FORGOTTEN

chapter 1 part 2 The first Month

*Chapter 1, Part 2

The first text after the typhoon came at 9:12am the next day.

Elias: "Coffee? Same place. I owe you a working outlet."

Mara: "Deal. 2pm?"

She got there first. The power was back. The candles were gone. It felt too normal.

Elias showed up with his camera bag and two iced coffees.

"I got you the usual," he said, sliding one over. "I guessed."

"You guessed right."

"Good. I hate being wrong."

They sat at table 4 again. Like they were claiming it.

*Date 1: The Interview*

Mara had two hours before her next meeting. Elias had no work.

"Walk with me?" he asked. "I need to return a lens to a shop in Katipunan."

"Sure."

They took two jeepneys. He held the camera bag on his lap the whole ride like it might run away.

"So what’s the story today?" he asked.

"Interview with a city councilor about the jeepney ban. It’s going to be boring."

"I’ll make it interesting. I’ll take notes."

"You’re not a journalist."

"I can pretend."

The councilor’s office was hot and smelled like old paper. Elias sat in the corner and actually took notes. Doodled, mostly. Little sketches of Mara talking with her hands.

After, they got halo-halo because it was too hot.

"You’re good at listening," Mara said.

"You’re good at making people talk," Elias said. "Mang Rudy cried in your interview, didn’t he?"

"Yeah. How’d you know?"

"Your face. You get this look when someone tells you something true."

They walked back to Cubao. It took an hour. Neither of them suggested a jeepney.

At her gate, Elias hesitated. "Can I text you tomorrow?"

"You don’t have to ask."

"Okay. I won’t."

*Date 2: The Shoot*

Three days later Elias texted: "Need a reflector holder. Pay is coffee and lunch. You in?"

It was a small engagement shoot in UP Diliman. The couple was awkward and the photographer was stressed.

"This is Mara," Elias told them. "She’s my assistant."

"I’m not your assistant," Mara whispered.

"You are today."

She held the reflector. She made the couple laugh by pretending to be the director. "Look more in love. Like you just found out there’s free food."

The photos came out good. Elias showed her the back of the camera.

"See? You’re good at this."

"I’m good at making people comfortable."

"Same thing."

After, they ate at a karinderya. 85 pesos each.

"I hate weddings," Elias said, picking at his rice. "Everyone’s performing."

"What would you rather shoot?"

"Real stuff. People when they think nobody’s watching."

"Like me eating?"

"Especially you eating."

She threw a piece of paper at him.

*Date 3: Her Office*

A week in, Mara was drowning. Three stories due. Her editor was in Manila for meetings.

Elias showed up at 7pm with siopao and coffee.

"You look dead," he said.

"I feel dead."

"Eat. Then tell me about it."

She talked while she ate. About deadlines. About a source who ghosted her. About her lola’s doctor appointment next week.

"You’re allowed to be tired," Elias said.

"I know."

"Say it."

"I’m tired."

"Good."

He stayed until she finished. Then he walked her home.

At her door she said, "You don’t have to do this."

"I know," he said. "I want to."

He kissed her on the cheek. It was the first time. It was quick and careful.

*Week 2: Learning the small things*

Mara learned:

1. Elias drank coffee black and hated sweet bread.

2. He slept with one arm under his pillow.

3. He took photos of her when she wasn’t looking. Not posed. Just her, reading, or frowning at her laptop.

Elias learned:

1. Mara hummed when she cooked.

2. She kept a list of article ideas on her phone titled "Maybe Someday."

3. She got quiet when she was upset instead of loud.

They started having a day. Wednesdays. No work talk. Just them.

One Wednesday they went to the QC Memorial Circle and fed birds.

"This is so stupid," Mara said.

"It is," Elias said. "That’s why I like it."

Another Wednesday they stayed in his apartment and watched bad movies. He fell asleep halfway. She covered him with a blanket and kept watching.

*Week 3: Meeting people*

Mara brought him to meet her lola.

"This is Elias," she said. "He’s a friend."

Her lola looked at him for a long time. "Friend. Okay. Eat."

Elias ate two plates. He helped wash dishes. He fixed the wobbly chair.

On the way home her lola said, "He’s nice. He has kind eyes."

"That’s it?"

"That’s enough."

Elias brought her to meet his best friend, Marco. They went drinking in Tomas Morato.

"So you’re the writer," Marco said. "Elias talks about you a lot."

"I do not," Elias said.

"You do. You showed me 12 photos of her."

"They were good photos."

Mara kicked him under the table.

*Week 4: The shift*

By week four it didn’t feel new anymore. It felt like something they’d always done.

Mara had a key to his place now. Not officially. She just had it because she’d made a copy when he wasn’t looking and he pretended not to notice.

Elias had a drawer at her place. For his hoodie and his toothbrush.

They fought once. About texting.

"You reply late," Mara said.

"I’m working."

"I know. I just worry."

"I’ll try to be faster."

"You don’t have to."

"I want to."

They made up by cooking. They burned the garlic rice. They ordered Jollibee instead.

On the 28th day, Elias gave her a key. For real this time. On a ring.

"So you don’t have to wait outside," he said. "And so I have an excuse to expect you."

Mara took it. "You sure?"

"I’m sure."

She kissed him that night. Not on the cheek. On the mouth. Slow.

After, lying on his mattress on the floor, she said, "This feels real."

"It is," Elias said. "It’s the most real thing I have."

Outside, it started to rain again. Not a typhoon. Just rain.

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