Chapter 10: Space Between Lines
382 Words
It had been a weird week.
Not bad—just... different.
After that quiet afternoon and emotional pause, Zac and Hannaia didn’t talk every day. The chat slowed down, the hallway smiles became more fleeting. There was still kindness, but something unspoken hung in the air.
Distance.
And Zac hated it.
It wasn’t that he expected her to always reply fast, or laugh at his jokes, or sit with him under the tree daily. But he missed the ease. The flow.
Now, it felt like walking on a bridge half-finished.
One afternoon, habang naghihintay siya sa printing area ng Engineering building, Bea—yes, *that* Bea—walked by.
“Oh,” she said. “Ikaw pala si Zac.”
“Uh... yeah?” Zac blinked.
Bea nodded knowingly. “Naririnig kita sa kwento ni Hannaia.”
That made him smile—until she added, “Pero lately, tahimik siya. Hindi lang sayo. Kahit sa amin.”
Zac looked down. “Yeah. Napapansin ko.”
Bea crossed her arms. “You like her, don’t you?”
Zac didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
“Just don’t stop showing up,” Bea said. “Minsan, hindi namin kailangan ng grand gesture. Gusto lang namin maramdaman na may taong hindi aalis.”
That night, Hannaia walked home late from hospital duty, dragging her feet. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically.
But when she reached the small garden across their dorm, she stopped.
Zac was sitting on the bench. A coffee in each hand.
“Wow,” she said. “Creepy ba ‘to?”
He chuckled. “I guessed you’d pass here. Lucky shot.”
She sat beside him, slowly.
They sipped in silence.
Then she said, “I didn’t mean to pull away.”
“I know,” Zac replied. “I just didn’t want to disappear, in case you needed someone around.”
She looked at him, tired but grateful.
“You stayed.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Still here.”
She nudged his shoulder. “Thanks, engineering boy.”
He grinned. “Anytime, student nurse girl.”
No labels. No promises.
Just coffee, and quiet company, and the space between them slowly filling again.
Sometimes, that was enough to rebuild the bridge.
One step.
One moment.
At a time.
- Writer
