Work Text:
5 years since I've graduated from university. A lot has changed since then, I'm opening an art gallery soon. Hopefully it goes well. Jamie and Pae told me that there will be a gathering of our batch on Friday. I didn't want to go.
I heard the whole school will be there, not just our faculty.
It's been 2 years since Qin and I broke up. Nothing happened. We didn't fight, no one cheated. No one broke the other's trust. We simply, fell apart.
No fighting.
No drama.
It's just, as time went by, we no longer had time for each other.
We parted ways, promised to be friends. But didn't talk since then.
I didn't want to go, but Jamie and Pae insisted I go. To promote my gallery opening, they say.
As if I didn't know they were lying.
-
I was in my room on Friday morning torn about what I should wear when my phone rang. Jamie, that sutt.
"Hm? What is it Jettana?" I asked the called as I put my phone on speaker.
"You're coming, right?"
"Did you give me a choice?"
"Hehe."
"Are you gonna bring Marvis?"
"Certainly."
"Then brag to everyone, hmm?"
"Well, I also have an announcement to make."
"What is it?"
"I'm going to propose."
"About damn time ai' sutt. Genuinely though Marvis will leave you before you propose."
"Ai Shia meng. Why am I even friends with you?"
"Same question." I said as I hung up, still standing over my bed that is full of clothes.
I spent the next half-hour choosing on what to wear.
I chose a black—with a bit of a bluish tint—zip-neck polo and a light bluish/gray pants.
I styled my hair naturally, some strands of hair over my face.
I checked the time. 10:30 am.
Perfect. When I get there I'd be on time.
Phew.
Why am I even coming?
‐----
Tong told me that there will be a gathering on Friday, he told me to come. Everyone will be there, he told me.
I had nothing to do that day so might as well go.
There will be a lot of people.
I wanted to meet him but also no.
When we broke up, it was,, normal? No arguments, no shouting, no fighting. We just, understood. We understood that we were no longer right for each other.
So we parted ways, at that moment it felt natural. It didn't feel as though I was finally free. It felt normal. After all, no one cheated.
No one did.
We fell apart.
We didn't talk as much.
Communication didn't solve the silence every night.
And before we knew it, we weren't the one for each other.
-
I woke up late that Friday morning. I already prepared what I was going to wear. A tank top inside of a shirt that was kind-of see-through. And a black-bluish pants.
I didn't feel the need to dress-up. It was just a normal gathering.
-----
I reached the university and went to our faculty building. Jamie, Marvis, and Pae was already at a table.
"Hello guys." I greeted the other while doing a wai.
"Oh, Duang!" Someone called me, I forgot their name but their face was familiar. "You didn't bring Qin?" She asked.
My gaze fell, I forgot. We didn't quite tell people we broke up.
"Ahh, we. We broke up 2 years ago." I informed with a bitter smile.
I could've swore I tasted blood in my mouth.
"Oh? Really? That's unexpected." She said, voice noticeably quieter. As if she realized the mistake in her question. "Sorry, I'm gonna go now."
"Okay." I answered as I walked to the table my peers were in and sat down next to Pae.
"So, you decided to come, huh?" Pae teased, bringing up my past nagging on how I didn't want to come.
"Your annoying friend named Jettana bugged me."
"Ohooo, I did not!"
"Who called me just this morning?"
"Hehe."
"I'm going outside for a bit. Need some air." I informed my friends as I stood up from my seat and headed outside the door.
It's been a long time since I've set foot in this campus. It has changed. But it was still the same.
I was walking through the paths holding my phone. I didn't know where my destination was. Something in me just told me to go.
I brought my gaze up and saw someone else passing by.
For a moment it's like the whole world slowed down as it did 8-9 years ago.
When I first saw him.
And I'm seeing him.
Why did no one tell me how handsome he's gotten?
I missed him.
But I could only look back.
--
I was on my way to the gathering place, I was walking around the campus when I saw someone I wanted to see. But for my life I also didn't want to see.
I walked past him.
I saw him looking.
I looked back.
Our eyes met.
But we continued walking.
We met but stayed silent.
Just like what happened the past few years before we parted ways.
We lived in the same apartment, slept in the same bed, ate at the same table.
But somehow the silence was stronger.
-
I passed by a stranger today.
Which is weird because I knew his name, his age, his favorite hobby, his favorite color, his favorite food, his daily habit, why he named his dog her name, the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles, his favorite song to sing, the taste of his lips.
But he was just a stranger now.
A stranger with memories.