"Woah, this place is nice," Henry blurted out as he scanned the interior of the coffee shop.
The exterior of the shop is the same as Ivatan dwellings, while the inside is colorful and filled with art crafts, and paintings. There are instant coffee, noodles, hot water, soft drinks, and other basic necessities that can be found here. There are a lot of snacks, too. He took a ready-to-eat cup of noodles and smiled, saying, "I want to try this."
Rachel smiled and uttered, "Do you remember trying that before?"
Henry nodded his head and replied, "Yup! I feel lucky to remember the food. It makes me want to try all of them again to relive the moment."
Rachel's eyes widened as if she were reminded by something, and she said, "You know, they said that our memories are connected to our sense of smell and taste. Maybe if you try different foods, you'd remember some of your memories!"
"Actually, my doctor suggested that to me too. Unfortunately, I could just remember the time I ate them but not the people I was with," he answered casually. Henry seemed to have changed these past few days. He doesn't seem sad anymore because he doesn't remember anything. It was like he accepted his faith, and Rachel could see that through his eyes. Furthermore, he seemed to be enjoying the life he has now.
Henry noticed how she'd been staring at him for a while and grinned. "If you keep staring at me like that, I'd melt," he joked, but a flying cupcake instantly landed on his face, and he wasn't even able to react.
"Oww! That hurts. You're so mean," he complained, pouting his lips.
Rachel laughed because she knew that the cupcake was too soft to hurt him. "Stop overreacting. You did that to yourself. You've been playing with me these days," she uttered, crossing her arms.
"I was just kidding," he defended and sighed, acting as if he was deeply wronged.
"Alright, I'm sorry. Give me that," Rachel replied, taking the cup of noddles from his grip. "I'll get this ready for you," she added, then took hot water from the coffee shop's thermos.
"Thanks, then I will prepare your coffee," Henry told her as he watched her pour the hot water into the cup. He waited for her to finish, then took the thermos from her.
Rachel smiled and put the cup of noodles on the table. Henry always tries to do things for Rachel too; however, she doesn't want to get used to it.
She watched Henry prepare her coffee as she sat down in her chair. There were things she wanted to ask him but couldn't bring herself to do so. Thinking things through makes her contemplate whether she should stay here or leave just so she can stop whatever feelings are starting to grow inside of her.
Rachel pondered, "Perhaps I should wait until he's able to figure things out for himself."
Henry turned in her direction and brought her coffee to the table with a beam on his face. "Here you go!" he exclaimed in excitement.
Rachel, on the other hand, gently pushed the cup noodles in front of him and said, "I think it's ready."
"Thanks!" He opened the lid as the smell of the noodles lingered in his nostrils. Henry paused and smiled as he stared at the noodle. He took his fork and started to dig in. He was halfway through eating the noodles when he realized he forgot to offer them to Rachel, so he paused and looked at her. "Do you want some?" he queried.
Rachel chuckled and shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I want to eat biscuits today," she said, looking at the stacks of biscuits displayed in the shop.
"Alright," Henry replied, and he started to eat again happily.
Rachel rose, took her favorite biscuit, and headed back to her chair. She was happy to see the same product here. It reminded her of home.
She looked at Henry, who was still focused on his food, and said, "I will have to go back home soon."
What she said made him pause and look at her. He stopped eating and wiped his lips with a tissue. "How soon?" he questioned with a sad look on his face.
Rachel looked at her biscuit and replied, "Maybe after a week. After all, I can't stay here for long. I have a job waiting for me back home." She still has a month's break, but she doesn't want to stay here any longer.
Henry looked down and said, "Oh, I see." There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Are you coming back?"
Rachel shrugged and uttered, "I don't know. I probably won't since I'm planning to work abroad."
Surprised, Henry inquired, "Abroad? Which country?"
"I'm not sure yet," she answered, chuckling before opening her biscuit with a smile. "I hope I'd find a husband there, though! Just kidding," she said and laughed, but she stopped upon realizing that he wasn't laughing.
It made her wonder if Henry was afraid to be left alone, so she stated, "Don't worry. You have a lot of people helping you here now. You won't be alone." It's true. The Ivatan people were so kind to them. They actually know them by names, and they have been helping Henry too, which is why Rachel knew he would survive and get through this.
"It's not it," he mumbled, but Rachel wasn't able to comprehend that.
"Huh?"
Henry smiled and said, "It's nothing."
"Oh, okay," she uttered, but was still worried. She didn't want to force him to tell her, though, so she just started eating her biscuit.
However, her attention was taken when he suddenly spoke. "Rachel…"
She looked at him with curious eyes and replied, "What is it?"
Henry looked at her in the eyes, making her blink twice. She was nervous about what he was going to say because he looked serious.
"I have something to tell you–"
Rachel's phone suddenly rang, which interrupted Henry. Surprised, she looked at her phone and saw her brother's name on the screen.
"Oh, it's just my brother," she said, putting her phone back in her bag.
"I think you should take it. It might be an emergency," Henry replied, giving her a smile.
"Alright…" she said, heading outside of the store to take the call.
Meanwhile, Henry watched her back as she left the room with a troubled expression on his face and heaved a deep sigh out of frustration.
At the same time, Rachel answered the phone. "Hello?"
[Sis?] she heard him say.
"Yes, did something happen?" she answered. They were lucky there was a good signal here, although it was a little choppy.
[Someone came looking for you earlier saying he's your friend.]
Rachel's brows furrowed and she said, "What's his name?"
[Oh that, I forgot to ask]
Rachel made a straight face upon hearing her brother's answer. "Why didn't you ask for the name?" she questioned and sighed.
[Sorry! I was a little occupied earlier.]
"Did he at least say the reason why he's looking for me?" she asked in curiosity. She doesn't have any idea who could come looking for her, saying he's her friend.
[He said he just wanted to catch up and say hello. He said, it's been a long time since you last saw each other.]
Still having no idea who the man was, she replied, "Can you describe what he looks like?"
[Hmm, he has monolid eyes, white skin, and average height. Pretty handsome, if I may say so. But not as handsome as me.]
Rachel rolled her eyes because of what her brother said. "I know a lot of people with that same description. Geez, you should have asked for the name."
[I said, I'm sorry. Don't worry, if he comes back, I'll ask for the name.]
"Did he leave his number?"
[Oh right! He did. I'll send it to you, asap.]
After the call, her brother immediately sent her a phone number. She just stared at it for a second and headed back inside the store. She thought that she'd just call that person once she headed back to the city.
–
End of chapter 9