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She was in the middle of waiting for her students to finish their summative test in Music when her phone vibrated inside her bag.
When she saw that it was her friend Jhoanna calling her, a tug was felt on her heart.
“Excuse me, class, I gotta take this.”
She went outside the classroom.
“Jho.”
“Col, sorry ha, si Aiah kasi.”
Her heart raced then. She didn’t speak yet, she waited for Jhoanna to continue.
“Col, hinatid siya dito ng mga friends niya sa running club- lasing na lasing.”
“Jho, pupunta ako diyan, didismiss ko lang students ko.”
“O..o sige, ingat ka ha.”
“Thanks, Jho. Bye.”
She locked her phone and went back inside the classroom to tell her students that their test can now be brought home.
Much to her students’ delight, they clapped and murmured praises for the Music teacher. They were oblivious to the reason behind their teacher’s hasty decision.
“You are all dismissed.”
She packed the rest of her stuff and hurriedly made her way to the parking lot.
She wasn’t supposed to drive with her mind racing and with a speed that was above her usual.
But things suddenly got less simple after that damn phone call.
She arrived at Jhoanna’s place, surprisingly in one piece and seemingly calm and collected.
She didn’t want to overwhelm anyone, especially the sleeping girl on Jhoanna’s couch.
“Col.” Jhoanna acknowledged her with a calm voice that had traces of fondness in it.
“Jho.” Colet reciprocated as she accepted Jhoanna’s embrace.
Jhoanna rubbed her back and asked her how she was doing.
Colet pulled back from the hug to face Jhoanna and told her, “I’m okay.”
“How is she?” Colet immediately changed the subject.
“She’s better in that sleeping state, that’s for sure.” Jhoanna chuckled a bit.
“Coffee?” Jhoanna offered.
“Yes, please.” Colet replied as the two of them walked toward the dining area.
When Colet was halfway there, she decided to halt and go towards the sleeping girl instead.
She crouched down and supported herself against the couch.
She cleared the girl’s face by gathering the hair that was covering it and placing them behind her ear.
“So, what happened kanina?”
“Humagulgol lang naman sa iyak ‘yang ex mo- , sorry, I mean si Aiah sabay higa diyan sa tiles sa sala.” Jhoanna’s initial feeling of being careful around the subject turned into amusement as she saw Colet’s facial expression soften upon hearing her story.
Colet rested the side of her head on her fist that was propped on the table. Smile already forming on her lips.
She felt embarrassed that Jhoanna caught her so she closed her eyes as she shook her head while smiling.
Jhoanna laughed at her then sipped from her mug.
“Mag-usap ka’yo pag nahimasmasan na ‘yung isa dun.” Jhoanna gave the Music teacher a teasing smirk.
Colet just gave her a thankful nod.
Aiah woke up to an aching head and a sore neck. She also had a feeling that drinking water would solve all of her misery at that moment. She was about to lift her body off of whatever she’s lying on when she realized that an arm was loosely wrapped around her waist.
That sure woke her up! Her eyes widened and her heart picked up speed. She felt a sudden surge of emotions that ultimately resulted in her urge to cry.
So she cried. No, she was sobbing.
When Colet heard faint cries at first in her sleep, that signalled her consciousness to wake her up.
She was a little bit disoriented at first given how tired she had been but as soon as she was fully awake, she immediately pulled Aiah close to her and immediately made the crying girl face her.
Aiah turned around without protest and kept on sobbing.
Colet shushed Aiah as she wiped the tears escaping her eyes.
That only made Aiah sob harder.
Colet’s heart was breaking seeing her person cry like that in front of her.
It has been 3 months since they decided to separate but the love they have for each other is almost palpable.
Colet, sensing that Aiah is far from calming down, used the usual thing she does to calm her down.
“Baby.”
That made Aiah stop and look at her in the eyes for the first time.
“Please, stop crying na. I’m here na, oh.” Colet inched her face closer to Aiah’s.
“I love you.” Aiah managed to say before her voice cracked as she involuntarily cried again.
“I love you, please.” Aiah begged even though she didn’t really need to.
Colet already knew- maybe even before she knew herself- that she belonged once again to Aiah.
She pressed her lips to Aiah’s in an attempt to let the girl know where she stood.
To let the girl know that she loves her too. So much that she never wasted any second to come to her.
So much that she’s willing to give their love another shot at being perfectly imperfect.
To let her know that what Colet feels is true love towards her.
Colet once heard that, “True love has a habit of coming back.” and in that moment, she realized that it is true, indeed.