Reinhart Destreza

CONSTANCE AND ABEL We lay on top of the hill, watching the night sky and how the stars slowly appear one by one. Pointing to each one we could name of, and arguing which one is right. The wind breezes along our bodies as we lay there, with no worries in mind. “Constance, how would I know if she’s the one?” Abel asked me. I looked towards him and was surprised that he was staring intently at me, like a child watching over the sweets in the pantry carefully looking so no one else could eat them except that little boy. His eyes piercing enough so that I’d know he was serious about this question and I couldn’t help myself but to laugh at him. “Come on Constance, I’m serious about this.” He belligerently said. “Can’t I laugh at you anymore when you’re that serious?” I replied back with a smirk. “You can but answer me please.” He pleaded. “You just know” I said ever-so casually. “That doesn’t make any sense you doofus.” Abel said and laughed eventually. We’ve been friends for so long, even when we were kids he was always so determined and so adamant about everything in this world. He is serious about life and its joys. ‘Always-serious Abel’ was the nickname I used to poke fun at him. He gently moved his way back to observe the stars. He pointed at a constellation. “That’s called Cassiopeia. She was a vain queen, who boasted to the gods of her beauty and as punishment, the gods brought her up the heavens for everyone to gawk at.” He told me. I could see that joy he’s in right now. I remember the times when we were growing up, I was often bullied by everybody I knew in school except for Abel. I was the Cassiopeia, always gawked at by other people. He was the only one who always stood up for me. He often got into many fights because of me and he isn’t that great of a fighter. Every time I’d start to cry in school, he’d always punch first and think of the consequences later. That made me stop tearing up and I’ll try to remove him in the fight yet the teachers would always split them up. No matter how many bruises he’d get, he’s always the first one to ask me if I’m okay and he’d smile at me to make me feel as if everything’s alright. “You’re the doofus Abel” I thought to myself. I couldn’t get enough of him. He was always there for me whenever I needed someone and not once has he ever complained about it. I know that I have been always been happy with him. I should tell him. But, I’m afraid. “There’s something I need to say. I-“ I said. As soon as I was finishing my sentence, Abel stood up and patted the grass away from his pants. “There’s somewhere I need to be. There’s someone I need to see.” He said. I was shocked to see him like this. I saw that there was something running across his mind. He was thinking about someone else. Someone else, who’s not me and it hurt badly. My heart sank beneath the ground and I couldn’t stop him from leaving. He is serious about this and I needed to let him go wherever it is that he should be right now. “You should go.” I grudgingly said with pain in my heart. I sat up and fixed myself whilst still looking at him. “Let’s continue this next week at this place and I want to hear what you have to say, okay?” Abel said with a grin on his face. “Sure, doofus. Same time, next week.” I replied. He descended the hill and went towards his car. He went in the car, lowered the windows, and waved goodbye and left. He left, and yet I couldn’t blame him for it. I could only blame myself. Maybe, if I said it earlier he would have known sooner. It’s my fault for waiting for too long to admit my feelings for him. I waited and waited for the perfect moment, and yet when it dawned on me, I didn’t even realize it. After an hour or so of crying on top the hill, I decided to pick myself up and go home. There really wasn’t anything for me there. Abel’s gone to who knows where and to who knows whom. I got in my own car and sat there. I contemplated the times Abel has made me comfortable with who I am as a person. If only he was here, I wouldn’t doubt myself. I decided it was time for me to go back home. So I drove fast and quickly as I could. When the morning dawned on me, there wasn’t even a single notification from Abel. I guess he’s too caught up with whoever he’s with. Slowly, I started to doubt myself again. I wish I was with him. The what-ifs ran across my mind. So I decided to get busy by doing chores around the house. A couple of hours passed and it was the afternoon already. I still haven’t heard anything from him, not even a single message. With this in mind, I wandered off to his place. I knocked on the door, and no one answered. That’s weird, he’s usually home around this time. Maybe he’s in another town but still, he would have told me. I went back to my place and decided to sleep in. As I was opening the doors, a name popped on my phone. It wasn’t Abel. It was a name I recognize from school. It was Julia, a classmate of ours. “Hi, is Abel with you?” greeted me. “Um no, he left last night and he didn’t tell me where.” I said back. “I know, he called me last night saying that he was on his way here. He said he had something to tell me” Julia replied. “I’ll call back when I hear from him. I don’t know where he is right now.” I said as I hung up on the phone. He went to her. That’s the only thing I could ever think to myself. What is with her that Abel couldn’t see in me? I started tearing up and my heart’s getting heavier by the minute. I slammed the door with all the hate I could muster. The tears just wouldn’t stop flowing from my eyes as I lay on the bed. It sucks big time that he chose someone else. I didn’t realize it but I fell asleep and woke up after quite some time. I checked my phone and there was a dozen missed calls from Abel’s parents. I checked my messages and quickly rushed out the door. I hopped on my car and drove quickly to the hospital. I parked the vehicle and rushed in. I asked the receptionist “What’s the room for Abel Smith?” After a couple of second, I heard he was in room-404. I went up the stairs and upon reaching the 4th floor, I couldn’t stop shaking. I was afraid to see what happened to him but I needed to. He was my best friend and I am his. I should be by his side on matter what. So as I open the door, I fell to silence. I saw him there, lifeless and still on the bed. By the bed side was his parents so distraught for you could see it in their faces. His mother hugged me tightly and I asked her what happened to him. Apparently, he was hit by a drunk driver going 70 mph on a curve. He hit him right on the front of his car, squashing the engine flat and slightly injuring him. He hit his head hard on the wheel knocking him out cold. The doctor’s say he’s lucky to have even survived an impact like that, very to escaped grazed like such. Both drivers were knocked out during the incident so it took quite some while before they were even rescued. I was so angry at myself for letting him go last night. If I hadn’t then maybe, he’d still be fine right now. He’d still be fine, he’d be okay and he won’t be like this. He wouldn’t be in a coma if I just told him that I liked him. Maybe it could have saved him from this accident. I wanted to scream at myself. This is my fault. Nothing was stopping me from telling him. I would exchange our friendship just to even save him. I should have told him right then. I should have but I didn’t. My poor best friend, Abel, is unconscious on this bed and it’s because of me. I stayed on the corner of the room staring blankly. His mother approached me, and told me to go home and rest. She hugged me warmly and patted my head. “He wouldn’t want to see you like this now won’t he?” She said to me. No matter how sad it seemed, those words made me smile a little. I know that she’s right; he’d always go to lengths to make me smile. But still, I couldn’t bear seeing him like this. So I went back home, and unknowingly fell asleep. The next 7 years passed by, and he’s still in the coma. Every year I would visit the hill where I last talked to him and spend an evening there and I am here right now. I would remember him fondly and how I miss him so much. I still love him because no matter what happens, he’s still my best friend and no one comes close to what he’s done for my life. The grass’s dewy and the stars always shine a particular light this evening. The wind breezes across the land. It’s warm out tonight despite it being close to winter, it is as if Abel was hugging me tightly. I miss him badly. I miss my best friend. But I shouldn’t be sad, I’ve waited for him for so long that maybe it’s time that I move on past him. I’ve met a lot of random strangers in my life and I’m in a much better place than I was before. I looked up the sky and saw the constellation Abel pointed that evening; the constellation “Cassiopeia”. I guess it really reminds him of me now that I’ve thought about it. I wish he could see this right now. Abel, I still haven’t told you I love you yet. As I gathered my bearings, I noticed a message on my phone. I guess someone texted me. I opened the message and it said, “He’s awake.” Roses for Luna “When I was a wee young lad like you, I traveled the world to see its beauty. I climbed mountains that soared to the skies; I swam the deepest and darkest blue oceans; I would visit a town one day and be gone the next. For exploring the world completed me and fulfilled my existence as a person. I often said to myself that I would not rest until I lay witness to all the hidden gems the world has to offer.” Grandpa said to us as we’re huddled together near the fireplace. “His stories were always worth listening to” I thought to myself. I could see the sweetness in his face as he remembers fondly of what he spent time on when he was young. “Every nook and cranny was met by me” He said. “Yet that all changed when I met a woman named Luna.” Everybody looked at each other. No one in the family has ever heard of Luna before. Well you see, my grandfather was a very private person. I guess his time in the army when he served the war made him a stoic and private person. He wouldn’t disclose any stories to his wife, and even to his sons. You could say that he was always detached in a level towards the family. So it was a surprise for everybody to hear him right now and add the very fact that he is sharing something to us escalated our shock. “Listen carefully boys.” He uttered to us. “When the war ended, I had no family to come back to. Everyone I once held dear to me was gone, taken by war. But I put it past myself, because I’ve realized that I only have one life given to me. And so with whatever money I had saved up, I went overseas past the Pacific. I would arrive in a country and spent most of the time there in the wilderness. I would wander all the time even if I was lost. Cause unlike you kids, I could survive with my ass intact in the woods. Now let me tell you about my time I met this girl. I once entered a bar to grab a drink after weeks of being lost in the woods. I sat down on the stool and called for the bartender. What met me rather was the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes upon. She was the moon. I tried to work my charm with her yet no matter how hard I tried, it never got her attention. All I got was a glass of whiskey. So I finished my drink and went on my merry way out of the bar. I asked the regulars there if they knew her, and all they said was roses was her favorite. Each day of the following month, I spent my ass sat on that stool ordering a glass of whiskey just to see her. Every day I would pluck a rose from the wild to give to her yet she never seemed to notice me. So I left the rose on top the bar’s counter whenever I left. And on the last day of the month, I was already convinced that I should quit wooing her. So I went to the bar, and there weren’t much people at that time. I ordered the usual and sat down. With the rose in hand, she asked me “Is that for me?” I shot up and answered “Yes.” At that moment, everything seemed to fall right into place. We hit it off that night and after bar hours, she told me to come and pick her up and so I did. Her name was Luna and she was the first woman I ever fell in love with. My following days were spent with her no matter where we went, I always held her hand. The routine was I went to the bar to grab a glass of whiskey until she clocked out. Once she did, we would go wherever our feet would take us. In her hand was the rose I would often bring her and on mine, was hers. We would often see the sights the countryside had to offer when she wasn’t working. I cherished the times we’d spend together. We were madly in love with each other until one day; it was time for me head back. Apparently, I had some legal issues I had to deal with regarding with the inheritance from my family. I wanted to bring her with me so that we could start a new life there. Unfortunately, she had other plans. One day, when I went to the bar with a bouquet of roses in hand, I saw a new face manning the bar. I asked the bartender where Luna was. He said she left this for me, a note. It was a note saying goodbye. She vanished just like that I thought to myself. I had no other choice so I went back here to deal with whatever legalities I had to and I never had the spunk of travelling again. I was empty and it was painful. I lost whatever it was important to me. I lost the moon of my life and the sun never once set again in my life. I lived a life full of regret and sorrows. If only I made the right choice of staying with her and not pushing her away from me.” Everybody was silent. We could only see the regret in his face. Yet, I could feel that he has already made amended with himself. So we all stood up and hugged him. As everyone was about to leave, he called for me. He held my hand close and took something from his pocket. “Keep this dear to you and let it be a reminder for you to not be afraid to choose people over family.” He closed my hands and said farewell. Once I got out the door, I opened my hand and saw a wilted petal rose preserved carefully and I couldn’t help but to shed a tear. Heaven sent Simple as you may be with your hair parted, You looked intently and daringly pierced souls. This heart of mine rushed and quickly departed Poor me, for I am yours to rule And yet, out of my own volition I looked You may have spoken plain, I say heaven-sent So let me spill the letters under your hook And never shall I once even lament. Stuck Tell me fate, why do you forsake This poor heart of mine left in ache Red tender lips that I long for It belongs to the lady I adore You’re the muse of spilled poetry my muse, the sweet catastrophe I watched from afar, strong wind blew Said hello, now I’m stuck on you