CHAPTER 5
636 Words
The first rays of sunlight slipped through the bamboo walls.
As expected...
"Wake up, Theo!"
A pillow flew across the room.
Wade caught it effortlessly.
"Good morning to you too."
Theo groaned.
"...You do realize normal people knock once?"
"I did."
"You knocked seventeen times."
"I was being thorough."
Theo sighed.
"I miss sleeping."
"You slept for nine hours."
"I could've made it ten."
---
After breakfast, Wade poured two cups of coffee before wearing the same mischievous smile Theo had learned to fear.
"Theo."
"...No."
"I haven't even said anything."
"You have that face."
"What face?"
"The 'I'm-about-to-ruin-your-day' face."
Wade grinned wider.
"I have another Tagalog word."
Theo immediately stood up.
"I'm leaving."
Wade grabbed his sleeve.
"Just one!"
"...Fine."
Wade cleared his throat.
"The word is..."
'Kupal.'
Theo repeated carefully.
"Ku...pal."
"Perfect."
"What does it mean?"
Wade answered without hesitation.
"It means..."
'You're handsome.'
Theo narrowed his eyes.
"Really?"
"Cross my heart."
"You don't look trustworthy."
"I'm always trustworthy."
"...That's exactly what an untrustworthy person would say."
---
Later that morning...
Theo accompanied Wade to the village bakery.
The owner, Aling Rosa, greeted them warmly.
"Magandang umaga, Wade!"
"Magandang umaga rin po," Wade replied.
Theo smiled politely before remembering his new vocabulary.
Confidently, he looked at Wade and said,
"Kupal."
The entire bakery fell silent.
A loaf of bread slipped from someone's hands.
Aling Rosa blinked.
Then she burst into laughter.
Even the customers couldn't stop laughing.
Theo frowned.
"...Why is everyone laughing?"
Wade was already holding his stomach.
"I..."
"I can't..."
Theo slowly turned toward him.
"...What."
Wade wiped a tear from his eye.
"It..."
"...doesn't mean handsome."
Theo crossed his arms.
"What does it mean?"
One of the elderly men chuckled before answering for Wade.
"Iho... hindi 'yan papuri."
Wade finally admitted the truth.
"It... means..."
"...a rude way of calling someone a jerk."
Theo stared at him.
"...You taught me to call you a jerk."
"I wanted to see if you'd actually say it."
Theo smiled sweetly.
"Oh."
"So that's how we're playing."
---
That afternoon...
Wade returned home to find every single sticky note in the house replaced.
The rice container read:
KUPAL
The water jug:
KUPAL
The front door:
KUPAL
Even the mirror had a note.
Good Morning, Kupal.
Wade laughed so loudly the neighbors looked over the fence.
"Theo!"
Theo peeked from the kitchen with the most innocent smile.
"What?"
"You did this?"
"You taught me a new word."
"I thought I'd use it often."
"...You're getting revenge."
"I learned from the best."
---
That evening...
The laughter faded as the village settled into silence.
Theo sat alone on the wooden porch.
The cool breeze carried the scent of the sea.
Above him, countless stars stretched across the night sky.
He wrapped his arms around his knees.
Three months.
Three months, and not a single memory had returned.
Not a face.
Not a place.
Not even the sound of his own family's voices.
He quietly touched the small cross hanging around his neck.
"Who... was I?"
The question disappeared into the night.
No answer came.
After a long silence, Theo looked toward the horizon and whispered to himself,
> "If I can't remember who I was... maybe I can discover who I'm meant to become."
Behind him, the wooden door creaked open.
Wade stepped outside carrying two mugs of hot chocolate.
He didn't ask why Theo looked sad.
He simply sat beside him and handed him a mug.
Theo accepted it with a small smile.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not asking questions."
Wade looked at the stars.
"You'll tell me when you're ready."
The two sat in comfortable silence.
Sometimes...
The best kind of company wasn't the one that filled the silence—
It was the one that made silence feel less lonely.
End of Chapter 5
- Writer
