Of Wrong People and Right Decisions

 

I heard that Kris has not been going to work for several days now. She is not one who takes her responsibilities for granted. I remember the time when it would rain so hard that she would brave knee-high flooded streets just to go to school, then later on find out school was cancelled. Or when she still showed up for a very big presentation with smile on her face but definitely sad eyes because her favorite “tita ninang” passed away the previous night.

There was something wrong and as her pal, I showed up on her doorway. Her brother opened the door and I saw her lying on the couch of gloom and despair. The TV was playing music videos on loop and her eyes were just staring straight at it.

“They broke up,” her brother whispered.

Kris and Joey have been virtually inseparable for a decade.

They met in college and I was a witness to their budding love then. Heck, I would even play accomplice, sending out bouquet of flowers as a surprise on Heart’s Day or on their anniversary, September 8.

When they graduated, they decided to pursue graduate school whilst passing on knowledge to youngsters. It didn’t materialize, I know Kris is not one who would stick it through forever in the academe. Joey, on the other hand, loves to study and teach but money was a huge drawback.

They took a corporate job on the same company. That’s why I said that they were virtually inseparable. They lived together in one house, go to work on the same office, and they would have almost the same circle of friends.

It looked like a rock solid relationship.

After several years, Kris decided to do business on her own. On the other hand, Joey stuck with the chains of corporate bondage.

At least now they would have space to miss each other.

I was standing there for a good five minutes when she looked at me and said, “We broke up.”

She acted like she was going to cry but there were no tears. Maybe she’s all cried out.

“Broke up, broke up? Or broke up, broke up?”

Just like in any decade-long relationship, there have be on and off moments between these two. Still, I was rooting that they would end up together, like how I believed that fairy tales pseudo-existed, although I somewhat felt that this was also bound to happen.

They don’t hold hands in public. They are not super sweet per se that you would sometimes feel uncomfortable being around them. They rarely have big fights, or maybe that’s just what I see from the outside.

But gosh, it’s a decade. You don’t invest that amount of time thinking you will go on forked ways towards the end.

“BROKE UP. Joey is getting married.”

I was dumbfounded. “Married? How? Why? What?!”

I had a thousand questions but I know she did not have the answers as well. I know Kris is still in the process of thinking what she did wrong, what she missed doing to keep the relationship intact, and what lacked from her that she got left behind. There will be no answers but it might help her go through the five stages of grief.

Fast-forward to today, Kris is doing way better from months ago. She is back to being the responsible girl I used to know, doing work left and right. Maybe it was to keep herself busy but nonetheless, it is doing her good.

She told me the other day, “I saw the movie Tadhana and it’s really relatable. When a person no longer loves you, it’s just that way. They no longer love you and you just need to be brave and accept the fact that that’s the way it is. Then, move on.”

“You know how Joey ended ours?”

“How?” I inquired.

Joey, whose full name is Josephine, told Kris, “Sorry, wrong girl.”