7mm Confessions

They’ve been talking mostly of trivial things for an hour now. Each knowing what really mattered talking about but could not quite find the right timing, who should start and where to start. It was a windy night at alibuag beach. The waves crashed just a few feet from where they sat. Somewhere beyond the wide expanse of the sea a storm was raging.

They walked at the shore towards the spring. As she stood at the top of the pool a wind caught her hair across her face. She brushed it back and hugged his jacket around her tight. He was glad he brought his jacket yet he silently cursed at how unprepared he was. He should have come earlier and instructed Bagdong, the caretaker, to at least turn all of the beach lights on and prepared a sit for them. What will her father think? Now, only the moon dimly illumined the beach and somehow he will have to find a spot for both of them to sit on. She made quick steps to avoid the incoming waves crashing on to the side of the pool. Light as the wind she did it. He followed her with a little bit off timing just in time as the waves crashed on the side of the pool. His shoes meets the sea for the first time. He wore shoes at the beach. He closed his eyes again at that thought. Carefully she went down inside the pool and watch the spring water gently pour out at the base of the outcrop.

“This spring is enchanted” He finally managed to speak. She smiled, “really? ”He pointed at the spring, “ a long time ago this used to be deep, a cow could fit in”. She smiled again not knowing if she should believe or not. Suddenly a strong wind came in. The bamboo lamp post made an eerie sound as it swayed with the wind. They looked up at it and then at each other. “We should head back”. She climb ahead and he followed her through the outcrop and down at the shore again were they sat.

They were silent again. And its taking a little longer each time before they could a find something to talk about. He stood and watched the night sky ahead. There were no bangkas tonight. No lamplights to recreate the darkened horizon. But their were stars and right behind them a new moon shone brightly. She stood beside him. Momentarily, a falling star blazed a trail at the sky. Both surprised, he quickly made a wish silently and looked at her. He watched her close her eyes. “What did you wish for?” He asked. “Nothing. It’s a secret.” She looked at him and smiled. The moonbeam played with the shadows on her face while the wind played softly on her hair.

“What do I mean to you?” He finally said it. She looked down at the sand and brushed it with her foot. “I’m sorry”, She continued brushing at the sand. “You and me, what would people say?”,She continued without looking up. He looked at her, “What would people say?”

Somewhere the wind hauled like a storm is coming. He couldn’t read her. That was the problem. They where both standing facing the sea. That night, only she knows how it should end. She sensed him, ”No. It’s not like that. I have feelings for you”. There she said it. And they were back again at square one. “…Then what’s wrong?” He added.

He looked down at the sand while brushing it with his shoes. He went down and wrote something on it with his fingers. He looked up at her smiling. She read it and smiled back,“Don’t know if I should believe you”. The waves crashed again and again at the rocks and on to the sands. It was like that for millions of years. It was beautiful how the way things are.

“I should be writing something too”, she teased him. “Help me find a stick to write”. He found a dead root of a Talisay tree nearby. He snapped it and gave it to her. “Now, you should go away while I write what I have to say, please”. He gave a puzzled look for a moment but backed away without questioning.
For a long time he stood staring at the sea a few feet from her. She kept writing and erasing something until finally she stood and went to where he was. “You can look now”, she was serious. He managed just to walk towards it.

He just sat there looking at what she wrote. No expressions on his face. She went beside him, “ what’s wrong?”, she searched his face. “I couldn’t read what you wrote”, he lied. “step aside let me see it”. He moved away. “ Perhaps I didn’t wrote it well”. She studied what she wrote and when she looked up, he was walking towards her smiling. She smiled too and stood to meet him. He came beside her. They were never this close. Slowly he slid his arms around her waist and she came close to him. Together they faced the sea and the sky. It was a windy night at alibuag beach and the waves crashed a few feet from them and somewhere beyond the vast expanse of the sea a storm has subsided.