“To the East!”
“To the West!”
There’s a crease on my363Please respect copyright.PENANACHoMNhhyM5
forehead, I can vividly tell. Who would’ve not had such confusion if your one363Please respect copyright.PENANABBJth5x8n5
and only company is opposing the map? Exasperation expelled out of my breath.
“That rectangular paper isn’t reliable,363Please respect copyright.PENANAA6s6XfNIMi
believe me.” Arms crossed anterior the chest, he had vented the statement with363Please respect copyright.PENANA8aWPOuggu9
whole confidence.
“How come that thing survives363Please respect copyright.PENANApUsSLSRGtL
on your pocket? Don’t just brag that it has a cover to resist water.”
“And besides, who still uses363Please respect copyright.PENANAk9GR7RgpEZ
that thing? Come on, this thing is much more updated.” Subsequent was a quadrate363Please respect copyright.PENANAvvXksUPO0Z
mobile phone shown before my face. With an automatic reaction, I rolled my363Please respect copyright.PENANAclTPoXdEmq
eyes.
“Right, not to mention that363Please respect copyright.PENANAOQTVgpjMli
this place catches no communication network. Who knows if that still works from363Please respect copyright.PENANAF6Cvb9ZY8F
the massive water earlier. Brilliant.”
“Oh shoot, thanks for363Please respect copyright.PENANAiTXy50NLkF
reminding.” He smiled, and a deep crate had become visible on his cheeks. Asset,363Please respect copyright.PENANArBi5OmnFPT
one of his assets.
“But at least just trust me363Please respect copyright.PENANAUB0jC2cf4z
about directions. I believe I can make myself familiarize with the path.” He363Please respect copyright.PENANAzl6cXIgkZ1
added but this time with no arrogance, instead with sincerity.
“Whatever. Just please! Just363Please respect copyright.PENANAqq6VzqAht2
please make sure you were right this time.” I made the vexed face still. But with363Please respect copyright.PENANAxeJLTCYuhL
just few seconds, my annoyance had rapidly turned into surprise as soon as I363Please respect copyright.PENANA9dL2kPHAFN
was lifted from the grounds.
“Hey! Bring me down!” To363Please respect copyright.PENANAsEvRqYg8R1
tagged as a child throwing tantrums is out of my concern anymore for I believe363Please respect copyright.PENANAc7XghDHuWG
that it is impossible for someone to reside into this. We’ve took a long pace363Please respect copyright.PENANAYca6lm9eDC
already from the squad. And primarily, if there’s someone to be blame, it is363Please respect copyright.PENANAWZRcZfqaSZ
me. I made him get lost with me inside this unsure woodland.
“You’re still soaked, you got363Please respect copyright.PENANAdWElj8UwC6
bruises and I can tell that you’re not able to make fifty steps anymore from363Please respect copyright.PENANALmsY4mU1yP
the trembling of your legs. Stop nagging anymore and just utter your gratitude,363Please respect copyright.PENANAwkQi5b7XW7
I’ll surely appreciate it.” From every words he conveyed, I can definitely feel363Please respect copyright.PENANAW7AiqIoGCk
the heaving on his broad chest to where my hands were resting. Screw it, he had363Please respect copyright.PENANAb8unS4xosg
made my hands clasp together inches below his neck to attain the piggy-back363Please respect copyright.PENANAGFFOzuil83
position.
“I’m sorry.” A soft utterance flees363Please respect copyright.PENANAiCG0sPiVtB
from my mouth. I sulk my face on his back to hide my reaction even though there’s363Please respect copyright.PENANAE9MYkqdMfc
zero chance of him witnessing it.
“Shh. It’s not your fault. You363Please respect copyright.PENANA7icRkssCcf
were just confused after waking up from the tent assuming that everybody left.363Please respect copyright.PENANAfdPNApytLv
You looked for us everywhere and ended up seeing me, doing uhm- unnecessary thing.363Please respect copyright.PENANATPKpbNkh5d
To your surprise you fell to that immense waves of river and of course, as your363Please respect copyright.PENANAoRDXJs5tM1
very best friend, I’ll undoubtedly rescue you.” I remained silent. I am looking363Please respect copyright.PENANAXzzUu7VcPs
for the room of sarcasm to his voice but there’s none. Knowing Bryson, he’ll363Please respect copyright.PENANABIn2XVcD5O
continually insult, tease and mock me. Or at least he will first, before363Please respect copyright.PENANAfp8JDnWHOY
proceeding to such genuine statement. We’ve survived our friendship with that363Please respect copyright.PENANAde4FpxZyns
kind of setup. Mockery before apology.
“But you should’ve remained363Please respect copyright.PENANAjoaL3HAgnY
still.”
“Chasse, stop. No one was to363Please respect copyright.PENANAFapEHi4GsI
be blame.”
This time, I removed my face363Please respect copyright.PENANAimsORSvtDc
from sulking on his back and let my eye roam on the environment. Hence, it stopped363Please respect copyright.PENANA1QKs4g9oxa
immediately on the left side of his torso. Although the sky is getting dusky,363Please respect copyright.PENANAAQEkN92DE7
my eyes can clearly perceive the wounded part.
“You’re bleeding!”
“Huh?”
“You’re wounded! Damn Bryson,363Please respect copyright.PENANAP8yAVSPyEM
you should’ve told me. Bring me down, now! I’ll treat that first.” Fortunately,363Please respect copyright.PENANAyna8TeyGe4
he didn’t make any more defiance and made me land back on the ground.
“I think it bled the moment363Please respect copyright.PENANAcCovVjCDO9
you carry me.
Undress yourself.”
“C-Chasse, I’m not read— “
“Cut the bullshit Bry.” I said363Please respect copyright.PENANAi8V4bE1IR1
and tore the lower part of my black shirt that was slightly ripped from the363Please respect copyright.PENANAmXMqTdSgSz
accident earlier.
“Woah, we’ve been friends for363Please respect copyright.PENANA5RetAtk2O6
fifteen years and this is the first to see you getting wild.” Dimples on cheek363Please respect copyright.PENANAVCFWdBzS6Q
is waving again to me.
“I always thought you are not363Please respect copyright.PENANA8dmDCJPjHu
interested to men. You didn’t even settle a gaze to those jerks eyeing on you363Please respect copyright.PENANAfkoSyRvCwc
on the campus. You even told me that you’ll not marry anyone. And what again?363Please respect copyright.PENANAEGXcfCun3g
You haven’t fell for anyone yet? Ha! Joke’s on you Chasse, never thought that363Please respect copyright.PENANAw8XgnLPCGc
you’ll fell for— “And I hit him, on the head.
“You’re the death of me,363Please respect copyright.PENANAmAE74R0pkr
seriously. Do you really want to treat me”? He protested but followed with363Please respect copyright.PENANA6MSZ1TuRms
chuckle thereafter. I didn’t pay much notice on his statement and started to363Please respect copyright.PENANAQOI84tVLAl
treat his wound, stopped the bleeding by applying pressure and then covered it363Please respect copyright.PENANAf7SpXpzUc8
with the cloth I ripped.
I rid a deep sigh subsequently363Please respect copyright.PENANAqNssOQ3DZ3
closing my eyes with my head leaning on the near tree where we had decided to363Please respect copyright.PENANAhkTD3frQ04
stop. I can slowly feel the cold touch of night from the breeze caressing on my363Please respect copyright.PENANAaJfmqcSU9m
dermis. But with just a minute, warmth is now lingering before me. A scent of363Please respect copyright.PENANAgV695DXgY5
mint is brushing on my face, so I made my eyes opened again.
I saw a deep enigmatic portal.363Please respect copyright.PENANAcJw3zscNKQ
It is so deep enough to enchant me, enough to drain my whole soberness. The363Please respect copyright.PENANA88Tn62MGpI
pair of hazel orbs were seeming to be communicating with my eyes. And with no363Please respect copyright.PENANAG4945BltfW
further explanation, I think, at some point, I was charmed.
“Chasse.” He’s leaning so near363Please respect copyright.PENANATo1WtXqV1r
enough to presume that it was just an inch between us.
“Thank you.
Thank you for coming to my363Please respect copyright.PENANAs4UjFnWS9z
life. You’re the best thing that happened to me since age five.” His gaze is363Please respect copyright.PENANAhNVUVtuK7C
penetrating to my soul.
“Thank you for allowing me to363Please respect copyright.PENANA6tLSpmtdAl
come on your life, for allowing to know you better and for spending memories363Please respect copyright.PENANAYu65ECOZuJ
with me. Chasse, you’re my treasure. You’re my precious gem, believe me.” The363Please respect copyright.PENANAhUQHlZmUUL
place is not magical, there are no fairies, no pixie dusts, but his words were363Please respect copyright.PENANAyeC7qL4ElX
enough for me to dance on the melody of enchantment. I chose not to answer363Please respect copyright.PENANA6eqQxeBPLz
verbally hence I close the remaining gap between us to savor the rampaging363Please respect copyright.PENANAVAkPwvGe9I
feeling on my chest as I tasted his lips against mine.
I feel like exploding, from363Please respect copyright.PENANAa1qG2ztkCR
this strange feeling I haven’t felt this ever since. It was just Bry, he who made363Please respect copyright.PENANAQ2byaEF7tX
me feel every notable first of my life. It took ten seconds before he withdraws363Please respect copyright.PENANAdWtyfPNviz
from the kiss.
“No, Chasse no. This is wrong.”
“Bry?”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have363Please respect copyright.PENANAznYX92vKke
brought you into this situation. I shouldn’t have made that kind of atmosphere.363Please respect copyright.PENANA0bN6rqUsib
I shouldn’t have made- “
“Bry stop it!
Can’t you see? I-I want you. I363Please respect copyright.PENANA73TtZjN5fb
want you wholly in my life. Stop apologizing. I am starting to think that you’re363Please respect copyright.PENANAOjutGM6RRP
sorry for kissing me.”
“No! I love that! Damn, you363Please respect copyright.PENANAdnhZ7DmIly
don’t know how much I like to kiss you all the time, you don’t know how much I363Please respect copyright.PENANAQx2yRpdT9t
wanted to spend every second with you.”
“Then why? Why are you acting363Please respect copyright.PENANA5ByOPuUzNv
like showing my feelings was the greatest mistake I’ve ever done?” Tears, there’s363Please respect copyright.PENANA7IIQQZNrCK
tears gushing now from my eyes.
“Eleanor.”
“Eleanor? My cousin?” The name363Please respect copyright.PENANAa5ibqac63w
he mentioned feels like a bomb that’s now ticking inside my head. A nod was363Please respect copyright.PENANAtAssiaJ5eK
followed from him.
“Two weeks. She’s two weeks363Please respect copyright.PENANAxymhdv3oEJ
pregnant.” And from that moment, I think I lost my sanity. I felt jellies on my363Please respect copyright.PENANAff9VqRri6A
knees. And on my chest, it was so heavy that I just wanted to lie down on the363Please respect copyright.PENANARvOWijGRt7
ground. This is the first that I made myself surrender to the notion of love.363Please respect copyright.PENANAwSU2gYUqbp
This is the first that I entrusted myself into the feeling of romance. But why363Please respect copyright.PENANACaxpZGphcQ
does it have to be chained so immediate with hurt? Was love supposed to be like363Please respect copyright.PENANAwkXdRWC6QL
this? Was love supposed to be this heart-breaking? All my life, I assumed that363Please respect copyright.PENANAiDn5cCg6bD
love was the very best one can feel. It’s always stated on novels. It was always363Please respect copyright.PENANAQ9BpV6h05H
stated by greatest authors.
I made my gaze to him firm as363Please respect copyright.PENANA75NtfgTSyR
possible albeit the streaming tears.
“Chasse, I’m really sorry.” This363Please respect copyright.PENANARN7K7j2Nlk
time, he’s also crying with knees now on the ground. Silence befell between us.
Bryson, I think I was the one363Please respect copyright.PENANAbBXehvuhrY
who must be apologizing. I’m sorry If it took me time to realize about how I363Please respect copyright.PENANAY1Q4ogV2gt
feel. I’m sorry If I made you wait. I’m sorry If I keep on denying myself. I’m363Please respect copyright.PENANACZXdS8YlfZ
sorry, I’m too late.
I plastered a smile on my363Please respect copyright.PENANASH5FZGkpF2
face.
“Thank you. Thank you for363Please respect copyright.PENANAdUoLyUbVuE
allowing me to feel how to be in love for seconds.” I turned my back. It was a363Please respect copyright.PENANAK7cX2lfigD
genuine utterance.
“We should call it a day.”
“Chasse.”
“Bryson, forget what had363Please respect copyright.PENANAuIj81b1ZBF
happened.
Forget it, because I think I363Please respect copyright.PENANAlWJcBcCEIi
cannot do it. So please do that favor for me. And I’m glad. I’m glad to tell363Please respect copyright.PENANALtdOwdrIS3
that you’re my first love, I’ve no regret.”
You’re my first love and363Please respect copyright.PENANAqbXpXanxbc
surely my last. It’s really a miracle that I’ve survived the huge current from363Please respect copyright.PENANAEwDZJmFS5R
the river earlier despite my condition. Maybe, maybe it was meant that you363Please respect copyright.PENANAUObEO1lSXR
should know how I feel towards you, before it’s really too late. Before my own363Please respect copyright.PENANAALhxhDw9pO
breath escaped my lips. Before the destined death visits me. I am glad to be in363Please respect copyright.PENANA0aWw0EuMuk
love even with seconds of my life.
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Because Bryson, you are the363Please respect copyright.PENANAu8Das3RS4i
only one. My first and forever love.