Chapter 5 decision extendend
1187 Words
The email from Daniela came at 10:14am.
_Elias,_
_We can extend you 3 months. Same rate. Istanbul first, then back to Manila for the final exhibit. Think about it. Deadline Friday 5pm._
He read it in his Airbnb kitchen. Coffee went cold.
Three more months.
Three more months of running into her at KapeTayo.
Three more months of seeing her name on articles.
Three more months of choosing to leave, or choosing to stay.
---
### *Day 1: The Ask - 8pm, KapeTayo*
Mara was already there. Table 4. Two coffees. No laptop.
She looked tired. Like she hadn’t slept either.
"I talked to Jon," she said before he could sit.
Elias set his bag down. "And?"
"He cried. Not a lot. Just once." She laughed, but it wasn’t happy. "He said he’s not mad. He’s just... tired. Of competing with a ghost."
Elias flinched. "I’m not a ghost."
"I know. That’s the problem."
She pushed a coffee to him. "The NGO offered you more time."
"How did you know?"
"Kiko told me. He thought I should know."
Elias wrapped his hands around the cup. "Yeah. 3 months."
"What did you tell them?"
"That I’d think about it."
Mara nodded. Stared at the rain outside. "Can I be selfish for a minute?"
"Always."
"If you stay, I don’t know what happens. Jon and I... we’re good. But we’re not 'survive your ex coming back' good. And if you leave, I don’t know if I can do the goodbye again."
Elias looked at her. "What do you want me to do?"
"I don’t get to decide that," she said. "That’s the point."
They sat until 10pm. Didn’t solve anything.
When they left, she hugged him at her car.
"Whatever you choose," she whispered. "I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay."
He believed her. And hated that he did.
---
### *Day 2: The Talk With Jon - 6pm, Tomas Morato*
Jon texted: _Can we meet? No Mara. Just us._
Elias almost said no.
They sat at a corner table. Two beers. No food.
"I’m not here to threaten you," Jon started. "Or to beg. I just need you to understand something."
Elias waited.
"I met Mara 6 months after you left. She was a mess. Not crying-in-public mess. The quiet kind. The 'I’m fine' kind. It took me a year to get her to laugh for real again."
Jon took a drink.
"I’m not special, man. I’m just consistent. I showed up. Every day. For 5 years. I know her Lola’s medicine schedule. I know she hates tomatoes but eats them anyway. I’m home."
Elias nodded. "I get it."
"But here’s the thing," Jon said. "If you stay, you can’t be half-here. You can’t be the guy who keeps one foot out the door. Because if you do that to her again, I’m not gonna be nice next time."
It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.
Elias leaned back. "What if I leave?"
"Then I’ll take care of her. Like I have been. And you’ll have to live with that."
They finished their beers.
At the door, Jon stopped him. "For what it’s worth. I don’t hate you. I think you loved her. I think you still do. Just... differently."
Elias walked home. 40 minutes. Didn’t take a taxi.
---
### *Day 3: The Night Before - 3am*
He didn’t sleep.
He opened his laptop. Drafted 4 emails. Deleted 3.
*Draft 1 - To Daniela:*
_I’ll take it. 3 months._
Delete.
*Draft 2 - To Daniela:*
_No thank you. I’m going home._
Delete.
*Draft 3 - To Mara:*
_Mara, let’s run. Istanbul. We can figure it out._
Delete.
*Draft 4 - To Himself:*
_What are you most afraid of?_
_Staying and hurting her again._
_Leaving and never knowing._
At 6am he sent one.
*To Daniela:*
_Thank you for the offer. I’m declining. I need to go home. For good._
_-E_
*To Mara:*
_Gate 12. 4pm. If you want to say goodbye._
_If not, I understand. I’ll always be grateful for the brownout._
_-E_
He turned his phone off. Packed.
---
### *4pm: NAIA Terminal 3, Gate 12*
The airport was chaos. Announcements. Kids crying. Luggage wheels.
Elias sat with his boarding pass in his hand. Istanbul. One way.
3:58pm. No Mara.
3:59pm. Still no Mara.
4:00pm. "Final boarding for flight..."
He stood up.
"Wait."
Her voice.
Mara. Running. Hair messy. No Jon.
She stopped in front of him, breathing hard.
"I came," she said. "I almost didn’t."
"I know."
People pushed past them.
"I talked to Jon this morning," Mara said. "I told him everything. That I still love you. That I’m choosing him."
Elias closed his eyes. Nodded. "Okay."
"But I needed to see you," she continued. "To know that we didn’t end with an email. That we ended like this. Face to face."
Elias opened his eyes. "We ended good, Mara."
She smiled. It broke a little. "Do you regret it? Any of it?"
"No," Elias said. "Not the typhoon. Not the coffee. Not you."
"Me neither."
The last boarding call.
Elias hugged her. Both arms. Full.
He smelled her shampoo. The same one from 6 years ago.
"I’m glad it was you," he whispered.
"Me too."
He pulled back. Touched her face once. Then dropped his hand.
"Take care of Jon," he said.
"Take care of you," she said.
He walked to the gate. This time he didn’t look back.
Because looking back would ruin it.
He heard her say his name once. Soft.
He didn’t turn around.
---
### *1 Month Later: Istanbul*
He got an email. No subject.
_Elias,_
_Jon proposed. I said yes. It’s small. Just family. Lola is already planning the food._
_I thought you should know. Not to hurt you. Just because you were part of it._
_I hope Istanbul is good to you._
_-M_
Elias read it twice.
Then he replied:
_Congratulations. Tell Jon I’m happy for you both. Send me a photo of Lola’s food._
_Istanbul is loud. I like it._
_-E_
He didn’t cry.
He went to his studio and taught a class. Kids with cameras bigger than their heads.
---
### *6 Months Later: Manila*
Mara sent a photo.
Her and Jon. Small garden. Lola in the middle holding a plate of adobo.
Everyone was smiling.
The caption: _Home._
Elias saved it. Didn’t reply right away.
That night he called his sister. "I’m coming home for Christmas."
"For good?" she asked.
"For good," he said.
---
### *Epilogue: 1 Year Later*
They don’t email much now.
Sometimes on birthdays.
_Happy 33, Elias._
_Happy 32, Mara._
Sometimes a photo.
Elias: a sunset in Istanbul.
Mara: Lola’s birthday cake.
No regrets. No what-ifs.
Just two people who met during a brownout, loved each other in the middle of a storm, and learned how to let go.
The key is still in Mara’s drawer.
The photo is still facedown on Elias’s nightstand.
And every time the power goes out in Manila, Mara thinks of him for 3 seconds.
And every time Elias hears rain on a tin roof, he thinks of her for 3 seconds.
Then they move on.
- Writer
