because you find it absurd doesn't mean it's not real and possible. There are people out there who prefer to love someone wholeheartedly from afar. I actually salute her for finally confessing to you after four years of pining over you, considering that she might have known that you had forgotten about her existence."

He sighed. "I just don't understand how she . . . endured that. I'm not even worthy of her love."

"Sometimes, there are things you will never fully understand unless you experience them," I said as I began to fix my bag, preparing to leave for my next class.

"Have you?"

"Huh?"

"Have you experienced that, Freia? It seems you've completely understood her situation as if you were in her shoes," he pointed out.

I was taken aback by his remark. Without a word, I marched towards the glass door, not sparing a glance at him.

I felt a solid impact against my forehead, the feeling of bumping myself into a glass door. Nakarinig ako ng tawanan sa paligid ko na pinangungunahan ni Zeo. I quickly picked up my bag that fell on the floor before storming out.

• • •

"Ate, pahiram ng lecture sa calculus," biglang sulpot ng kapatid ko sa kwarto ko.

Inabot ko ang bag ko at hinalungkat iyon. Pero napatigil ako nang may mapansin.

"Ano'ng problema?"

"Nawawala 'yung isang journal ko."

Panic engulfed me. It's a journal I hold dear to my heart. I must've dropped it earlier somewhere in the coffee shop.

Writing has always been a therapeutic outlet for me to unlock my unspoken thoughts and vent those bottled-up emotions. It is a way to convey my inner soul, voicing them out from my heart through my pen. I often have the desire to escape from reality. For someone who's a Piscean, these traits I possess are unexceptional.

I have a diverse array of journals, separating them in terms of categories and the one that's currently missing was the journal dedicated to a certain person!

"Ah! May pumunta nga palang lalaki dito kanina at inabot 'yung journal mo." She then handed me my journal.

"Sino?"

"Ewan. Kilala mo raw siya."

It must be Zeo.

Still, I couldn't help but feel anxious about losing it for hours. I skimmed through the pages and stopped when a pastel blue sticky note popped up.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Sorry, nabasa ko 'yung iba. Kinailangan kong hanapin contacts mo eh. Btw, I like what you have written here. I can read everything you have written until the last page if you permit me to do it.

- .-. . -.-- - --- -.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

I stared at the note for a few longer until something clicked in my head.

The pastel blue sticky note

The handwriting

The morse code at the end and the meaning of it

Only one person I know could possibly own this.

My vision began to blur as countless memories entered my mind.

"What's wrong, Ate?"

Umiling ako. "What time is it?"

"7:48 PM."

"I need to go somewhere." I quickly changed into decent clothes, went outside to hop into my car, and sped off.

I recalled the meaning behind the morse code inscribed on that note.

TREYTON

That was his nickname. But there's more to it.

TREYTON — EYT means we should meet at eight o'clock.

TREYTON — TRON sounds like our usual meeting place named Throne Café.

Nang makarating ako ay agad akong dumeretso papasok sa loob. I slowly approached our usual spot, sa wala masyadong tao. I clutched my chest to feel the rhythm of my heart, pounding violently like a drum.

My breathing hitched as I finally caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, sitting in the corner with his back facing me. Nanginginig akong lumapit sa kanya.

As if he felt my presence, he turned his head towards me. Seeing him again in the flesh urged my tears to cascade down my cheeks like a waterfall.

They say eyes are the window to the soul. But what I saw in his eyes were mixed emotions that I couldn't put into words. Before I knew it, my body already acted on its own, pulling him into a tight embrace in which he immediately reciprocated. We stayed like that for a while before he broke the silence.

"Damn. I've missed you so much, Freia." His deep raspy voice sent shivers down my spine.

"You remember me?" I asked in between sobs.

He gently stroked my hair. "Hmm. You're the reason why I flew back home, after all."

Bahagya akong humiwalay sa yakap at humarap sa kanya. "W-When did you come back?"

"Last night." He leaned forward to kiss me on my forehead, his thumb caressing my cheeks to wipe away my tears. "I'd only regained some parts of my memories the other day. I rushed back here, and my instincts told me to go straight to Throne. At hindi nga ako nagkamali dahil kinabukasan, I've met you once again . . . but together with another guy. I thought you had completely forgotten about me. But not until I've read a few pages of your journal. God knows how happy I am to figure out everything with just a few tastes of our past, but more of your unspoken feelings.

"Tell me, Freia," he whispered, his nose brushing mine at our proximity. "Will you let me read the rest of our memories until the last page and write new ones together from now on?"

A smile escaped my lips as my hands found their way to his cheeks, cupping them to pull him into a quick kiss. "Well . . . What do you think?"

LAST PAGE

It's been two years, Treyton. Whenever I close my eyes, you still keep on popping into my mind.

The way those waves in your eyes gradually pull me into the depths of your ocean;

The way the corners of your lips curve up melts my heart like a butter exposed to the sun;

The way you call my name sends a swarm of butterflies raging through my stomach;

The way I feel the slight traces of your skin against mine makes my world come to a stop;

The way the wind ruffles your soft hair tempts me to entangle my fingers through it;

The way you interact with me in proximity makes my heart skip a beat;

The way you let out a gentle laugh lingers in my ears like a therapy;

And the way all of these still live in my mind rent-free.

— Everything about you is still vivid in my memory.

I thank God for answering all my prayers about you, mainly for waking you up after one and a half years in a coma. It's been six months since you've finally opened your eyes, and my heart is at ease seeing that you're now living comfortably with your family in another country for new beginnings.

Something inside me just couldn't accept that you had forgotten everything about me. But you are not to blame. What happened to you was purely an accident, and your family needed to take you away for your medication. Though I have yet to tell you how much I liked you too — I still do — I know that we had something special that nothing could ever be compared to.

I've been contemplating whether to contact you through social media but I've decided to just meet you personally— to wait for you to come back until you're ready, even without remembering a thing about me.

I made this journal solely for you, containing every bit of our memories breathing inside it— ranging from the small details to sad ones to our silly shenanigans, even to those times we've chased and missed each other just like the moon and the sun. Hoping that one day, this spilled ink will eventually reach you in God's perfect time.

ೃ⁀➷ Freia Montreal .ೃ࿐

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