THE LAST KiSS (CHAPTER 1)

HALF OF THE HEART

“I love you, too.”

Kirsten giggled. She’s talking to her boyfriend over the phone. She always talked with him; always whispering sweet little nothings and making wet kissing sound through the phone. I was hoping she would get over it by now. I mean, I am happy that she has found the love of her life. It’s just that, I’m feeling love deprived.

“Okay, seriously. How much longer can this possibly last?” I said, drumming my fingers on the yellow fiberglass table of the cafeteria. She said goodbye to her boyfriend on the phone.

“You talkin’ to me?” she asked, her blue eyes were really in love as she opened it widely. She tossed her wavy chocolate-brown hair behind her shoulder.

“Oh, yes! I’m talking to you”, I wagged my finger to her. “Don’t you think it’s time to tone it down a little? Because some of us aren’t quite happy as you. Some of us are a little bit love deprived.”

She turned to Arielle whose mind was focused on the food she’s eating. Her long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail. “Are you love deprived, Arielle?”

She looked to us. Finally, her eyes went away from her plate. “I’m happy.” She grinned and resumed herself in eating. Foods could already make her happy.

“You’re love deprived?” She laughed at me. “What happened to Lance?”

“Lance?” I balked. “Don’t you ever talk about Lance. Don’t you ever mention his name!” Because hearing his name makes me feel the pain I’m trying to bear inside me. Hearing his name would make me remember the time when we were happy together, and misses it. Hearing his name makes me realize how much I miss him. Hearing his name would make me feel foolish, because despite of all the pain he’d caused me, I was still irrevocably in love with him.

“Uh oh! You broke up?” Kirsten eyed me carefully.

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Like Dandelion Puff

“Mom, Ron is puttin’ the spider on my bed”, Robi’s squeal reached my ear in the kitchen. I’m washing the plates we used for dinner. This is a routine every night. Robi and Ron’s spatting was a routine, too.

I left the dishes on the sink and went upstairs to their bedroom. Ron is already ten, but he loves mocking his five year old brother, Robi. One time he painted Robi’s face green, locked him inside the bathroom, and he sometimes pulled down Robi’s pants. But if Robi’s gone to Mom’s house for a couple of days, Ron always asks me to bring him home. Ron misses his brother when gone, but bullies him when present. But I know he loves his brother very much.

The door of their bedroom was half-opened and I could see Robi sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, and crying. I slid the door open and when he noticed me, he got to his feet and ran towards me. On the opposite side, Ron was pretending to be asleep, facing the wall while silently laughing.

“Mom, Ron won’t take away that spider on my bed”, he said while pointing the toy spider, tarantula, on his bed.

“That was just a toy, sweetie”, I said while walking towards his bed, with him following and hiding behind me.

“But it scares me mommy. It gives me the creeps”, he said, pulling his eyebrows together which gave him the appearance of a very sad little angel. I sat on his bed with him on my lap. I took the spider which made him wail, “Mom, don’t do that!”

“It was just a toy. Now come, touch it.” He wrapped his arms on my neck and sank his face on my chest. “Come on. Don’t be afraid. You’re a brave young man, aren’t you?”

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I’LL SEE YOU

SAM

“Sam? What does music looks like? Does it have a color? What is its color? Is it red, yellow or blue?” Tom asked me as we are sitting underneath a maple tree. He is helping himself with a sandwich that mama had prepared for us. I and Tom always went to the high hills of Crustville every weekend for picnic.

“It doesn’t have any color, Tom. You can just hear it, but you can’t see it. It’s invisible”, I answered, smiling as his eyebrows crossed in confusion. His eyes didn’t even blink when a butterfly is flying in front of his face.

“What’s invisible?”

“It’s something that you cannot see.”

“Like Jesus?”

I laughed. He crossed his eyebrows again and asked, “Why are you laughing, Sam?”

“Jesus isn’t invisible, Tom? He’s also like you. He has a body, a head, legs, arms …”

“But you said you can’t see Him.”

“Yes, because He lives up there, in heaven”, I answered, chewing my sandwich gently. He put his toy car on the blue, cottony mat and scratches his head. I could feel the grass prickling on my butt underneath the mat.

“What is heaven? Is it also a village like Crustville?” he asked again. He’s hand searching for the basket. I grabbed his hand and laid it to the basket’s handle. He smiled and took another sandwich from it.

“No —”, I answered and looked up as a white feather danced in the zephyr and finally rested on my lap. I took it and looked up to Tom. “— Heaven is…uhm… Nah! I really don’t know what it’s like. I’ve never been there, Tom. But there were millions of angels in there.” He giggled as I tickled his ear with the feather.

“Stop it, Sam! Stop it before my pants get wet.”

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THE RED TULiP

Kriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnggg!!!

Finally, the bell had rung. My classmates stood immediately after they put their things inside their bags, and then headed to the door. They seemed excited to leave this classroom; or maybe not the classroom but the boring History class of Ms. Benn who spent the time talking about her dying friend. I mean, what’s the connection between History and her dying friend? Duh!

My stomach had been groaning in the middle of the class. I’m really looking forward for lunch. Not just to feed my angry stomach but also to see my boyfriend, Ian. He’s been absent for three days, and I missed him so much. I missed his velvety voice; the way his blue eyes stares at me; the way he caress me; and the taste of his lips. I missed seeing his devastatingly and incredibly handsome figure.

“Miss Parker, this afternoon at four. Publication office. We’ll have a meeting”, Ms. Benn called in her squeaky voice before stepping out of the door. I sighed and put my books inside my bag. She’s been repeating it for the fifth time this day. Maybe because I always skip our meetings lately.

I went out of the room and headed downstairs to the cafeteria. When I got there, I sighed in relief when the queue of students ordering for lunch was not heavy. I put one burger and fries on my tray and slid it along the cafeteria counter. I walked towards our usual lunch table at the farthest corner of the cafeteria. There already sat Ian who’s seemed amaze to see me, and Nikki, my best friend.

I put my tray on the table and sat beside Ian. “Can you tell me what’s that look on your face means?” I said and did not wait for an answer. I leaned to kiss him. I bit his lower lip and he traced my lips with his soft tongue. He sent warmth to my whole body and made me forgot the present. My heart seems like it wanted to jump out of my chest. I pulled away from him and muttered, “I missed you, Babe.”

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Maybe Someday

“What are you thinking, babe?”

I asked Haven, my fingers smoothing the curve of her cheeks. We are sitting on the sand of Tropicana Beach Resort that was still warm because of the sunlight. We were having night swimming with her friends.

The salty breeze flows gently, enough to make her hair billow. I brushed her hair off her face and smiled when she turned to me. She looked back into the setting sun that left a trail of ivory and indigo, spreading into the large sky.

“Nothing”, she whispered under her breath.

Nothing. I took a deep breath, knowing what was running in her mind. Or rather, who was running in her mind. It was him. Her recent boyfriend. Her past. Her ex. I could tell it. Her brown eyes were looking at a distant, passing through the horizon, out of space. I knew she still love him. And that was hurting her. And that was hurting me, too.

I took a deep breath and stared at the sea, wondering whether or not I should confront her. I mean, I haven’t talk to her about it. I was afraid she’d be offended.

But then I decided to just leave it on the air, unspoken. Sometimes, having to hoard things like this could really hurt. I mean, what if she’ll say that she still loves him, and ask me to just let her go? That will kill me. I’ll fight for her. Someday, she’ll gonna love me the way I love her, or the way she loves him.

Someday. This was the only word that held me to her. The only word that made the little flame of hope flicker inside my heart, despite of the tears I cried that threatened it.

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