Chapter 3

Lino entered his room in the apartment that was located hundreds of meters away from the university.

While dressing himself up, Lino kept thinking about Ersel. He still could not believe that he would meet Ersel again about ten years since they have not seen each other. Another thing that Lino could not believe was that he was able to recognize Ersel, yet the latter failed to recognize the former.

[Ersel didn’t recognize me, huh?] Lino thought rather gloomily with his right hand on his forehead. [How is that possible? I recognized him right away as soon as I saw him, but he didn’t recognize me?]

Lino stared at himself in the mirror and looked at himself closely.

[Am I really that unrecognizable?] Lino thought gloomily as he stared at himself. [But that's so unfair! I'm already feeling bitterness against him, but he didn't recognize me? That's so annoying of you, Ersel!]

Lino felt both bitterness and sadness knowing that Ersel did not even leave him a letter before disappearing ten years ago and that Ersel failed to recognize him. He had also planned to give Ersel a souvenir upon his return that time.

Let us go back to that time when Lino came back from vacation with his parents.

When Lino returned, he went to the same beach where they first met as thirteen-year-old boys. He brought with him a wristband that he had planned to give to Ersel as a souvenir. That same wristband bears Ersel’s name on it, and Lino himself has another matching wristband that bears the latter's own name. Those matching wristbands were a reminder of their brotherly bond.

Lino waited, yet Ersel did not come. When he looked for Ersel, he found their house to be locked already. He asked around and eventually found out that Ersel and the whole family moved to Manila, leaving Lino emotionally devastated. He felt intense bitterness and sadness that not only was he not able to talk to Ersel for the last time but also that Ersel failed to leave even a letter of farewell.

Tears began to fall from Lino’s eyes while he was thinking of his sad past with Ersel. As much as he tried to hold back his tears, he could not do it. He gently wiped his tears with his right hand while they also kept on pouring down his cheeks.

[Why? Why am I crying?] Lino thought desperately. [Ersel, you bastard...If I hadn’t met you again today, I wouldn’t be like this right now. Why did I have to meet you here again, of all places?]

At that moment, Lino punched the wooden floor to help in releasing his frustrations that have been bottling up inside him. His tears kept on falling, and the white in his eyes began reddening.

Then Lino’s Android phone rang and vibrated. He looked and saw that the person calling was Pia, his girlfriend.

While trying his best to hold back his tears, Lino picked up his phone and answered the call.

“Hello, babe,” Lino said in a sweet voice.

“Hi, babe!” a sweet voice answered over the line. “I missed you so much!”

At that moment, Lino smiled for the first time.

“I missed you too, babe,” Lino answered sweetly.

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you!” Pia replied. “So, how was your first day at school?”

[I can’t tell her that I felt bitter when I met Ersel again.] Lino thought seriously before answering his girlfriend’s question. [This is not the time to tell her about that yet.]

“It was fine,” Lino replied in a reassuring voice. “I can’t tell what college life will be like yet, though.”

“That’s great, babe!" Pia exclaimed merrily. "I started in college today too.”

“That's awesome!" Lino exclaimed cheerfully. "How was it, babe?”

“Same as yours, babe,” Pia answered in a jolly manner. “Nothing much since it’s my first day.”

Lino chuckled and replied, “I see. I guess we don’t have to worry about too many things right now. Right, babe?”

“Yeah, babe. Let’s do our best, then!” Pia replied in a joyful manner.

“Yeah,” Lino declared determinedly. “By the way, want to meet up and have a date this Sunday?”

“Sure, no problem!” Pia answered in excitement. “Where shall we meet?”

“At the usual Jollibee restaurant in Bacoor,” Lino answered while smirking.

“Alright! I will set that on my calendar!” Pia declared eagerly. “You set it, too.”

“Will do,” Lino replied eagerly.

“Great!” Pia said cheerfully. “Also, babe...why were you crying?”

Lino’s eyes widened and let out a little laugh.

[Fuck. Did she notice it?] Lino thought while chuckling.

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t,” Lino answered as cheerfully as he could to hide his gloominess from his girlfriend.

“I noticed it when you answered my call,” Pia declared worriedly. “Are you really okay, babe?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Lino answered as happily as he could. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

“Okay, I understand,” Pia answered in agreement yet she did not feel convinced about Lino's answer. “If you need someone to talk to, just call or text me. I’ll listen to your problems.”

“Thank you, babe,” Lino replied sweetly. “Okay, I have something to do. I’ll be hanging up now.”

“Okay. I love you, babe,” Pia said in her sweet voice.

“I love you too, babe,” Lino replied in his sweet voice. “Bye!”

“Bye, babe!” Pia answered in a sweet tone before Lino hung up.

At that moment, after hanging up, Lino looked at his phone wallpaper. The wallpaper was that of his smiling girlfriend, which lifted his spirits again.

[Pia, if it wasn’t for you, I‘d still be crying right now. I’m so glad that I have met you.] Lino thought while smiling and looking gently at his phone wallpaper. [Also, thanks to Tinder, I was able to meet you.]

Lino recalled that he first met Pia via the dating app called Tinder. He jumped for joy upon seeing that he and Pia, a girl who was his type, got matched. From then on, he began meeting and courting her. He received her sweet “Yes!” about a year ago.

As soon as Lino switched off his phone, Ersel came back to the former's mind. He has been thinking about whether or not to tell Ersel about his true identity already, to which Lino decided that he will not.

[No, I won’t tell him who I am for now.] Lino thought decidedly. [I’ll let him discover it by himself. I don’t want to talk to him for now either.]

Lino then cooked and ate his dinner and took a bath. While wiping himself dry, he saw the matching wristbands that bore his and Ersel’s names on the shelves.

[Ersel, I had planned to give you one of these ten years ago, but that chance was taken away from me when you went away.] Lino thought bitterly. [You said back then that you wanted a souvenir, so I bought them. I don’t know if I’d be able to give it to you now.]

Lino dressed up and took his phone to check his Facebook and Messenger updates. One of the messages in Messenger was from Pia, and it went like this: [Good night, babe. I love you.]

Lino smiled and, with a heart emoji, replied: [Same to you, babe.]

As Lino slowly fell into a deep slumber, he thought of Ersel again, knowing that the former would have to confront the latter eventually.

[Ersel, I’ll definitely confront you and make you apologize when the right time comes.] Lino thought before sinking into a deep slumber.