When Nancy left Tina's room, her head was spinning. She held the rail of her verandah to struggle to stand on her feet. She sank at once onto the tiled floor of her verandah. She rested her jaw on her wrist and stared into the thin air. Different thoughts ran across her mind. What in heaven did she just hear? Only Dave, bipolar and amnesia. Or could she have heard wrong or they diagnosed him wrong. But why was her heart slamming against her chest?
She inhaled and exhaled; the breathing technique for relaxing her mother once taught her anytime she was overly annoyed. After inhaling and exhaling countless times, her brain was coming back to life, she was now relaxed. When she stopped, she thought within herself what her next step should be. Should she call Wumi for advice or her mother or none of them? Or should she just forget ever meeting Dave or ever hearing the story? She contemplated between the dilemma of her mind and brain. Around midnight, when everyone had gone inside to sleep, she eventually settled on one thing to do. She stood up, stretched and yawned heavily, then turned to her door. At dawn, she planned to call her.
At dawn, Nancy wasn't going to work. She had called in sick that morning; her boss was the first person she called as early as possible. Then she sat up on her bed to call whom she decided on last night. The line rang for a while before the voice of an adult, more of a middle-aged woman filling the phone.
"Hello, Mummy"
"Sweetheart, how are you doing my dear? Hope you slept well."
Nancy grumbled a bit before answering, "mummy, frankly speaking, I'm not fine. Firstly, hope I didn't disturb your sleep?"
"My baby girl, I heard my phone ringing from my dreamland. You've already disturbed the moment my phone rang."
"Yikes. Sorry Mom. ThGs why I always put my phone on airplane mode or silent."
"If I'd done that, you'd not be able to reach me now. Anyways, what was the matter that couldn't wait till the day breaks?"
"Em...um... Mom, I..."
"Nancy, you didn't call me to stammer. Speak."
Nancy already knew her mother's serious tone. Anytime she got rid of the endearments, her seriousness mustn't be taken lightly.
"Mom, I'm in a dilemma."
"Dilemma?"
"Yes, Mummy." She could hear her Mom's loincloths getting rumpled. She knew her Mom was sitting up and ready to listen without distractions.
"Well, dig in."
Nancy began from their first contact on the mountain till the story yesterday. Her mother only hmmed, but Nancy could imagine the seriousness etched on her furrowed brows.
"...so, last night when I heard everything about him, I was slightly heartbroken not because I like him, but, surprisingly, because he had gone through quite a lot from childhood. I started weighing my feelings if it's genuine or from sympathy. Mom, I don't know what to do."
She could hear silence for a while before her mother's voice filled the phone speaker again. "Nancy, that's quite a lot. But trust me when I say I won't discourage you to follow your heart. Let me ask, do you still feel anything for him afterwards?"
Nancy already knew the answer: the tingle in her heart never diminished even after hearing the story. It baffled her more than anything and confused her as well.
"Yes, Mom. I still feel something for him and I'm confused if it's not from sympathy."
"I don't know this Dave or his family history but I believe if the feeling is mutual, both of you can traverse a long love journey. Nancy, if you feel your feeling has turned to sympathy, why not excuse yourself from him for a while to sort it out. During that moment, you can know if it's sympathy or genuine."
"A break huh? Alright, Mom. I'll give it a trial."
"Nancy, I want the best for you. No matter your choice, I'll always be with you. If you feel scared about the matter and you don't want to have anything to do with him due to this past, you're free to choose for yourself. I'm just here to guide you. However, we all have a past and sometimes, we shouldn't let our past decide for our present and future, to avoid regrets. Any sentence that begins with 'had I know' hurts more than saying it. I don't want you to regret any of your decisions, but I'm always here for you, my darling daughter."
"Aww, thanks Mom. You're the best. It's why I love you. I'll think about it and let you know later." They continued their discussion with other trivial things and it lasted for some minutes before the call ended.
'I have no idea how to go about it but I want the best for myself. I'll have to wait till I see him physically.' She soliloquized while resting her head on her pillow. Her heavy heart had become light because her mother had helped her lighten the matter. She knew her mother would handle the matter effortlessly, that's why she called her.
On the third day after Nancy had a call with her mother, she received a visitor she had been expecting, yet, not ready to receive. She refused to go to work since she had called in sick. She wasn't getting herself mentally, she needed some time to cool off. She had switched off her phone to avoid her boss's unnecessary rants. That morning, she woke up missing the mountain. She thought, 'since Tina said her brother would arrive before the end of this week, it's possible he shows up this weekend. I'd have decided on my feelings by then.' She planned to visit the mountain today to cool off. It's been quite a while since she went there.
She had eaten breakfast and was about to leave for the mountain when she heard a knock on her door. At first, she thought it was from other doors and not hers. She continued rummaging her table, searching for her earphone because headphone's battery was low. She heard the knock again. She stopped the rummage to listen very well.
Knock knock
With curiosity engraved on her face, she walked to the door, turned the knob and opened. She froze when she met with the guest knocking on her door.
"Nancy, hi." Dave spoke with serenity, his face was as calm as a summer sky. He looked as cute as ever. Nancy couldn't speak because her heart was doing the speaking. Her eyes were glued to his eyes, she couldn't avert them. Her heart was heavily slamming against her chest. Indeed, one can stop a love rumble. She lost her voice, instead, her body reacted against her will. She found herself smiling and her body leaning towards Dave. Dave, on the other side, was surprised that his arms accepted Nancy and he wrapped himself around her. It was the warmest hug they've ever experienced.