Echoes of Us

Chapter One

Flashback – Two Years Ago (2022)

"Ang weird, no?" "Ano'ng weird?" "’Yung tayo… paano ba 'to? Parang nasa pagitan ng ‘mahal pa’ at ‘hindi na dapat.’"

Tumawa si Fio, pero halata ang lungkot sa mata niya. Nasa likod kami ng bahay ng kaibigan naming si Andre, malayo sa ingay ng party sa loob.

"Ganon naman talaga…" sagot ko, pinaglalaruan ang baso kong kalahati nang wala.

"Minsan kahit gusto mo pang ituloy, hindi na pwede."

"Pero gusto mo pa ba?" Diretsong tanong niya, walang alinlangan.

Hindi ako sumagot. Kasi paano ko aaminin kung ako mismo hindi sigurado?

Dalawang taon na kaming magkasama ni Fio, halos parte na siya ng araw-araw ko. Pero nitong mga nakaraang buwan, parang may nagbago.

Hindi ko alam kung ano, pero ramdam ko. We both knew this would come, but I never imagined that this would be hard for both of us.

Andre, ang pinaka-neutral sa grupo namin, palaging sinasabi: “Alam mo Lex, minsan ang mahalaga hindi ‘yung gaano kayo katagal. Ang mahalaga, masaya pa ba kayo?”

At ngayon, hindi ko masagot kung masaya pa nga ba. I'm lost of words.

Sa loob, naririnig kong nagtatatawanan sina Mico at Van, nagkukuwento ng kung ano-anong kalokohan. Ang init ng ilaw mula sa loob, contrasting sa malamig na hangin dito sa labas.

Fio sighed, resting her elbows on her knees.

"May tanong ako," bulong niya.

"Ano?" I quickly response as if I'm ready to answer whatever questions she'll throw to me.

"Kung maghiwalay tayo… magiging okay pa rin ba tayo?"

Napatingin ako sa kanya. May sagot ako, pero hindi ko masabi. Kasi paano ko ipapangako ang ‘okay’ kung hindi ko pa alam kung anong mangyayari?

"Lex, sagutin mo ako." hirit niyang tanong, fear and frustations are visible to her voice, damn. I cannot afford to hurt her but I need to be a honest.

Nagtagal ang katahimikan. Sa loob, patuloy ang saya. Sa labas, kami—dalawang taong hindi sigurado kung pipiliin pa ang isa’t isa.

"Siguro…" sagot ko sa wakas. "Pero hindi agad." dugtong kong sabi sabay lingon sa kaniya.

Fio smiled, pero kita ang sakit sa ngiti niya.

"Iyon nga ang nakakatakot." aniya sa maliit na boses.

At doon ko na-realize—hindi lang siya natatakot na mawala ako. Natatakot siyang hindi na kami magiging pareho kahit pilitin pa.

At siguro, iyon ang pinakamasakit.

Present Day – Lexa’s POV (2024)

Two years. Two years since I last saw her.

And now, she’s standing right in front of me.

Ang daming beses ko nang na-imagine kung ano ang magiging reaksyon ko kung sakaling magkita kami ulit. Minsan iniisip ko, baka normal lang—isang simpleng “Hi,” tapos tapos na. Minsan naman, iniisip ko, baka may galit pa, may lungkot pa.

Pero ngayon na nandito na siya, hindi ko alam kung anong dapat kong maramdaman.

"Lexa."

Her voice—it’s the same, yet somehow different. Like she’s testing the weight of my name after years of not saying it.

"Fio."

It feels strange on my tongue, but not unfamiliar. Damn I sound like longing for something after saying her name. I missed her!

Ramdam kong nakatingin sa amin si Andre mula sa counter, probably analyzing the situation like he always does. Sa sulok ng café, sina Mico at Van—mga taong walang pake sa personal space—siguradong magbibigay ng unsolicited reactions anumang oras.

Pero kahit naririnig ko ang mahinang tunog ng music sa café, ang tahimik na pag-uusap ng ibang customers, ang ingay ng espresso machine sa likod—parang nawala lahat ng tunog sa paligid.

Parang kaming dalawa na lang ang naiwan. Eksena.

"I didn’t know you’d be here," Fio finally says, shifting slightly. Fingers brushing against the strap of her bag—nervous habit niya noon.

Napansin ko rin yun. Nakakainis. Kasi ibig sabihin, may bahagi ng utak ko na hindi nakalimutan ang maliliit na bagay tungkol sa kanya.

"You’re back in town?" tanong ko, kahit halata namang obvious na yun. Tanga.

"Yeah. Family stuff," sagot niya, parang gusto niyang gawing casual pero hindi niya magawa. "And… I guess I needed a change." she added

Change. Ang eksaktong dahilan kung bakit kami naghiwalay.

Napatango ako, pilit itinatago ang kung anumang nararamdaman ko ngayon.

"How long will you be here?" I casually asked

"A few days." sambit niya

A few days? I wondered if she planned to tell me, or if this was supposed to be inevitable—yung kahit anong iwas namin sa isa’t isa, ang mundo mismo ang mag-aayos ng daan para magtagpo ulit.

"Lex."

I looked up, and there it was—that same soft look she always gave me when she was unsure of something.

"Can we—can we talk?" tanong niya

Talk. Ang isang simpleng salita na parang may bigat ng isang buong nakaraan.

Before I could answer, Van’s voice broke the tension.

"Lexa, ikaw na pala! Kanina pa kita hinahanap, ‘di ka sumagot sa messages ko—oh."

He stopped, eyes flickering between Fio and me. Andre appeared next to him, holding a tray, obviously pretending not to be invested, but failing miserably.

"Well, this is… unexpected," Andre muttered, clearing his throat. Finding more words to say but couldn't

Mico, ever so blunt, raised a brow. "Mag ex kayo, diba?" nakangising tanong niya, napa irap ako.

I sighed. "Thanks for the reminder, Mico." I sarcastically said

Fio let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head.

"Nothing changes, huh?" aniya

Van nudged Andre, clearly entertained. "Bakit parang eksena sa pelikula ‘to?" tanong ni gago, papansin.

I shot him a glare. "Please, Van, wag ngayon."

Andre coughed, grabbing Van’s sleeve. "Come on, let’s leave them to their… reunion."

Van snorted. "That’s exactly what I’m waiting for." he said

I groaned, rubbing my temple. "Seriously. Go."

Andre dragged Van away, Mico following. And just like that, it was quiet again.

"So…" Fio said, biting her lip, gaze dropping slightly.

So. So, what now?

I let out a slow breath, feeling the weight settle in. "Let’s talk."

Because somehow, despite everything, I knew—this wasn’t just a coincidence.

Some things don’t just happen. They come back for a reason.

We sat at a table near the window—away from the others, but not completely alone. The café was still alive with soft chatter and the rhythmic hum of the espresso machine, yet in this moment, it felt like the world had shrunk down to just the two of us.

I stirred my coffee absentmindedly, not really drinking it, just needing something to do with my hands.

Fio, on the other hand, looked surprisingly calm. She took a sip of her drink, set it down, then met my gaze like she had been waiting for this conversation far longer than I had.

"So… kumusta?" she asked, her tone casual, almost like we were old friends catching up.

I let out a small laugh, shaking my head. "You can’t just open with 'kumusta' like this is normal."

Her lips twitched, like she wanted to smile but knew better. "Well, paano ko ba dapat simulan?" tanong niya.

I glanced at her, weighing my words. "Honestly? I don’t know." pahayag ko kasunod ay biglang tahimik.

Awkward.

The silence between us stretched—not awkward, not uncomfortable, but heavy. Two years’ worth of unspoken words filled the space, and yet neither of us seemed to know how to address them.

"Hindi ko rin in-expect na magkikita tayo ulit," she admitted, fingers tracing the rim of her cup. "Pero siguro, inevitable na rin." she said

I raised a brow. "Inevitable?"

"Oo. Alam mo ‘yon? Yung kahit anong iwas mo, may mga tao talagang babalik sa buhay mo, no matter what."

I looked away, because maybe she was right. We really knew this would happen, yes?

Maybe some stories weren’t meant to be forgotten.

"Kailan ka pa bumalik?" tanong ko, switching topics before I could get too caught up in old feelings.

She sighed. "Five days ago."

Five days? And she hadn’t reached out? Wow.

"Family stuff, diba?" I asked, repeating her earlier words. "Problema ba?"

She hesitated, then shrugged. "Complicated lang. Pero hindi ko pa kaya pag-usapan."

I nodded. Fair enough.

Another pause.

Then—"Ikaw, Lexa? Kumusta ka?"

The question caught me off guard more than I expected.

Kumusta ako?

I wanted to say I was fine. That life moved forward, that I had learned to be okay.

But saying it in front of Fio felt different. Saying it to her felt like a lie.

So instead, I said, "Mas okay na ako ngayon."

She didn’t push, just nodded like she understood the weight of that answer.

And maybe, she did.

Maybe, she always did.