UNDER THE SAME SKY

CHAPTER 02: WHEN DID YOU FIRST FEEL THERE IS A CONNECTION?

CHAPTER 02: WHEN DID YOU FIRST FEEL THERE IS A CONNECTION?

WE continued chatting on w******p. He's from India. So we have an almost two-hour time difference. I'm a morning person, and he's a night owl. There, we got to know each other quite well. We got to know each other in our daily routines and got basic information about each other. The exchange of messages was going well, as far as I could see.

I told him we couldn't have a call on the first day because I'm really uncomfortable, and he agreed.

The moonlight was shining brightly, and the stars on a milky sky scattered around. I was looking peacefully at the night sky when he asked me to have a voice call.

Suddenly, I began to feel my heart heavy. I'm nervous, but I still manage to say yes—as if I'm confident.

The feeling is like the first time I tried to ride a bike. I'm excited, yet I'm nervous. The feeling is overwhelming, to the point that I muted myself when I heard his voice. It feels like I'm out of breath. I shiver all over my skin. I even ended the call, and I felt sorry for him. I immediately apologized, saying I was nervous and all that. After I calmed myself, I decided to call him back. There, I heard his voice again.

“Hello,” he greeted.

I wanted to say hello too, but I couldn't find my voice. I feel like my voice is hiding somewhere.

I gulped hard before responding. "H-hello..." I greeted shyly.

He chuckled. “How's your day? "

“I-i....”

“I?”

“I-i...don't know what to say,” I confessed. “its hard to speak in English.”

I really don't know what to say. I thought I could speak English, but my mind went blank. I couldn't utter a single sentence. I'm not fluent in English, but I know I can communicate. Silence strikes again, and because I didn't talk, he's the one who initiates telling his day at work. I sighed in relief. From there, I felt at ease. I patiently listen to his stories. I enjoy listening to him talk freely about his day. He has the energy that transcends to anyone he talks to. He's cheerful and likes to talk. As I listen to him, I find his voice soothing.

I always have this urge that when I notice and appreciate something, I make sure to tell them.

"Your voice...is soothing,” I blurted.

I heard him laugh. “Really, thanks.”

“Even the way he laughed was soothing,” my mind says.

I pinch my cheeks to let me go back to reality. What'm I saying anyway?

“You're a programmer, right? What do programmers usually do?”

I let him talk again as I listened attentively. I must say he likes talking a lot, and I found it amusing because I'm not talkative, and I think that's a good thing.

“Hmm...we write, modify, and test code and scripts that allow computer software and applications to function properly,” he gladly shared.

I nodded while he was explaining as if he were around.

"It looks like you enjoy your job.”

I don't know why, but I felt happy knowing someone loved their work. It just means they're doing what they love.

”Yeah, a lot.”

“Actually, that's nice,” I replied.

“How about you? You told me you're having a hard time finishing your novel. Why is that? Tell me more about it. ”

"Yeah, it's complicated. It's hard to give the characters a happy ending.”

"Hmmm, tell me more about your writing."

“I-im... currently writing a romance novel. A novel about giving second chances. But I'm not really good at writing at the moment, but I enjoy it.”

"That's okay, you will improve eventually."

The chickens were crowning outside our house so early. It was just eleven thirty in the evening, and it continued to crown so loudly that I covered my mouth to avoid myself from laughing.

"It's too early for the chickens to crown. It's scary,” he said.

I couldn't hold my laughter anymore because of what he said. I didn't expect that he would laugh too. As if we're close enough.

"Uh, I'm going to go downstairs to get my motorbike outside. I'll just park it properly.”

“Okay, sure.”

“Could you wait for a moment? ”

“Of course.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I could hear him breathing heavily because he was walking outside. He seemed near the road because I could hear the car's noise.

"I'm sorry to make you wait.”

“Its okay. Why didn't you park your motorcycle properly? ”

He chuckled. "It's not like that; I didn't park it at home yet because I told you before we got a call that I'm going to play badminton, that's why.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, do you know something about the Philippines? "I curiously asked.

“Yeah, a little bit.”

He gave me such detailed information about my country that I began to question myself. He's aware of the economic development of the Philippines, and so on and so forth.

“Thats not a little. It looks like you're living here,” I said, teasing him.

He just laughed.

“How about you? Do you have any information about India? "

I swallowed hard. It's a shame that I didn't know anything about India.

“Actually, I'm not sure. Is it a Muslim country? "I paused. “In the Bollywood thing.”

“Nope. India was never a Muslim country. India has always been a country with mixed religions. And Muslims are a minority.”

“O-oh, now I know,” I said, while hitting my forehead gently.

So I was wrong all this time. What a shame.

“Yeah, now you know,” he replied, and chuckled.

“You said you're not in Manila, right? So, where is the province you are talking about? ”

“Uh, I'm in Bicol right now.”

“So you're staying there for a while? Or are you staying there for good? ”

“To be honest, I still don't know. But for the moment, I wanted to stay here. It's peaceful here.”

The wind blows heavily from the balcony. I embraced myself because of the chilly air. The trees in front of me were banging on each other. I could feel my skin freezing because of the cold. December has always been a cold season.

"I enjoyed talking to you, Jane,” he said. "But it's almost time for my badminton sessions, so I will prepare my things then.”

“Okay, sure. Enjoy playing and take care.”

“You're going to sleep now, right? "He asked.

"I'm going to write a little bit, then I'm going to bed.”

“Okay, so see you tomorrow, then? Goodnight Jane.”

“G-goodnight...”

I stay on the balcony for a while. I smiled as I saw how beautiful the moonlight is.

The conversation went well, although he did all the talking. I felt at ease and was quite happy. I didn't expect I would become comfortable, and his voice was actually so soothing that I could listen to it for hours.