c1

Two years had passed but it still hurts like it was just yesterday.

But if Hope would have the chance to rewrite her life, she would choose Rain again in a heartbeat. Even if he had left her without saying goodbye.

Standing on the edge of the cliff where Rain's bus fell to its doom, Hope released a sigh. She had thrown the last flower she had brought upon coming to the place which was Rain's last known location.

But the thing was, he was never found. Rain's body wasn't one of those rescued nor the ones in the fatality list of the most horrible car accident their province ever had.

Siguro buhay pa ito at nakaligtas sa aksidente. O baka naman hindi ito sumakay kaya wala ito sa survivors at wala rin sa mga namatay. Pero paano niya paniniwalaan ang maliit na posibilidad na iyon kung nakita ng dalawang mga mata niya na sumakay ito sa naturang bus? 

Isa pa, kung sakali man, masyado nang mahaba ang dalawang taon. Kung buhay ito, natunton na dapat nito ang daan pabalik sa piling niya. Didn't he tell her to wait? She waited. Two years, but he didn't come back.

Pero kung kasama talaga ito sa mga nasawi, baka panahon na para kahit wala siyang nakitang katawan ay gumive up na siya. 

"So long Rain... I bet, you're still hiding down there, huh?" She smiled bitterly as she shed her tears with the back of her hands. Ilang beses na ba siyang bumalik sa bangin na iyon? Countless times already.

She had begged God to return her love. Pero hindi na niya ulit nakita pa si Rain.

If Rain hadn't died, they would have been married by now. Perhaps they have already started creating a family of their own. They would've been very happy together. But the dreams they built together crashed with the bus that took Rain's life away. It was not easy to grieve when you didn't even have a body to bury. It was hard to let go when you weren't certain that your love had really passed away...

But what could Hope hold on to? Nothing... He had left her the same way as he came into her life – so sudden and without warning.

"Goodbye, Rain," she whispered before going back to the waiting car driven by her best friend.

At that point, she was ending her long wait. Maybe it was high time to finally let Rain's memories go. Baka dahil sa kanya, nahihirapan din ito kung nasaan man ito.

"Have you finally bid him goodbye?" Myca asked her as soon as she was in the passenger seat.

"I did," mahina niyang sagot.

"Good. Because I don't want you to look back again once we leave," Myca started the engine.

"It's not easy, Myca," she argued a little. Pati ba paglingon hindi na pwede?

"Hope," her friend said. "Paano ka magmo-move on kung lagi kang bumabalik dito? Patahimikin mo na si Rain!"

"It's not like I don't get to pass here whenever I go to the city-"

"I mean stop like that and stay for almost an hour. It's still an accident site, Hope. At least forty people died down there," para pa itong kinilabutan sa sariling tinuran. "Ahm, I mean, it's kinda creepy here," dagdag nito nang makita ang malungkot na ekspresyon ng mukha niya.

"He wasn't found," sabi niyang pinipigilang maluha.

"Hope-"

"Don't worry about me." She forced a smile. "Concentrate on your driving." 

Hindi na kumibo pa si Myca. Alam niyang sawang-sawa na ito sa kakapayo sa kanya na ibaon na sa limot ang nakaraan.

She tried fighting back the memories. Pero gaya ng laging nangyayari sa loob ng dalawang taon, hindi siya nagtatagumpay na pigilin ang pagdaloy ng mga alaala. 

Ilang saglit nga lang at nakatulala na siya habang nakatingin nang blangko sa kanilang dinaraanan.

*****

"Nakareserve ang resort for one week next month," sabi ni Myca sa kanila, dalawang araw na silang walang guest dahil tag-ulan. "Dalawa lang ang guests pero gusto kasi nila ng utmost privacy. So pansamantala, ililimit natin ang staff na papasok for that week. But don't worry. It's a paid vacation for you guys..." Sukat doon ay tuwang-tuwa naman ang mga empleyado ng Myca's.

Si Hope, nakikinig lang. Knowing her friend, sigurado, hindi siya kasali sa magbabakasyon. 

Myca's family owned a beach resort. It was called Myca's Place. Doon nagtatrabaho si Hope. Bukod sa malapit lang sa kanila ay best friend pa niya ang kasalukuyang manager. 

"Moving on, I need five people to be here with me. One from housekeeping, one from the maintenance, two from the security, and of course, one from the kitchen." Ngumiti sa gawi niya si Myca. She rolled her eyes at her. "Our client is a well-known fashion designer in the person of Ms. Zoey Jimenez and her fiance. I heard that he's a young surgeon. I haven't seen him yet as Ms. Jimenez is the one coordinating with me. But remember guys, whether our guest is a high profile person or the simplest man, our service remains the same. Exceptional service is our priority."

Myca ended the meeting with few more reminders before dismissing everyone.

"So, Chef, what do you think? Shall we go over the menu?" Ani Myca sa kanya nang maiwan na silang dalawa.

"Wala ba silang specific request? Mukhang sosyalan ang mga kliyente mo, eh."

"Sort of. Medyo maarte nga 'yong si Zoey. Pero mabait naman daw. Actually, ikakasal na sila. They're thinking if they can use the resort for prenuptial photo shoots. Kapag nagkataon, free ads natin 'yon."

"Well sana nga," sang-ayon niya, hindi naman palugi pero struggling sa kasalukuyan ang Myca's dahil nga hindi panahon ng puntahan ng turista.

"Nakadepende iyan sa magiging service natin." Myca winked at her. "I think we should take the day off. Wala naman tayong guest."

"Are the remaining hours paid?"

"Syempre naman. Ikaw pa ba, Hope? Malakas ka sa akin eh!" Hinila siya ni Myca paalis.

Magpapasama lang daw ang kaibigan niya na mamili ng damit na isusuot nito sa dinner date nito mamaya sa forever na nitong love na kaibigan turned boyfriend nito. 

Myca was happy. First love kasi nito si Jake. After several years na palihim lang nitong pinapangarap ang lalaki, sa wakas ay nabigyan din ng katugunan ang kanyang pagtangi. 

Hope couldn't be happier. Myca deserved to be happy. 

*****

Zoey Jimenez arrived first. Her fiance had an urgent surgery kaya susunod na lang daw ito.

Starstruck.

Ganun ang naging reaksyon nilang lahat sa resort nang makita sa unang pagkakataon ang kanilang guest.

"Welcome to Myca's, Ms. Zoey!" They greeted in unison.

"Thank you!" Napakaganda nito lalo na kapag nakangiti at nakalitaw ang malalalim nitong dimples sa magkabilang pisngi.

Hindi lang din ito ubod ng ganda. Ubod ng bait din. Hindi rin totoong maarte ito. 

"Swerte naman ng fiance nito," bulong ni Myca sa kanya nang dinala na nila sa magiging kwarto nito si Zoey.

"Tama ka," sang-ayon niya.

"Sigurado akong napakagwapo rin ng mapapangasawa niya."

Tumango siya. Perfect match kapag nagkataon. Kung siya nga ang lalaki, hindi na niya pakakawalan si Zoey. She's a whole package. Saan ka pa?

"This is gorgeous! Better than I expected. Kaden will love it. Thank you so much, Myca," saad nito matapos suriin ng tingin ang pinakamagandang silid sa resort na inihanda nila para sa magkasintahan.

"We're glad that you like it. So call us if you need anything? Just press that red buzzer for room service," tugon ni Myca.

Tumango ito at ibinagsak na ang katawan sa malaki at malambot na kama.

Hindi naman na nagrequest si Zoey ng specific menu para sa one week stay nila. Wala naman daw silang allergy ng fiance nito so they are in for a surprise meal. Just make sure raw na iyon ang best dish ng San Gabriel.

Zoey spent the whole day inside her room. Natulog lang ito ng natulog.

****

"Ate Charie, hindi ako uuwi ng one week, ha?" Paalam ni Hope sa nakatatandang kapatid. Noon mag-uumpisa ang one week stay ni Zoey at fiance nito. "May super important kaming guests sa resort. So kailangan nakatutok kami."

"At sino naman ang mga importanteng bisita nyo?" Tanong naman ni Charity na itinigil ang pagwawalis ng bakuran.

"Uhm, isang fashion designer at isang surgeon."

"Okay. Lagi kang tatawag bago ka matulog, ha? 'Wag ka rin masyadong magpapagod." Nanay na nanay na naman ang dating ng mga bilin nito.

"Opo," nakangiti niyang saad na binitbit na ang bag.

Charity is her older sister. Sixteen years ang gap nila. Mula pagkabata niya, ito lang ang pamilya niya. Walang magulang, walang kamag-anak. Hindi niya alam ang kwento kung bakit pero ayaw na niyang magtanong. Charity, who acted as her father, mother, sister, best friend all at the same time was more than enough than any complete family.

"Alis na ako... Bye ate! See you in one week!"

"Bye."

Maaga pa naman kaya relax lang siya sa paglalakad papuntang bus stop.

She was humming the song 'Thank God I Found You' habang naglalakad.

Two years. How does one move on from a relationship that did not have a proper closure? In fact, kung ang pagbabasehan ay ang mga huling pangakong binitawan nila ni Rain sa isa't isa, she wouldn't want to stop waiting. Nangako itong babalik.

If his unfound body was any indication, Hope would like to hold on to his promise a little longer. Kaso, it's been two years. Seven hundred thirty days already passed. Ni ha, ni ho, even his body, wala.

She smiled bitterly when she reached the bus stop. As usual, wala pa uli ang bus. Pero hindi iyon ang problema niya. Late lang ang bus pero dadating ito.

But it was the everyday struggle of trying to push away the memory of her seeing Rain for the very first time.

"I missed you so much, Rain," Hope whispered. She decided she wasn't ready to forget him yet. Not now, not soon, perhaps not ever.

Ipinikit niya nang mariin ang mga mata to prevent her tears from falling.

She was still in senti mode when a blue convertible pulled over in front of her.

"Excuse me, Miss!" The overly familiar voice initially caught her attention. "May I ask for directions, please?"

Kung niloloko siya ng kanyang mga mata, then certainly, it got her. Hope watched Rain took off his sunglasses as he looked at her with his bluish-gray eyes.

"Miss, I'm hoping you can tell me where Myca's is?"

Miss? Did he just call her Miss?

"You're from here?" Kunot-noo nitong tanong nang 'di pa rin siya makapagsalita. "No?"

"R-rain," usal niyang nag-unahang pumatak ang mga luha sa magkabila niyang mga pisngi. Nananaginip ba siya? O naghahallucinate kaya?

"Miss? You don't know? Okay. Thank you." Pinaandar na nito ang kotse nito, leaving a trail of dust on it's wake.

He called her Miss. Three times. Not Hope. Not Hopie.

He wasn't Rain. Malamang pinaglalaruan lang siya ng kanyang mga mata. She just missed him so much kaya akala niya nakita niya ito...

Wala sa sariling sumakay siya sa bus nang dumating iyon. Pero nang umandar ang bus at lingunin niya ang pinanggalingang bus stop, binaha ng alaala ang kanyang memorya. 

Because that place was where she saw Rain for the very first time.