From A Distance

Uniform

Maine fell asleep in the car, with Nanay staying beside her as Richard drove their car. He accidentally peers through the rear view mirror, and sees her lying on Nanay's lap peacefully. This, is the only time he's ever seen her like so, and he's thankful that at least now, he can see her resting.

"Sabi ko na kasi sa'yo, 'yong driver na ang pinag-drive mo," Nanay teases when she catches him glancing at her.

"'Nay, at least nakikita ko po kung ano ang kalagayan niya. Tiyaka, hindi ko naman po kayang iwan siya, when she kept on staring at me and saying na patay na ang Dad niya."

It took a while for her to get to sleep. She couldn't stop crying as she slowly started to realise that her father was actually gone. To be honest, he had a little trouble driving as he heard her every sob.

"Mapalad siya sa'yo, anak. Mabuti kang mag-alaga, masipag, marunong magsakripisyo. Magpakasal na nga kayo," Nanay, says with a chuckle.

He laughs as well and is suddenly caught up with the thought of marrying her. He unfortunately still hasn't addressed his feelings for her - being caught up with the funeral and all. And it has slowly started to sink in that he needs to get to the bottom of it, as soon as possible.

They soon reach the house with Maine still calmly asleep. He scoops her off the back seat and carries her slowly to her room, so as not to wake her up. He plops her down on her bed and inevitably, her weight forces him to lose his balance. He slams his hands on either side of her, his face is now only a few inches away from hers.

He blinks a couple of times to recover from his shock, and he couldn't help but gaze at her simple face. Memories with her flashed before him, forcing a tear to fall from his eyes and drop onto her cheek. He wipes this away, and he is reminded of Mr. Mendoza's last words.

"Kung hindi mo man alam, ako alam ko. Mahal mo ang anak ko, Richard." 

"Richard, tanggap na tanggap ka niya, at sigurado siya sa nararamdaman niya."

"That's why Richard, please. Take care of her. You're my only chance. Give her the love that she's been looking for. Because I don't know if she'll experience that from me, ever again."

Hay, Mr. Mendoza, how do you know me so well?

-

"RICHARD! ANAK! BILISAN MO!" he hears Nanay call out from Maine's room.

Soon enough Richard was running up the stairs, his hair dripping as he had just gotten out of the shower. He could hear Maine from outside her room, and he didn't know whether he was ready to see what was going on or not. He takes a moment, closes his eyes and breaths in.

"RICHARD! ASAAN KA NA?"

He jolts himself awake, and feels his feet running in to her room. There, he sees Maine, lying on her side, in a fetal position, continuously rocking her body back and forth. He could hear her breath hitching, as her shoulders bob up and down. She had difficulty breathing, as she tries to heave in as much air as she could. Her tears have already reached her bedsheets, and have successfully pooled by her cheeks. Her body could no longer take it, she...was having a panic attack.

Richard quickly walks over to the edge of her bed and crouches down. He starts to rub her hair, also pushing away the strands that have gotten to her face. She looks at him, still taking quick sharp breaths. Richard on the other hand, is forcefully trying to hold back his tears because he knew that this wouldn't help with her current situation. He continues to try and console her, even places his forehead on top of hears, as he didn't know what else he could do.

She has not let go of her stare, even though Richard has already closed his eyes. With their foreheads touching, she could feel the sweat that was starting to build up on his forehead as it mingled with hers.

I'm scared RJ. I'm really scared.

Soon enough, her eyes roll back, her breathing regulates, and Richard finds himself scooping her off the bed. He rushes out of the house, with Nanay following him. He places her on the back seat, and they drive off.