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He stared longingly at the old picture at their bedside table. A memento of their love and friendship, now nothing but a mere object ready to be hidden away in the attic or worse to be thrown away in a fire.
“You still have your long hair back then…”, Felip said as he entered their former “love nest”.
Their home is now nothing but an abandoned house in the middle of the city.
Paulo cleared his throat before his eyes betray him again. After all, that is said and done. He knew Ken is someone he cannot outgrow.
“…and you had your rebel hair, Ken... I mean Felip,”
He stood up ready to put the photo frame on the box labeled “attic”. But Ken stopped his arms grasping it a bit hard and removed the photo from his left hand.
“Bitaw, Ken. Nasasaktan na ako.”,
Paulo winced at the ex-husband’s fingers digging into his skin. It left a temporary mark on his skin and a permanent scar on his heart.
“At least let me have this souvenir.”
He looked at him eyes filled with resentment. And it stabs the older like a knife twisting back and forth on his chest.
Ikaw may gusto nito. Pero bakit parang kasalanan ko?
“Up to you. This is now your house.”
with the last ounce of his strength He turned his back on his ex-husband pushing his luggage with a few clothes he removed from their dresses earlier. They designed and bought everything together for their dream house. He figured bringing even just a small item such as a blower could potentially bring back a painful memory. And it’s the last thing he needed right now.
“Paulo… “Ken whispered.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he faced Ken again.
“What?”
“You can always call me Ken. To you, I will always be Ken…”