BEWARE: NEVER SAY "I LOVE YOU, 3000" IT'S A CURSE.

“MISS, FOR ONE LAST TIME, I WILL ASK YOU AGAIN,” the prosecutor said, intimidating the woman in the witness stand, “Are you covering up the suspect for some monetary award?” Everyone’s eyes got fixated at the woman in front, wearing her uniform still. She looks just fine; Long silky black hair, black pair of eyes, fine nose, fine lips, not-that-tall but not-that-short either. No one’s moving a nerve, all anticipating her answer. "No." She finally answered, “It just happens that there’s a monetary award for those who have seen the incident” she smiled, “And I did.” No trace of fear can be seen on her face. “Let me ask you,” the prosecutor once again asked, “Are you doing this for the money?” "No, of course" she answered "Then why did you only come out after the monetary award was released?" The crowd murmurs. "It was just a coincidence," she said. "Really?" the prosecutor asked, “But what if there is no monetary award, would you still come out and risk your name?” Her eyes widened, so do I. Seems like the prosecutor’s making it looks like she did it for money! She smirked. “Let me ask you too,” she said, “Are you using the monetary award to move a strike to discredit my statements now in court?” It rendered loud murmuring, the prosecutor got caught off guard. Bull’s eye! "Excuse me?" the prosecutor asked, eyes wide opened. “It just happens that I found it kinda off,” she said, smiling mischievously, “You are using the monetary award to make it look like my statements are monetarily sponsored when in fact it was your side who released the monetary awards for those who could testify. ” Murmuring again. Now the tables have turned! "It looks like you released that to discredit all witnesses who will show up, making it look like they came out for money." More murmuring. I smirked. “I order you to answer only questions I’ll ask” the prosecutor snapped, tryna suppressed the now dark agenda they have, “Are you, perhaps, an accomplice of the accused?” "Section 17, Article III of the 1987 Constitution says no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself." She said, and smiled, “I invoke my rights against self-incrimination” “Request granted” the judge said, “Prosecution, change the question” I smirked. That's my girl! "Tell us what happened that night" “Well,” she said, “I was going home that time. It was exactly 10:04 at night. I was walking myself home, sent my boyfriend a message, and along with composing it I heard disturbing noises. As I went left at the corner of Padre Faura with 7/11 store in the right, traffic lights in front with red lights on, and Subway store in left, right beside a black car someone was being beaten up. The one being beaten up wears a black sweater and pants, a nike sneakers and was bleeding to death, the one throwing punches wears a white shirt, a stripe jacket and a sneaker as well. Then the one being beaten up fought back, and it turned things upside down, he almost killed the one who first beaten him up. Until I rescued and that’s when the police came ” "Wow," the prosecutor exclaimed, "Everything was so detailed, even the time, the color, the description of the place, everything was so clearly detailed." He said, and faced the judge, “Your honor, I would like to further expand the witness’ role in this case. Her statement seems so scripted, and the overly detailed descriptions are the evidence. I would like to move a strike on her as of this moment ” “There’s no need for that, your honor” the defender said, as he stood up. “Her statement is not scripted” “How do you say so?” the prosecutor, "We all know court statements as clear as that may significantly be inconsistent in further hearing." "That won't happen, your honor." The defendant said, "The witness has an ability to remember all the things she could see." It renders murmuring. "W-What do you mean?" the prosecutor, flabbergasted The witness, sitting still in the witness stand remained unbothered. "I have Hyperthymesia." She said, and she smirked, "I can remember everything" --- “AAAAAH, WHAT DID I DO?” I looked at the woman I am with, walking her home. “WHAT IF, I JUST MADE THINGS WORSE?” she asked, anxious. "Baby, you did well." I said, trying to assure her “But what if I mess things up?” "Did you say all the things you saw with no lies?" She nods. "Then there's nothing to worry about." I said. "Do not know!" she frustratedly exclaimed, “Why is it that I can literally remember everything I see? It's annoying. ” she said as she sips her drink. My girlfriend has hyperthymesia. She got diagnosed with it when she was nine. Literally, she can remember everything about her life. Like what she did the whole day 10 years ago, what happened to this movie she just watched once, or what happened in the store she’s in. She can narrate them detail-to-detail. There was even one incident where the class tested it. There is an installed CCTV camera in our room, and we obtained a copy of that in the security office. I asked her to create a narrative report of what happened during that class and when we watched the 2 hour-long CCTV footage, she literally narrated them, perfectly detailed. We are 19 now. We met when we were 9, but we became together when we were 14. “Sometimes, I am torn between considering it as a gift or a burden,” she said, “annoying!” I just shake my head, smiling as I can see how cute my frustrated girlfriend is. "Why?" she asked, as she looked at me. "What why?" I asked back “You’re staring at me with those smiles, why?” "Why?" I asked back, “Can’t I stare?” “You can but I am asking you what’s with the stare?” “Can’t I stare for no reason now? I just miss you that much and I can’t help but to feel speechless with that face, why not? ” “You’re weird!” she said, barely laughing "Yeah and that's why you love me" She rolled her eyes but she can’t manage to hide her smile, and she faced me. "I'm here," she said. And that’s when I noticed we finally reached their gate. “Won’t you let me in?” "Nobody" she said, "Mom will come later" "So?" I asked "SO ?!" she exclaimed back, "Remember at 8:03 in the camping site we were the only two there in the tent we were like really awkward and ended up kissing with you kissing my lower lip at first then starting to unbotton my ----" “Ssssh” I said, grinning, covering her mouth through my hand, “You surely remember everything, huh?” "That's why I'm telling you!" she said, grinning. We both almost lost our virginity last year but Thank God we went back to our senses and stopped. Starting that night, we avoided places where that thought will trigger us again. "I'm in," she said "Hug me?" I asked She shakes her head but still hugs me "Kiss?" “Seriously ?!” she asked, laughing "No one?" She points the CCTV of their house "I'll take care of explaining to my uncle" I said, laughing and she patted a kiss on my cheek. “I'm in,” she said, and opened the gate but before she could even close it, I said something that made her stop. "Where's my I love you?" She looked back, and smiled. “I love you, 3000” I smiled back, "I love you more!" She smiled, and closed the gate. My smile fades. My girlfriend is so fond of telling me, ‘I love you, 3000’ ever since we became together. For what reason, I don’t know. She just keeps on telling me that and whenever I ask her, she won’t give me an answer. I shake my head. ---- Sometimes, I realize her gift is also a factor that maybe, just maybe, a thing that will cause her death. "MISS, I SAID, ONE HUNDRED" the tricycle driver exclaimed at my girlfriend when we boarded off in front of their house. The driver initially charged us of 80 pesos but now he’s insisting he said 100. I told her I’ll pay 100 but she doesn’t want to. "SIR, WHAT YOU SAID, ONLY 80." My girlfriend said, "I heard that" "Why, maybe you're deaf" the driver said, "The light I said, 100" I closed my eyes and sighed. Oh, no, please man. She has hyperthymesia, don't argue. "All right I'm deaf but you're a liar" My eyes widened. "LOVE!" I exclaimed "Shut up there" she told me “MISS, I AM NOT LYING. AND CLEARLY WHAT I SAID, 100! ” "SIR, do you want me to tell you more ?!" Oh, no! Oh, no! "LOVE CAN YOU PLEASE ----" "Shut up he said that" she halted me, "I love you, 300" “Y-Yeah,” I said, “I love you more” "OH RIGHT!" the driver said, “NOW TELL US!” I closed my eyes hardly. Shit! She was about to open her mouth but I ended up covering it by my hand and handed the driver a 100 peso bill "SIR TAKE IT!" And sometimes, I also think it could also be a reason of her being kicked out of school. “IT IS ON SECTION 14!” our prof exclaimed in class, after my girlfriend corrected her that Social Justice and Human Rights ARTICLE is on Article 13 and not 14 of Philippine constitution “No, ma’aam,” my girlfriend said, “Article 14 is about Education, Science, Culture, and Sports” “I HAVE BEEN TEACHING FOR DECADES NOW AND YOU’RE JUST A STUDENT! HOW DARE YOU TO CORRECT ME? ” “Well, ma’am,” my girlfriend said, “Experience is not always equated with competence” Literally all of us got shocked. WHAT THE f**k IS SHE DOING ?! “Are you telling that I AM INCOMPETENT ?!” “No, ma’am” she said, “I am telling you that you may have mistaken Article 14 as Article 13.” "How sure are you, huh, you know-it-all?" “I memorized it, ma’am” she said. “Then, tell us word-by-word what Article 13 is, then, huh?” Oh, s**t. Here we go again. She smirked, “Sure, ma’am. Article 13 section 1: The Congress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by ----- " “Okay, Section 2” our prof said “Article 13 Section 2: The promotion of social justice shall include the commitment to create economic opportunities based on ----“ “ALRIGHT CLASS OPEN YOUR BOOK AND LET’S SEE IF SHE’S RIGHT, GO ON! GO ON! ” And as a result, she’s right. My Girlfriend is right. She looked at my seat, and smiled. She then murmured, “I love you, 3000” Also, sometimes, I also think it will be the end of me. “WELL, AT LEAST I NEVER ENTERTAINED ANYONE!” she said at me, the night we are fighting because I got jealous of someone who keeps on messaging her. “Are we gonna talk about that?” I asked, pertaining to the night last year we fought and someone sent me a message, tryna comfort me and I replied. For her, I entertained her but for me, I JUST REPLIED “THANK YOU” “Of course, we’ll talk about that!” she said, “It was September 24th, 10:01 pm, I can still remember her profile picture, it was her on bikini and ----“ She got halted when I suddenly kissed her. She wasn’t moving at first, until it melted her, and in a flash, she kissed back. "Sorry," I said soon as we calmed down, "I ... I was just jealous ..." “Don’t you trust me?” she asked me “I do, but I just want to build my fence high‘ coz I don’t want anyone else to have you. ” She smiled, and looked deeply in my eyes. “I love you, 3000” “And I love you more than your 3000” But most of the time, I consider it really, a gift. "WHAT ?!" she exclaimed, “Can you repeat it again ?!” "What?" I asked, confused "The thing you just said!" “That we became together one rainy night? “ONE RAINY NIGHT ?!” she exclaimed "Why?" I asked back, “Didn’t we?” “WE BECAME TOGETHER IN SCHOOL, INSIDE A GIRLS’ RESTROOM CUBICLE! ” My eyes widened, as everyone inside the canteen literally looked at us Shit. They might think we did something inside. “B-Baby,” I said, awkwardly, “C-Can you ... atleast ...” "WHAT ?!" she exclaimed "Just calm down, okay?" I asked, "I-I'm joking I'm ---" "I don't know about you!" she said, lifted up her bag, and turned her back “You’re right!” I said that made her stop, "It was inside the female room's cubicle." Everyone’s eyes got fixated at us "'So here it is!' you enthusiastically told me, smiling. My then cold eyes looked at you with disbelief, 'And you won't lock the door?' I asked. You rolled your eyes as you locked the door. I then said, 'And what am I supposed to do here? A man in a female rest room, inside a cubicle, accompanied by a woman? Are we, perhaps, making out? ' Buth then you exclaimed, 'Gross! As you are aware, today is the start of foundation week and we have a senior ball later. I have no one to help me, you are the only one I know my friend "you added. "So?" I asked, but back then I know what you’re up to. I wanna smile that time, but kept my cold aura still. "So help me." You said, "And stop making that face, your mom covered you up last week!" "What am I supposed to do? Let's make it quick" I said coldly, because I almost laughed then. You still regret it. "I'll do make up and I'll wear, for the first time ever, my ...... drum rolls please, contact lense! You said as you smiled so wide." "You're embarrassing" I said, but the spark in your eyes made my heart beat faster than normal. Ending, you didn't know how to put on a contact lense so I helped you and we kept on arguing until you kept on moaning in pain and someone knocked on our door, saying we should get a room. "Can you make it faster?" I said, "The student might have been reported us. I don't want to get a record with a misinterpretation of making out in a broad day light! You know—" "CAN YOU SHUT UP?" you then halted me "Why would I shut up when—" "You nagger like my mom!" I halted you also, “Someone might caught us and think we are doing something, make it quick!” "That's the idea!" you told me, "They know we are friends so there's no room to misunderstand. And, everyone knows your taste and I won't even reach half of it so people won't really think" "What?" I exclaimed, "What about my taste?" You said, "I said I won't even reach half of it—" "How did you know?" I asked “But you said, that’s a fact. You said You’re not as attractive as anyone, not as hot as the girls at my age, not as tall and clear skinned as they are, your skin color isn’t that bright. That no man will ever like you, and I called you rubbish that time. You got mad at me, saying I just called your pain rubbish but for me, It was rubbish because I feel it is. It is too dumb of you to think you're not pretty because you're not tall, doesn't have a clear bright skin, isn't as thin, sexy, or whatsoever as they are. I think it's too dumb of you to base your beauty on standards. So you think you're ugly just because you're not like them? That's actually what makes you pretty, you're not just like them, you are you ” I said, and smiled. “I even asked you to please stop blabbering things you are unaware of. I said you don't see yourself laughing so loud over silly things, you don't see yourself when you eat your fave food, when you read your fave book, or when we watch the sun setting. You don't see yourself when you do the things you love, the spark on your eyes, the smile on your lips. You don't see them but I do. And you think no one likes you? I even exclaimed ‘WHAT A DISRESPECT. YOU DON'T KNOW SOMEONE OUT THERE IS FALLING IN LOVE WITH EVERY DUMB AND AWKWARD MOVES YOU DO— " "WHO?" you shouted at me And I shouted back, “ME!” You got shocked. I gulped, and bravery aroused inside me and I said, 'YOU WANT A BOYFRIEND? FINE. LET'S DATE '" I smirked, looking at her, "And here we are now." She looked back at me, tears in her eyes “Y-You can remember them t-that perfectly?” she asked, her voice cracked, close to crying. “I may have no talent as yours when it comes to remembering, but I can remember things too important for me. I can remember them details to details because those are the best things ever happened to me ”I said, and smiled,“ You are the best thing ever happened to me ” She smiled, as tears started to flow in her eyes, "You forgot something" she said "What was it?" I asked “The color of contact lens” We laughed. “I love you” I said “I love you,” she replied, “3000” Little did she know, I got to memorize them because it was written by her in her book gift to me during our 3rd anniversary. Our relationship isn’t fine. We have lows and highs, chaos and paradise, war and settlement, but during our now 5-year relationship, we remained stronger than before because we decided to face the problem together. Not me vs her, but us vs the problem. Until the time comes that the most awaited performance of our lives happened: WE WILL PERFORM ONLY HOPE BY MANDY MOORE. We practiced for it for months. She will be the singer, and I will be her pianist. She’s too excited for it, because this might open doors for both of us in the music industry considering many talent scouts and professionals will go the showcase though, I am not really into it. But for her happiness, I am more than willing to. She looked at me, and I smiled at her. I started playing the piano. ♫ There's a sing that's inside Of my soul ♫ She started ♫ It's the one that I've tried to write Over and over again ♫ Her voice brings chills down my spine, ♫ I'm awake in the infinite cold But you sing to me over and over and over again ♫ I can see people feeling the song, ♫ So I lay my head back down And I lift my hands and pray ~ To be only yours I pray To be only yours I know now you're my only hope ♫ I knew it. She’ll nailed it. The story goes on, and I played the piano with proper keys, and everyone’s feeling our harmony, not until something happened ♫ I give you my destiny I'm giving you all of me ♫ I literally got left dumbfounded since she started using notes that is not inclined with my keys, so I adjusted but they seemed off together, and the audience noticed it. ♫ I want your symphony Singing in all that I am ♫ I closed my eyes hardly when I lowered the keys since she started lowering her notes but then she used notes higher than we practiced and now it seems off with my keys. SHIT. I rendered murmuring. She noticed it ♫ At the top of my lungs ♫ Her voice seems shaky, and it cracked She stopped. the murmuring now becomes louder. She looked at me, tears in her eyes “Continue,” I said, “Just continue” She finished the song, but right after, she ran away. I couldn’t find her anywhere, and the next thing I knew, she went home without telling me. I went to their house, but her mom told me she doesn’t want to see me for the meantime. I know how she prepared for it and I also know how devastating for her the happening was. I found out, after she finally calmed myself and decided to see after my countless attempts, that she got confused with notes and got mentally blocked with the lyrics. Maybe because of the pressure or her stage fright, I have no idea at all. At first, I thought it was natural. Until days and weeks have passed that her coldness remain consistent. I thought, maybe just an aftermath of the event. Until her texts became shorter, her treatment becomes colder, and the spark in her eyes is no longer the same anymore. I felt it, but I never told her, scared of what’s going on between us Until one melancholic night, my fear happened the night I’m walking her home. “I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU” I continued walking, as if I never heard what she said, as if I’m not aware of things she’ll say. I looked at her. Before, her eyes never failed to make me drawn into her soul but tonight, the look in her eyes sting. I should've felt a spark, a whole zoo if not the butterflies having chaos inside me but tonight, her eyes give me a sudden pain, a sudden chest pain. “I said I have something to tell you” I pretended I didn’t hear her again. In one moment, she stops walking. I looked at her, my eyes now full of confusion and pain. I hold her hand tighter than before “There’s something I have to say” I smiled weakly, "Let me just hear that tomorrow" "No" she insists, "It's ... It's something to be discussed now" “You’re just tired,” I understand.