Chapter 8
third person
Sapphire tried to find the answer to Madeline’s question.
Nagseselos ba talaga ako kasi ang close nila ni Jea? Haaaayyy di ko na rin alam.
Sapphire thought.
“Earth to Fia, are you still there?” Madeline waved her hand in front of Sapphire.
“Yeah, still here. But to be really honest, ‘di ko rin talaga alam kung bakit ako nagseselos,” Sapphire answered truthfully.
“Baka dahil sa tagal kong naghintay na makita at makausap ka ulit, gusto ko sa akin ka muna,” Sapphire absent-mindedly admitted.
Sapphire didn’t notice that she said that loud enough for Madeline to hear. Madeline, of course, pretended she didn’t hear that. But those last three words made her heart beat faster than she thought possible.
Madeline didn’t want to address this growing feeling of admiration for the girl. So, at least for now, she’ll blame the coffee.
In all truth though, she wanted to really get to know Sapphire, not just what she might have seen through rose-tinted glasses. But who she is, through her friends, her loved ones, and those around her.
“Maddie, can I ask you something?” Sapphire asked looking directly into Madeline’s eyes.
“Ano ‘yun?” Madeline responded, nervous of all the possible questions Sapphire could ask her.
“Before our first dance practice for the Hiphop Dance Competition, were you aware that I even existed?” Sapphire asked curiously, drinking her coffee.
“Yes,” Madeline answered almost immediately.
“Of course I did. Who wouldn’t? You’re the best dancer we’ve got and I really admired you for it,” Madeline recalled fondly, unconsciously smiling which Sapphire picked up.
Sapphire didn’t know what was going on. She was entranced by the girl in front of her, turning her mind into a puddle.
“But you never really showed interest in me. So, I took that as a sign to just leave you be,” Madeline added, nervous of coming clean in front of Sapphire.
So she genuinely cared from the start.
Sapphire thought.
This made her feel so much more guilty for the three years she wasted disliking this girl who, clearly, has nothing BUT good intentions.
“I’m sorry for not attempting to reconnect. Pero inakala ko talaga na kakayanin na kitang i-confront nang hindi nagagalit or nalulungkot sa nangyari, which is why I eventually signed that form,” Sapphire says with a heavy heart.
“But I guess it was still a good thing I signed up,” Sapphired said this with a small smile on her face as she looked directly at Madeline.
“I wouldn’t have known what had actually happened. Siguro hanggang ngayon galit pa rin ako sa iyo,” they both chuckled at that statement.
“At kung hindi ko sinulat ang pangalan ko roon, baka hindi ko na-confront lahat ng unresolved feelings ko. Kaya salamat, Maddie,” Sapphire said as she tried to keep her tears in check.
“‘Salamat’? Para saan?” Madeline’s got her eyebrows together and her head tilted to the left a bit.
“Salamat na sinaktan mo ako. Salamat na patuloy mo akong inintindi noong mga panahon na tinataboy kita paalis,” Sapphire said, her eyes lined with tears that she desperately refuses to fall.
Madeline’s heart swelled for the girl in front of her. She may not know what had happened to Sapphire yet, but that did not stop her from feeling hurt that she unknowingly hurt one of the closest people she had in her life.
“At salamat sa pagbigay sa akin ng isa pang pagkakataon na kilalanin ka muli. I won’t waste it,” Madeline’s eyes sparkled from the tears she wasn't willing to let go.
“No. Salamat sa iyo na binigyan mo ako ng pagkakataon na kausapin ka uli,” Madeline said.
“Can I hug you?” she immediately asks Sapphire. Sapphire nodded at this which prompted Madeline to sit next to her and hug her.
Sapphire melted into the hug. The hug that she so badly needed years ago and every single time things didn’t go her way. It was that hug that broke the dam keeping her tears at bay during their performance, and it was that same hug that comforted her now.
It was a long time coming and it was something that Sapphire didn’t expect to be part of any chapter in her life. But, here they were now moving through life with a bond much stronger than what it would’ve been without those inconveniences.