How do you leave it in a drawer?”
“Look here!” He said cheerfully as I was fixing my hair. I turned around and the flick of his digital camera greeted me. “Gotcha!” He exclaimed victoriously.
“What the… give that to me!” I yelled, trying in vain to snatch the camera for him. It was an obvious struggle since he’s a gazillion times taller than me.
He laughed at my obvious frustration. He was obviously amused by my struggle that he decided to up the odds. With one hand, he grabbed my head and with his other hand, he held the camera farther away from my grasp.
“No fair! You’re using your height to your advantage!” I sulked. He laughed even more.
“Hey! You’re the one who said that height doesn’t matter, right?” He replied sarcastically.
“Yeah yeah! Mock me!” I replied, annoyed. Just as I was about to continue my struggle to grab the camera, I heard another flicking sound. I looked to my left and saw my best friend, Jane, holding another camera.
“Get married! You two are so perfect for each other!” She giggled. I started to wave my hand in protest but he smiled slyly at me.
“Why not?” He lowered his right hand and replied with a wink. I slapped his face playfully.
“You wish!” I replied victoriously as I grabbed the camera from his hand.
I smiled weakly as I stared at the picture. It was the two of us. Gino and
I gathered all the other pictures that were lying on my bed; pictures that belonged to a beautiful past. I put them in a small box and placed them inside one of my drawers. I turned the key and locked the drawer. All the beautiful memories of our love had been safely locked away.
*
I knew she was trying so hard to stop her tears from falling and I was trying so hard to stop myself from rushing towards her and wrapping my arms tightly around her.
I stood by her door, just watching her silently as she took the key and stared at it for a long time. She looked as if she had no clue what to do with it.
“When’s the right time to let go?” She asked me all of a sudden as we were walking outside her university. She stopped walking and looked at me; looked as if she was searching for answers.
I paused, not quite knowing what to say next. I scratched my head lightly and looked at her meaningfully. “When there’s nothing left to hold on to.”
Are you finally letting go? Can you finally let him go? I asked the question silently.
“Gian?” I shook my head back to reality as I heard Faith’s voice. She was already looking at me. I cursed myself for letting her catch me off guard.
“Uhm, I, ahh, dinner’s ready!” I told her lamely. She nodded, obviously not noticing my blunder.
“Oh. I’ll be down there.” She answered with a smile. I gave her a small smile and turned around. Just as I was about to walk away, she stopped me in my tracks. “I don’t know an unreachable place to keep this. Will you keep it for me?”
I turned around and looked at the key she was holding with her hand. “You want me to keep it?” I asked, unsure.
“Away from me.” She answered with a smile.
*
“I did it! I did it!” I yelled as I saw Gian approaching me. I ran towards him and threw my arms around him as we neared each other. He carried me off my feet and twirled me around happily. “They loved my design! They loved it!” I exclaimed happily.
“I knew they would!” He told me. He looked happier than I was. “Pero bigat mo ha! No more rice from now on!” He joked. I pouted.
“Umaangal ka?!” I challenged. He laughed and winked at me.
“Oooh! I’m sooo scared!” He said, teasingly. I frowned at him.
“Scared pala ha! Hmp!” I punched him playfully at his belly. He winced in pain. Apparently, my punch was not so light.
“You definitely need to cut on rice!” He joked as he continued to wince in pain.
*
I smiled as I recalled our happy moments earlier. Gian was so funny. I couldn’t remember the last time I had so much fun.
“I’ve totally forgotten how good it feels to laugh so hard!” I told him as we were getting out of the bump cars.
He gave me a big smile. “Well, then. I will remind you everyday how good it feels!”
