His POV :)

PAST AND PRESENT TENSES

I saw her right away. She entered the restaurant a little after I poured the second serving of gravy on my plate. She looked beautiful as usual. She was wearing a collared pink blouse and slim-fitting black pants. I noticed that her hair is shorter now, and is pulled back in a ponytail. She casually went to her reserved table and incidentally, she glanced at my side of the room. I had to look away.

I remember those eyes oh so well… they were once so insecure… insecure of what life had in store for her. I remember going with her on her first job interview. That was in 2004. Her hands were sweaty, and I held them tight. She said that she just wanted to experience being interviewed, and she’s not very keen on being an Account Executive in an airline company in Makati. She said that she sees herself as someone working in the creative industry, in media definitely. She had always been so driven. She always talked about what she wanted and could do with her life. You see, I believed in every word she said, every dream she had… I’ve always known in my heart that she would go far.

And she did exactly that.

Just last night, I watched her deliver the news on TV. She looked glamorous, as always, though I think her makeup is sometimes too strong for her sweet face. In my mind, she was still the innocent girl I fell in love with. Sometimes, I watch the late-night news so I could see her… not to be reminded of a love lost… but to see that she did achieve her dreams… the dreams that she lovingly shared with me when she was still a fresh grad. I still could not help but be proud of her. Not once have I doubted her. Not once.

Come to think of it, I don’t even remember why we broke up. I just felt her getting farther and farther away from me. Phone calls became rare, sweet messages were barely sent, and one Saturday morning, she got up the courage to break my heart. “I need some time to be alone,” she said. “Don’t forget that I will always love you. We’ll see if we can get through this.”

We never did.

As the waiter served the oreo cheesecake for dessert, I glanced her way again. A prominent man, about forty, arrived at her table and shook her hand. “It’s probably an interview,” I thought. She smiled her professional smile, still very charming. I remember how her smile used to make me feel giddy inside. I remember how her face always lit up whenever we see each other from afar. Now her smile is warm, but her eyes are sad. There’s a certain melancholy on her face, although the professional demeanor tried to mask it.

“You’re the man of my life,” she used to tell me. I always felt alive when we’re together. Every thing seemed exciting in her eyes. You see, I never fell for another woman that same way again. It took me years to get over the idea that one day, she’d knock on my door and ask me back.

I wish I had the courage to approach her, to tell her how beautiful she had become, and that I watch all of her shows. After all, she deserved to know those things. But when I turned to her table, she was gone. Her table was being cleared. I lost my chance. I may never see her again.

“Hey,” a woman from behind me said. “How are you?”

I turned. And I saw her—my beautiful, successful ex girlfriend— standing right in front of me. I wanted to hug her, to congratulate her, to hold her in my arms… but before dumbness got the better of me, I just took a deep breath. I couldn’t even move.

“You look great,” she said. We exchanged pleasantries until she found an excuse to leave. As I watched her walk away from me again, I felt my heart grow a bit lighter. She always had that effect on me. Finally, there was closure.

And so I headed back to the table where I was seated… where the woman in my life was waiting patiently. I kissed her on the lips and reminded myself that while some things never last, some things end for a reason. I’m gonna do things right this time with my own wife. I was finally free from a lost love.

-a short story inspired by an email I read years ago. A glimpse of the future, I guess :) August 28, 2007