Bittersweet

Quarter past one, afternoon.

Evita and Cassandra had just finished lunch. Since Evita cooked, Cassandra volunteered to handle the cleanup. Evita headed to the bathroom for her bath. Once the dishes and silverware were loaded into the dishwasher, Cassandra dried her hands and went to the living room, settling onto the Cleopatra-style couch to resume her suspense-thriller book.

Minutes later, Cassandra’s eyes grew heavy. She fought off the persistent tiredness while stifling several copious yawns, but eventually, her eyelids lowered and completely shut. She dozed off. The book slipped from her grasp and tumbled to the floor.

Evita had the water running when a noise made her pause. She switched off the showerhead, listens intently. She thought she heard someone at their door. When only the sound of passing traffic followed, she dismissed it and reached for the shower knob again—but then, she heard the knocking again.

Pausing the second time, she called out.

“Cassandra, are you there?”

Silence. She tried again, amplifying her voice.

“CASSANDRA? ARE YOU THERE? SOMEONE’S AT THE DOOR. CHECK AND SEE WHAT THEY WANT.”

Still nothing.

“CASSANDRA.” The call was higher and more insistent.

Cassandra stirred, waking up slowly.

“Cassandra!”

She flinched again, snapped fully awake.

“Mother?” her voice was slightly gruff, she yawned in between.

“Cassandra! Finally. Go and get the door, please. The person has been knocking for a while now.”

Cassandra groaned, but kept it too soft for her mother to hear.

Evita held her breath, ascertained that Cassandra didn’t just fall back asleep, “Cassandra, did you already get up?”

She reluctantly rose, picked the book from the floor, placed it on the couch and stood. “I’m on my way.”

“Good.”

Hearing her daughter’s trudging steps, Evita finally turned the shower back on. Cassandra sleepily rubbed her eyes, still yawning as she shuffled to the main door.

“Coming,” she called out when she heard faint knocks. She unlocked the door, ready to open it.

She was in the middle of a big yawn as her eyes finally opened, when the person on the other side of the frame made her stop—mid-yawn. A familiar face was revealed right in front of her, smiling hesitantly as they saw her.

“Edward!?”

A woman, 5′6" in height, arrived in front of the Corpuz residence that same day. She alighted from her obviously luxurious two-door car after switching off the engine. Well-groomed, sophisticated, and judged entirely by her clothes—from accessories to shoes, she’s clearly affluent. She placed her keys in her bag and headed inside the house.

She walked into the foyer like she owned the place; her eyes scanning to see if anyone would acknowledge her arrival. Fortunately, someone happened to pass by where she was. The guest immediately assumed it was one of the housemaids, judging the girl by her uniform. As the girl approached, the guest became irked by the questioning look on her face.

“Yes, miss? May I ask for your identification?” asked the housemaid politely.

"Seriously!? You’re really asking who I am? You don’t know who I am?” the guest said condescendingly, crossing her arms.

“I’m sorry, miss. It’s just that—it’s my first time seeing...”

“Hey! Call the house owner—NOW. They know who I am, unlike a dimwit like you,” she interjected.

“B-But... I need to know your name so I can...”

The guest was about to unleash a full-blown tantrum when the madame of the house finally appeared, having heard the commotion from the second floor’s landing.

“It’s alright, Lisa. I’ll take it from here. Please bring us some cookies and tea by the back garden. Thank you.”

The madame waited for the young housemaid to completely leave before tending to the guest.

“Mariecar,” she warmly hugged then led her to the said garden. “You should’ve told told me you were coming. I was on the phone with my husband. If I hadn’t overheard the commotion here, you would’ve waited longer.”

“It’s alright, Ynnah. I was just surprised that maid of yours didn’t recognize me.”

“She’s new. She’s still under training, so please pardon her. Let’s sit at the garden while you wait for our snacks.”

Completely surprised, Cassandra snapped a quick glance at the bathroom to check if her mother had noticed what was happening outside. As she made certain her mother was still completely occupied, she immediately closed the door, pulled and tugged Edward away from the entrance.

“What are you doing here? Again!?” she said in exasperation. “We already had agreement, remember? Agreement meaning you agreed too. So, what’s going on here?”

“I—I—I missed you terribly, Cassie. I endured it for six months since that’s what you want, and... I want you to be happy, even if it means I have to be miserable. But, it’s killing me. Call it an overstatement, but I feel like being smothered whenever I wake up every, single morning—knowing I’ll never get to see you and hear your voice. I had been strong for the past months and I don’t think I can keep doing that anymore.”

Cassandra sighed as she massaged her nose bridge.

“Edward, this isn’t healthy. We both know there’s no point in doing this. You have to give this up. You need to stop—for the both of us, but most especially—for you. Please. I’m getting tired of telling you off.”

She was almost losing her composure; she feels that a little more of this, she was going to break. Unbeknownst to Edward, Cassandra had already learned to care for him. Looking at his eyes, his whole face at that point, she just wants to hug him—there and then; but, she couldn’t—and shouldn’t. That fear of getting hurt and the possibility of another guy breaking her trust are the two reasons she’s holding onto, stopping herself from giving the poor guy a chance; because not getting hurt outweighs trying to love someone again, then later on, getting hurt.

“Cassie... please?"

This is tearing her up. She has to end this quickly or else—she’ll expose herself to him—about how she truly feels for him.

“Edward, I already told you. This... has nothing to do with you. It’s me. I will never look at you like the same way you look at me. I can’t imagine how difficult it will be but, slowly teach yourself to pull away—as far as you can. Until you no longer need to see me and can give all these wonderful feelings to another girl that deserves it. You deserve way better, Edward. And unfortunately, it’s not me. I have to go.”

She turned her back on him, about to head inside, when a hand grabbed her arm.

“C-Cassie...”

She faced him again and saw a bouquet of carnations and gerberas—in color variations. She didn’t even realize he was even holding a bouquet until now; Edward held it out to her.

“If you’re still not going to give me a chance, at least accept these flowers.”

She exhaled. Hesitant, she reached for it and took the bouquet from him.

“I’m just taking them from you because I’m confident this will be the last time. Right?”

Edward, also hesitant, nodded slowly—while faintly managing a smile. Then, he started to walk away. She also turned her back and returned inside—without looking back. The sky slowly became grayer, thunder roared; rain began to pave its way.

As Cassandra closed the door, she could no longer hold back. Tears streamed down her cheeks like a waterfall. She bawled her eyes out, while gasping for air. She knew it was futile, but her emotions were too overwhelming. She had been suppressing these feelings far too long. Her cries intensified; desperate not to be heard by her mother, she set the bouquet down on the kitchen aisle, ran upstairs to her room. As she placed the bouquet down, a small box tumbled out and fell on the floor.

Like the downpour that has finally burst forth, the emotions Edward was keeping suppressed completely got the best of him. Edward’s cries reverberated inside the car, competing with the roaring sound of thunder and heavy downpour.

“You should have let us know you were coming, Mariecar. So we could have at least prepared something more,” Ynnah said pleasantly, the two chatting over iced tea and cookies.

“That’s alright, Ynnah. I actually wanted to surprise you guys. I was kind of getting bored at home, and when I thought of you, I decided to visit. Since I wasn’t really doing anything and my friends had no plans at all, it prompted me to give you a surprise visit.”

Ynnah knew exactly what Mariecar was up to the minute she saw her at the foyer. No way was this a random visit. Whenever Mariecar suddenly thinks about her son, and what he might be doing during the says she’s unable to visit, she would check on him to ensure no one was keeping him busy. Also, Mariecar couldn’t help but threw subtle glances around—a gesture Ynnah was certain Mariecar thought was undetected.

“So, you’re doing well? How about your parents?”

“We’re great. As usual, my parents—are all about business. But you already know that. Anyway, how’s... Edward?”

And there it was. Mariecar wasn’t able to maintain her pretense anymore. She ultimately conceded and eventually asked about him.

“He’s doing okay. Most of the time he’s just in his room.”

“I-Is he upstairs right now? Do you think he’ll mind if I talk to him?”

“Actually, hon, I think he went out. He told me he was going for a drive and I haven’t heard from him since.”

“So... he’s not even here?” Mariecar didn’t bother to hide her disappointment. Had she come all this way for nothing?

“I told you, you should have told me you were coming. Otherwise, you would’ve not wasted your trip. How about this? Why don’t you stay for dinner? So when he returns, you’ll finally be able to see and talk to him.”

Her face immediately brightened. The second they resumed the conversation outside of Edward, the sky darkened and droplets of rain slowly descended. Both filled their hands with the food and hurried inside to take shelter, before the drizzle turned into complete downpour.

Cassandra didn’t realize she had slept, crying. As she woke through the heavy, hard rain, she could feel how puffy her eyes had become. She sniffed. She looked at her giant crescent window, watching the droplets of the rain landing on it and hearing its pitter-patter sound. Had she cried for that long? She sighed. She breathed in and out, but that heaviness was still there. Edward didn’t hurt her, but she probably hurt him more, and yet, she was crying like the first time—when she thought that [that] one person wouldn’t do anything to hurt her .

Edward didn’t realize that he had fallen asleep, due to the overwhelming emotions and exhaustion—from crying his eyes out. The loud rain slowly woke him up, exhaled deeply to relieve a little heaviness he was feeling. When he was back to full consciousness, he discovered that he was still in his car—right outside Cassandra’s house. He stared down at the house—like it was Cassandra he was looking at. He sniffed. He got the wet wipes from the glove compartment and wiped his face. He exhaled, composed himself a bit and started the car. As he slowly drove away, he stared the house one last time before completely driving away.

The two women moved their conversation to the living room, while watching the downpour.

“What time do you think Edward’s coming back?”

Ynnah checked her phone.

“It’s still early, Mariecar. I am an advocate of drive now, text later. He’ll probably be here before dinner. So just hang tight and don’t worry too much. Let’s just talk about your jet setting so you’ll be distracted a bit while you wait for him.”

A faint knock on the door made Cassandra break from her musings. The door slowly opened as she watched; Evita peeked in.

“Can I come in?”

Cassandra nodded, immediately returning her attention on the droplets of water landing on the crescent-shaped window. Absorbed with the calming sound of the rain, Evita entered with a gorgeous vase, where she meticulously placed the beautiful blooms. She placed both the vase and small box on her dresser. She then cautiously approached her daughter and sat beside her, placing her hand on Cassandra’s lap. She took a few seconds before speaking.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m good, ’ma. Thanks for the concern,” she said, with a sad, faint smile. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was still swollen red—indicators that she had been crying for who knows how long.

“The flowers looked nice. I put them in that gorgeous vase you like. They matched each other,” said Evita, with a comforting tone. Cassandra didn’t bother to look and continued to stare out the window. Evita exhaled before continuing.

“Cassandra, sweetie. Why are you doing this to yourself?”

“Hmm?” Cassandra finally looked at her mother.

Evita sighed before restating her concern.

“Why are you torturing yourself like this?”

Cassandra stared at Evita with empty, puffy eyes. She then saw her daughter’s eyes started to slowly get red and watery—an indication that she’s on the verge of crying again.

“Sweetie, you’re going to have to reopen your heart somehow, someday. Don’t force or control yourself from trying again. You obviously have feelings for the guy. I know and understand you’re scared. But remember: regret doesn’t happen before or in between things. It only happens at the end—when you already made a mistake with the decision you chose. Then, it’ll be too late for you to change anything from the past.”

Evita stood up and walked; she was almost at the door when a voice at the back of her head told her to look back. Cassandra was in complete misery. Evita exhaled then walked back to her.

“Cassandra,” she placed her hand on her shoulder, “Stand up, shower and get dressed. We’re going out.” She again walked towards the door.

Cassandra brows furrowed, while looking at her mom.

“Now? We can’t go anywhere due to traffic because of the rain.”

“Did I tell you to drive? Just trust me. Follow what I say and meet me at the car in 15 minutes. No extension.”

Evita quickly left the room before Cassandra can protest again.

Traffic was worse. A stretch of vehicles on the highway were all stuck in a bumper-to-bumper situation due to the sky’s unpredicted outburst. Edward was one of those people who were stuck, but still patient, unlike some who kept insanely honking their horns—even though they knew it wouldn’t ease the traffic.

They were already starting setting up for dinner. The rain was still pouring heavily as they made themselves busy while waiting for Edward’s return. Mariecar, on the other hand, anxiously peeking through the window, while reluctantly helping set the table.

“Mariecar, if you want, you can stay at the living room and wait for him there. Leave the preparations to us,” said Ynnah earnestly.

“Oh, alright,” she handed the silverware to Ynnah, thanked her and heads out.

When it was time for their lane to move, Edward’s engine suddenly died, unable to restart. When on his third try he failed again, he immediately booked a towing service, got out of his car, and attempted to move and park it to the curb.

Since most of the drivers were already impatient due to the rain and traffic, they honked their horns non-stop as he tried to vacate his spot from the middle of the road. While others complained and cussed, surprisingly, a few chose to stay and help him with his car, instead of fleeing the scene like everyone else. When five of them had successfully moved his car to the curb, he thanked each one and waited by the shed—drenched, while waiting for the towing services to arrive at the scene.

An unfamiliar sound of an engine stopped right in front of the Corpuz estate. Mariecar jolted in her seat and stood up, walking with uncertainty at the main door—her eyes on the lookout. Ynnah, hearing the noise, also headed out from the kitchen to check.

“Is that him?” Ynnah asked Mariecar, her attention to the door.

“I’m not sure.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t sound like his car either. Lisa, Meriam... anyone?”

Lisa, the one Mariecar scared off earlier, headed out.

“Can you please check if it’s Ed...” Ynnah noticed she was already holding two umbrellas.

“I was about to head out anyway, madame. I’ll take care of it,” the young housekeeper politely said, deliberately avoiding Mariecar.

Lisa went out quickly when she saw that it was indeed Edward, immediately offering the other umbrella to him. When he declined and continued walking under the rain, Lisa followed right behind him, placing her umbrella over him instead—until they reached the porch. Both women were stunned to see how drenched he was when he entered the foyer. Mariecar gaped in shock, while Ynnah on the other hand, immediately walked towards him, worried.

“Son, you’re... you’re drenched. What happened? Where have you been? You were driving, weren’t you?”

“Ma, take a breath. Yeah, I was driving but, my car gave out on me, probably because of the downpour, so I had to move it away from the middle of the highway. That’s why I’m drenched.”

“Okay. The important thing is you’re finally home—and safe. Take those wet clothes off immediately and have a nice, hot shower. Then, get back down here so we can have dinner together. Mariecar’s here and has been waiting for you for hours.”

Edward kissed his mother without any reply to the rest of what she said.

“I’ll do what you said except dinner. I’m kind of beat. I just want to turn in. I’ll see you tomorrow, ’ma,” he trudged, headed upstairs. Ynnah and Mariecar both exhaled after they heard a door open and closed. Mariecar glanced at Ynnah.

“I’m sorry about that, hon. Let’s just give him some space, all right? For now, why don’t we already have that dinner? I’m sure you’re pretty...”

“Did you see his face? His eyes. He looks so exhausted. Is something going on with him?”

Of course Ynnah knew what was going on. He is her son. And it’s been going on for months. But since she valued his privacy and boundaries, it’s in her son’s best interest not to share private stuff to anyone.

“He’s probably just exhausted with the traffic and car problem. I’m certain it’s nothing serious.”

“But you’ll let me know if there’s something going on, right?”

“Of course, sweetie,” she gave her a feigned assurance, with a sliver of smile, “Let’s have that dinner now, shall we?”

“I’m sorry, Ynnah. I have to go. Some other time maybe.”

Before Ynnah could speak again, Mariecar fled the house towards her car.

The second she finished dinner, Ynnah instructed their most trusted housekeeper to send Edward food up his room. The gentle, late 70s housemaid nodded assuredly and told her not to be too concerned and just go to bed.

It’s a great day.

The rays of the sun were vibrant. The sun was intense, but the heat it brought was just right. There was a fresh breeze, which further reduced the humidity; birds were gleefully chirping. He’s happily enjoying his book while drinking Earl Grey tea in their front yard, on his mom’s expensive china garden set.

He paused reading when he heard the gate open. At first, the sight was blurry from his perspective. As the person who opened the gate approached, the image gradually became clear to him.

It’s Cassandra! He unconsciously set down his book and stood in awe. He can’t believe what’s he’s seeing! He blinked, rubbed his eyes to make sure; but, Cassandra’s still there, standing a few meters from him!

He was about to approach her but couldn’t manage to move his feet. It’s like they were glued or nailed to the ground.

What is happening? He was completely bewildered. Why couldn’t he move his own feet? He badly wants to run towards her, pull her close to him. But it seems his body wouldn’t cooperate. It was as if fate was not agreeing with what he wanted to happen.

Cassandra was already right in front of him when he lifted his head. He smiled at her, his eyes glistening. He’s right. She also feels the same way about him. He finally managed to change her mind and open her heart to him. He had so much he wanted to say but couldn’t even open his mouth.

Cassandra smiled at him. But it wasn’t the smile he was expecting. Tears glistened in her eyes; slowly, those tears streamed her face. Edward got confused again. Why?

Cassandra held up her hand to him and finally saw what she was keeping in her hand. The stone he gave to her with the bouquet. The stone that has a single, crescent sea wave engraved on it. Cassandra took his hand; sobbing, she placed the stone in his hand.

He wants to scream at the top of his lungs! He wanted to stop her. But it seemed like all the energy he had left his body; just when he finally had something to do and say. He started to cry out of desperation. Will the last string of hope he has will disappear too?

She turned away, leaving him. As she departed, though a bit vague, he saw someone meet her outside. It’s a shadow of a... guy—another guy. Blurry as it seemed, he sensed a familiarity to the unknown guy who just appeared out of nowhere.

As Edward saw their hands intertwined, the guy glanced at him and flashed him a victorious smile. Gradually, a blinding light consumed them, their figures turned hazy. Then, with a blink of an eye, both were gone.

“C-Ca-Cassie...”

Why only now? How come he can finally open his mouth and speak? When it’s already too late. Cassandra had completely disappeared from him.

“Ca-Ca- Cassie... please...” he implored, crying.

“CASSANDRAAAA!!!”