CHAPTER 19: The Reenactment

GABRIEL’s P.O.V.

Shoot. I didn’t heard my alarm clock rings, causing me to oversleep and woke up late... Not just late, but very late. In this moment, I should be already in there, at Erevell’s given address. Maybe she was already waiting for me. Shit. I can’t believe it. I blew up my only chance just to see her again.

I get up as soon as I finally came back to my senses. I knew it. I shouldn’t have think too much about her last night. It only caused me to overslept, not realizing that I need to get some early sleep for I have to fetch her today.

I took a quick shower before brushing my teeth. I picked out my favorite outfit before dressing myself up. After I get myself ready, I decided to finally came down the stairs, badly wanted to catch the next train that will be gone in ten minutes. Heck, I should have thought about this day last night.

“Gab? I thought you already leave by the dawn?” Mom asked, surprised to see me climbing down the stairs. She is currently preparing her breakfast.

“I overslept, Mom!” I cried.

“But it’s a four hours of trip! You should have set your alarm clock last night,” she scolded me.

“I did. I just... I didn’t heard it so I didn’t woke up in time.”

“Gosh, Gabriel. Erevell will be disappointed in you.”
I sighed, before taking another step closer towards our door. I should go now. Erevell is probably waiting for me right now.

“And where do you think you’re going, Gabriel?” Mom asked.

“Uhm... I’m going to fetch her.”

“You can go tomorrow, Gab. You two wouldn’t make a round trip together.”

“But, Mom!”

“Do you think Erevell can spent a total of eight hours round trip just to get here and be with you in just an hour or so?”

My shoulders dropped. I already disappointed her, I guess. Today should be the day of our reenactment, but it didn’t go along as planned. I sighed, thinking that Mom was right. If only I could think of some other way to spent some time with her...

What if there is another way? I will go there and be with her... Then I’ll come home myself just like what Erevell did yesterday. If she can do that for me, then I should do that for her as well. And besides, we can reenact our memories even not in this specific place. The only thing that matters is the person whom we are with.

“What if... I’ll just go there, Mom?”

“What do you mean?”

“I could spent some time with her in their new place. I’ll be back before the evening comes... I promise...”

“Well that was unfair! How about me? I want to see her too.” Mom pouted.

“Please, Mom. Just let me go, please,” I pleaded, ignoring her question for I badly wanted to see Erevell as well.

“Fine, fine. Maybe I’ll see her next time. But first, you should eat your breakfast... Their new place is too far away from here.”

“But, Mom! I would be late! The train will left in exactly seven minutes!”

She groaned, before nodding as a sign of defeat. I went towards her direction before giving her a forehead kiss. I ran to our door, swing it open just to catch up the last train in the subway this morning. But before I could even move a muscle to start running, I stopped, seeing the person right in front of our gate. She made me stunned, though she’s still smiling from ear to ear. It was Erevell.

“Erevell? What are you doing here?” I asked, still shocked.

“You supposed to fetch me, not the other way around,” she complained, then pouted.

I blinked several times, trying to process in my mind what she just said. Is that means that... She traveled four hours of long trip all alone again?

“How?” was the only word that could come out from my mouth.

“How what?” she asked curiously.

“How did you came here?”

“Well, I got a feeling that you wouldn’t fetch me up so I decided to trust my instincts and come here all lone again.”

I put my hands on her shoulders, looking at her straight in the eyes. She looked so pale, maybe feeling cold for the weather here, outside of our house and tired from spending a long time of trip.

“You promised me yesterday that you wouldn’t do this again. You are crazy... Do you know that?”

“I am, even before.” She chuckled.

“You know what, I don’t know why but... What if I did fetch you up? Then we could’ve been wasted our fare.”

“But you didn’t, so I guess it’s just fine.”

“I told you never to do this again...” I repeated.

“And I didn’t agreed on that.”
“Yes you did.”

“No, I don’t.”

I was about to say something again when our house’s door swing open, revealing Mom who’s now having a shocked expression plastered upon her face.

“I heard some–” Her statement was instantly cut off as soon as she saw Erevell.

“Mom... This is Erevell now.”

“Oh, my, God! I can’t believe it! You grew up like a fine woman you are!”

Erevell chuckled, before shyly thanking my Mom. Mom gave her a hug, before looking at me with a mischievous smile on her face.

“You came here all alone?” she then asked, curiously.

“Yeah.” Erevell scratched her nape, looking very shy at the same time.

“Poor you! I’m very sorry about my son. He’s always like that. You know what, come and have some breakfast inside. I’ll prepare something for the both of you,” Mom stated, pulling Erevell inside of our house.

“I’m very sorry about that, dear. Gabriel is just so irresponsible to let you travel all alone again.”

“That’s fine, ma’am...”

“Mom, you’re embarrassing me,” I complained even though I know she’s right.

She just chuckled before we continued walking inside of our house. As we reached our kitchen, Mom made Erevell sit on one of our chairs before going to the counter to prepare something for the both of us.

“Gabriel hasn’t eaten anything yet. He badly wanted to see you to the point that he doesn’t want to have a breakfast with me anymore.”

Erevell glanced at my direction, grinning from ear to ear after hearing those words coming from my Mom.

“Mom, will you please, stop?” I asked her, sounding annoyed.

“Why?” she chuckled innocently.

She prepared breakfast for Erevell and I, before she grilled her with a numerous questions. Erevell was just smiling and answering her questions with full of honesty. She told us that they moved out from this village because their new home is nearer in the new hospital that she often go to every weekends for her checkup. I badly wanted to ask her why, but I couldn’t. I waited for Mom to ask her that question instead, but unfortunately, she didn’t.

After finishing our breakfast, Mom finally let us go, and I pulled Erevell away from our home as soon as Mom vanished from our sight. I ran, and she did the same.

“Why are we running?” she asked, panting.

“Because I got a feeling that Mom wouldn’t let us go.”

She chuckled. We stopped running in front of their old and abandoned house, and I finally let go of her hand. When I looked back at her, she’s looking very pale... And she’s breathing heavily.

“Hey... Are you okay?”

She clutched her chest, making me more nervous seeing her being like this. I assisted her to sit down on the nearest bench in our location, before she finally spoke, erasing the nervousness in my system.

“Concern that much, huh?” she asked, catching her breath.

“Of course I am! I thought you would collapse again just like what you did at the night of our prom... That memory haunted me every single day of my life when I was way back in the Philippines.”

She stared at me for a moment, before finally avoiding my gaze. I wanted to say something, but I don’t know what are the proper words to say.

“Sorry, Gab. Don’t worry. That wouldn’t happen again. You see, I’m fine now.”

She stood up, before walking towards the garage of their house. I followed her, looking up to the towering trees almost covering the second floor of their previous home.

“I missed this house. I mean, we spent some time in here too, right?” she asked me.

“Yeah. I was merely disappointed when I arrived here seeing this house like this. I mean, for a moment I thought that I would never see you again.”

She flashed a weird and cheeky smile at my direction before walking towards the covered stuffs in their old garage. When she pulled the clothing covering it, her eyes suddenly became wide open in amusement.

“Oh, my, God! I can’t believe it!” It’s still here!” she cried, looking at her old bicycle.

“Whoah. So you never really put that thing away, huh?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t. I just thought that maybe someone probably stole it by now. I can’t believe it!”

She looked really amazed, and I can’t help but to stare at her beautiful face. If only we could bring ourselves back to yesterday...

“Come on, Gab! Let’s fix this one. I hope it will still run,” she stated excitingly.

“Sure, sure.”