POEM FIVE: I STILL REMEMBER
(That day was quite different from the rest. It was one of the moments that I decided to give my best.
The princess of the snow became my warm embrace, as she gazed into those eyes, looking for my place.
She surely would've forgotten my pathetic self but, I know I wouldn't forget how she completed my messy shelf.)
Peyg and Vol were sitting outside a bench near the school's open field. It was their PE class and they took a break before continuing the second half of the activity.
"So it's only a week left before the festival starts, huh."
Vol was eager to start a conversation with Peyg.
"I'm almost done."
Peyg said while panting.
Vol saw this and offered his water to him.
"Here, take it."
Vol let Peyg rest for a while for it was their break after all.
"How about your end, with Lyrica?"
Peyg also wanted to know the progress of their part in the festival.
"It's going smoothly, I guess. Since we are cooperating with the Drama club to perform the script of the story that we made, I think it will work out great. The drama club is full of talented people after all."
While Vol was talking, Peyg couldn't help but look inattentive. Like he was somewhat daydreaming.
Vol put his hands on his shoulders.
"You shouldn't push yourself too much, is what I wanted to say, But an open wound heals faster when it's trying to heal itself with the help of another. So, make sure to make something that you won't regret."
***
It was a story of how they met.
The boy was sitting on a bench near the library. He was scratching his head while staring at his notebook.
I hate this. I flunked my exam and have to take remedial classes for the whole week. What's worse is that I have to finish this novelette for the contest that is due this week as well. I even have library duties today. He said to himself.
He looked in the distance and saw the track and field course. There was a guy who tripped over a hurdle while practicing. The guy immediately got up and fixed the hurdle. He kept doing the same pattern over and over again. After resting for a bit, he went back on the tracks. He ran and ran until he couldn't and then he stopped. He was panting so hard that he could barely breathe. The guy was so exhausted that he sat in the middle of the field. After a couple of minutes, he stood up again and repeated the same pattern.
A girl who was passing by in front of the boy called out to the guy.
"How are you doing?" She shouted.
The guy came running over to her location.
"I can't seem to get my time up. I've been running this whole afternoon."
The girl handed over a bottle of water.
"Here, take this."
The guy and the girl talked for a while.
After they were done talking, the guy returned to the field. He continued running.
The boy couldn't seem to let go of his sight of the guy. Until someone approached him.
"You've been looking intently at him for a while now."
The girl sat down on the same bench.
"I." It was all the boy could say as of that moment. He couldn't seem to start a conversation with the girl. He was so focused looking at the guy from earlier that he was lost in thought on what was going around.
"I?" The girl questioned.
"I just thought that…" He spoke softly and looked down.
"You should do your best as well." The girl quickly said to fill in the dead air from the conversation.
She then followed it with a big sigh.
"I'm not really good at giving advice but I can somewhat sense what is going on. You should just do your best as well. That perplexing fear should be conquered because if you keep dwelling on your confusion and comfort, nothing will progress. Sometimes, it's just best to just do it. Even without guidance, at least something can change, little by little. Before you know it…" She left what she said with that phrase.
After hearing that, He then looked up towards her.
"See, just start here." She smiled.
The boy was mesmerized by her. Her bright smile as well as her words that seemed to correlate with how he wanted someone to cheer him up made its way inside him. It was as if the feeling of an angel descending to cheer him up.
He was enthralled by the guy from earlier but she had smitten his attention.
The guy then shouted while hurrying to run in their direction.
"I've done it! See! See!"
The boy saw this and looked away. He looked down as he listen to their conversation.
The guy showed the timer to the girl.
"I've beaten my record! See!"
The ever-enthusiastic guy happily announced his achievement.
"I'm hyped up. Tomorrow I'll practice even more!"
"That's great! I knew it was only a matter of time. You've been trying to beat that record for months now."
She replied with joy.
The two continued to talk for a minute as more people came by.
"We've been looking all over for you."
The friends of the girl saw the guy.
"Don't tell me, are we bothering you right now or something?"
With a blushing expression, the girl replied, "I was just walking and happened to see him practice. It's nothing at all."
"Well, we've come to pick you up. But I guess we need to ask permission from him first."
The friends of the girl chuckled.
"It's nothing, really."
The girl pouted as she looked at her friends with dead eyes.
The guy then butted in.
"It's fine, you guys should take her."
"We'll take your word for that. Anyway, we are going to a donut shop near here. You should come with us sometime."
The group of friends continued to chuckle.
"I'll consider."
The guy replied as he looked at the girl.
The group of friends then took the girl away. At the same time, the guy returned to the field.
After everything that happened, all that was left on that spot was the boy.
The boy looked at the guy who went back to the field and saw him running again.
He then grinned.
"This is quite hopeless. My problems got fixed and got replaced by a new one."
He then remembered the girl from earlier.
If such kindness can slip its way inside me, I don't think I can handle more of it. And yet, I want to. I want to try and follow what she told me. He said to himself.
After a couple of contemplations, someone inside the library called up to him.
"I'm done with my shift, you can take over me now. There are still some left shelves in the back area that I haven't checked. See the log and continue that for me, will you?"
After hearing that, the boy went inside.
"There is no point in trying to oppose anything for a predetermined result. But why do I have this feeling that I have to do this no matter what?"
***
Peyg and Vol's PE break ended.
Peyg was still stuck in his daydream.
"I guess they are calling us now. It seems that break has ended."
Vol said to the daydreaming Peyg.
After seeing this, Vol once again put his hands on Peyg's shoulders.
"You can continue that later so you can focus better."
***
The boy looked at the logs in the library and went to work.
He went to the back shelves to check on the books. While brushing through the books, he accidentally dropped a book that he picked up from the upper shelf.
He tried to pick it up quickly. As he picked up the book, he looked at the title. Before checking the condition of the book, he randomly opened a page on a whim and read out a sentence.
The sentence:
-"She wasn't cold nor close but she was warm yet distant."-
***