It has been almost a month since she came back.  And she has not heard anything from him since then.

Maybe it was truly over...he didn't love her anymore...maybe not at all.

She passed by a colleague while walking across the hallway of their ground floor office.

"Hey, are you okay?" her friend asked.
"Yes, I'm doing better," she replied.  "Do you know where he is?"

Her friend stared at her in confusion.

"I have been looking for him everywhere," she said.  "But I can't find him.  I have been trying to call but I can't reach his phone number.  His family won't talk to me." 
"Has he totally cut ties?"
"Is it over?"

--Eight months back--

Their relationship was going circles.  She loved him, and she knew he loved her as much, but certain issues hindered their partnership from moving forward. 

His family showed indifference to his relationship standing, almost displaying hatred against the girlfriend of the only bachelor in this brood of six.  Hers, filled with love and understanding, only despised their coupledom as a vindication to his family's apathy towards their situation.

But this was an oversimplification of the environment they were in.  They constantly fought over petty things, which got out of hand from time to time, and they would break up...only to settle matters and get back together a few hours later. 

They had had enough of it after seven years of their on and off partnership.  He thought he could take her authoritative position, owing to her being older by four years.  She, on the other hand, thought she could handle his being "immature".  But all he ever wanted was to experience life; play basketball, hang out with his friends, ride his motorcycle, help out in the family business, and spend some time with her if there was a chance, which was almost slim.

The lack of presence prolonged their relationship.  There were times that they won't see each other for more than two weeks.  The longest was two months.

And they would clearly miss each other...but then fight over the same issues again and again.

They have spent the best times of their lives together.  Nothing beats that occassional trip to exotic destinations and experience life in the company of one another...and the sand and water...or the trees and the clouds...or the mud and the rain.  

The rest of their lives would have been set firmly in place.  He was next at the helm of their manufacturing business.  She had broad experience taking care of children having been the surrogate mother to her siblings, while their biological mother plied the hospitality trade in the UAE cleaning toilets.  A family of their own would have been viable considering their experiences and present situation.

But after seven years they broke up.  They had their own dreams to pursue...and maybe there was an invisibile force not wanting them to be together.

In July, she left for Australia...broken-hearted.  But leaving the country was what she needed to forget him...or so she thought.

Her skill and talent as an IT programmer was in high demand and a brighter prospect awaited her in the land down under. 

She took off one day...to a place far away from what she had been accustomed to since birth.

"This is what it feels like..." she thought.  "...to be in mother's position."  Leaving everything...the only life that she knew. 

Months had gone by and still she was finding it hard to adjust to her new environment.  And she could not forget, more so, move on.  She made friends and travelled within the state during the weekend...only to remember him. 

"I wish you were here to experience this with me," she thought.

Her new life was never unfamiliar.  She was independent...and she could take care of her self.  But she slowly lost the emotional strength when all she ever thought about was him...hoping she could have at least said good bye. 

She quit her job seven months later and flew back to the Philippines.  Her earnings within that short period was just enough to break all debts even.  She was ready to go back...to the life she had been accustomed to since birth...and to him, the one she wanted to be with forever.

--Seven months back--

"Why won't you answer your phone!" he exclaimed, as he rushed to her house.  He had enough time before she would leave for the airport.  He loved her...and he would wait for her...or he could go with him to Australia and spend the rest of their lives there...he just wanted to tell her that...so she would come back to him.

He rode off routing the sidestreets and main roads, all the while thinking of her and reminiscing the past; when they rode around the city with her arms around him, when they travelled to nearby provinces and ate bulalo for breakfast, when it feels like the first time they met when they see each other after long absences. 

As the light turned green on his lane, he forcefully squeezed his throttle.  But in his haste, he did not notice the truck on the perpendicular road beating the red.  He was thrown off a few meters as the 10-wheeler hit the left rear of his bike. 

But he still managed to gasp for a breath and say, "I'll wait."

(Based on a true story)