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It was late 2007. The air still carried the heavy humidity of the rainy season even though the worst of the typhoons had already passed. I had been avoiding the Love Bus for weeks, choosing instead to take the MRT or walk long distances just to clear my head. But one evening, after a particularly tiring day at work, I found myself standing at the familiar bus stop again. The moment I stepped inside and saw the paired seats, memories flooded back like an unstoppable wave.
When the bus arrived, I boarded and chose our usual spot near the middle. A few minutes later, Brenda appeared. She looked tired but still beautiful, her hair slightly messy from the wind. She smiled when she saw me and slid into the seat beside me without hesitation.
Salamat sa pagpunta, she said softly, her voice barely audible above the engine. Ang dami kong iniisip lately. Kailangan ko ng kausap na hindi si Rich.
I nodded, not knowing what to say. For the first few minutes, we sat in comfortable silence as the bus moved through the busy traffic.
Streetlights flashed across her face in rhythmic patterns, reminding me of all the nights we had done this before, back when everything was simpler, before Rich entered the picture, before my heart got so confused.
After some time, Brenda turned to me with a small, mischievous smile.
Hanep ang music ng Love Bus
FM Radio: and here's a Back to Back Hit from West Life I wanna Grow Old with You and Fool Again…
Wow!! (malakas)
Hayzzz (buntong hininga)
Franz, may request ako! Pwede ka bang maging boyfriend kahit ngayon lang, as in dito lang sa bus, hanggang sa makauwi ako sa Guada, (Guadalupe - going to Buting Pasig) 'wag kang tatanggi, magtatampo ako, para naman may ma-feel ulit na ganito. Walang pressure. Walang iniisip na iba. Just you and me, like before.
Her request caught me off guard. I looked at her, searching her eyes for any sign of hesitation, but all I saw was vulnerability mixed with longing.
Asus… lakas ng trip mo ah… Bruha ka talaga I replied with a soft laugh. Sige. Para sa’yo. Makakatanggi ba ako!?
Ayan I love you Franz
Huh!? (Hinalikan nga ako sa pisngi at inihilig ang kanyang ulo sa aking dibdib Hinila nya ang kamay ko at hinawakan habang sinasabayan nya ang chorus ng kanta)
I wanna grow old with you
I wanna die lying in your arms
I wanna grow old with you
I wanna be looking in your eyes
I wanna be there for you
Sharing everything you do
I wanna grow old with you…
Boses mo (I whispered, voice softly) nakakahiya
She leaned her head on my shoulder and I instinctively put my arm around her. For the next hour, we lived in that beautiful illusion. We talked about random things, the movies we wanted to watch, yes One More Chance is showing this November, the silly dreams we had when we were younger. She laughed at my jokes like she used to, and for a while, it felt like nothing had changed between us.
But deep inside, I knew everything had changed. Rich was still in the picture. Brenda was in a relationship with Rich. And yet here we were, pretending to be something we could never truly be again.
When the bus neared her stop, she lifted her head and looked at me. Her eyes were glistening.
Salamat, Franz. Needed ‘yun talaga. Minsan, gusto ko lang maramdaman na may taong nakakaintindi sa’kin nang walang judgement.
I wanted to tell her so many things, how much I still cared, how much it hurt to see her with someone else, how the threads of our story refused to break no matter how hard we tried to move on. Instead, I simply said,
Nandito lang ako. Palagi.
She squeezed my hand one last time before getting off. As the bus pulled away, I watched her figure disappear into the night. The paired seat suddenly felt empty and cold again.
Read Chapter 3
That night, as I continued the ride home alone, a quiet thought came to me… some connections are like the golden spiral of the Fibonacci sequence, they keep expanding, circling back, growing more intricate with every turn, even when we try to walk away. Our story was not over. The threads of destiny were still weaving, pulling us together in ways we could not yet fully understand.
Updated June 24, 2026 from original post date January 6, 2011.
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