The silence of the break of dawn was broken by an unexpected call. It rang once, twice, but had no energy to answer it. On the third, she finally took the irritating call at four in the morning.
"Oh?" was the only thing she managed to answer to the totally uninvited call in the wee hours of the morning. "Nandito ako sa gate nyo. Please. Baba ka saglit." She checked the time, four in the morning. This can’t be happening she said. "Anong meron? Teka magbibihis lang ako," she threw a jacket she have worn yesterday and hurried down.
She hastily rushed the stairs, but walked very very slowly towards the door. She grabbed the knob that was stone cold that morning. She couldn’t think of any possible reason for him to be here. She turned the knob and saw his two hands dangling on the chest tall rusty gate.
"Oh?" she said, half annoyed, half sleepy. "May tatanong lang ako sayo. Wag. Wag ka muna aalis please. Kailangan ko lang to," he said, almost sheepish, almost in a crying voice. She couldn’t see him from the dark though they were only two feet away from each other and only a locked gate between them. "Wala na ba talaga tayo? Tapos na ba yun?" he slurred with his words, but he wasn’t drunk at that time. "Hindi mo na ba talaga ako mahal?" he continued.
She was left dumbfounded. He asked questions that were remained to be unanswered four years ago, less than a year before he ties the knot with his long time girlfriend. But she wasn’t ready to answer this, not now even though she knew that this day would eventually come.
—-
She have left him without any warning. After a year and six months of their almost perfect relationship, she was no where to be found. Changed her numbers, always not home up until midnight, even the transition from Friendster to Facebook did not help him to find his girl.
Her transition to college made her invisible in his eyes but never in his heart. There were no good byes, though he kept on sending her messages and made her letters and poems. He knew at some point that it was over, but refused to accept it. He knew he deserves an explanation why he was left. He never saw her again, not after a year, in a mall, in an unfamiliar crowd with an unfamiliar face. That’s the only time he felt that it was over. It was way over.
And ever since that day, he replayed his memories, trying to figure out what went wrong. If there was really a reason. He replayed every single moment, until he found himself standing in front of her again, asking the questions he tried to answer for years.
--
She stood a few seconds, two feet away from him. She knows he deserves to go home with answers that filled his heart for years. She knows that she should cut the last remaining thread that holds him bonded to her. But she can’t think of anything else. It just happened. She just fell out of love. But that moment sparked whatever flicker was left in her heart. She knew that fire should not consume her again, because when the sun rises, he’ll be forever gone with his love.
She shook her head, trying to signal that she doesn’t. She doesn’t love him anymore. His eyes firmly darted at her face. He knew she is lying. But all he did was stepped back and walked away.