22/09/2026
"Looking for Something"
It is very busy in these college days, full of activities such as reporting, case studies, role-play, and another lesson need to be studied. Kane is smart and mysterious, yet it doesn't affect his ability to finish all task has been piling up on the top deck table and always keep it as clean state as it used to be before, but this is not all about school, it about the feeling he used to experience. Once before that, he couldn't communicate with her; perhaps the effect of having a crush on someone now that he can speak might be that Kane lost his feelings for her.
He said to himself that she isn't the person for him, not only because of the circumstance of his conviction that she might have someone else due to her intriguing post or word-of-mouth, but because the truth is, the timing isn't always aligned with them. There's an event in the organization they're members of; he is present, she is not there, on other scenario, he is absent, yet she is present.
On the other hand, it's not just a mere conviction; Yet the memory of her remains deeply etched within him, and sentiments of a fragment of:
Vivid Scenery.
"Oh! Hello. . ." Kane greeted her with a smile as he went inside the tricycle.
"Uy! Hello." Kiera replied with her silvery-sweet voice reaches the deepest part of Kane's heart, in a simple response.
"Kamusta ka? Kamusta ang school? I mean, kamusta ang studies?" Kane asked with a bright expression, yet can hear his little croaky voice.
"Ito kaya pa, naghahanda na rin sa nalalapit na midterm," Kiera replied with a delighted smile.
"That's great, anong pinag-aaralan nyo nga. . . . .
Snapped into the present time, now showing him inside the multicab with his friend Jennelyn, going to the mall to slightly unwind from the stress of school activities. In a few moments, the multicab halt means they had arrived at the destination, as they ambled to the pedestrian lane and reached the other end, where the mall was, slow enough that he could look at the glimmering sun blocked by the greyish clouds above, skies of dark grey that made him ask himself, "what I'm looking for?"
"Pagkain?" Jennelyn asked with her irrited monotonues express.
"Oo! Kung kakain ako, kakain ka rin!" Kane commanded, with a little bit of desperation for calm.
"Coke Float lang sa akin." She responded with quite a Jade attitude.
"Coke na naman, kanina nag-Coke naman!" Kane exclaimed as a show of his intention to tease her.
"At least dalawang linggo na akong hindi nagso-softdrinks!" She giggled and scratched the back of her head.
Yet Kane still moved forward and ambled to the lower ground to buy some Coke Float; he couldn't argue anymore because Jennelyn would be the one to "Manglilibre". Before they went to the fast-food restaurant where they would buy Jennelyn's craving, Kane remembered to drop by the bookstore to look for something new, something that would pique his interest. As they entered the Bookstore, the fresh scent of new books welcomed them. The theme of the Bookstore is still the same, the same brand color of highlight red and white. The tables full of books are now replaced by full sets of novels that Kane is not quite familiar with; instead, Jennelyn is the first one to wander around to look for a certain author that she likes.
He wandered down the first aisle, enclosed by rows of towering bookshelves on either side, wandering around and looking at random books, glancing at the back cover, hoping to discover the story's theme that would spark his curiosity, a glimpse, but it did little to capture his interest. Upon reaching the end, he turned around the shelf and slipped into the next aisle, disappearing deeper among the rows of books. All of a sudden, he saw a book that captured his attention, entitled _Elevation by Stephen King_. It rang through his though that captive him; as he read the theme of the story, it fascinated him not only because it was supernatural yet symbolic theme.
However, those are not what captivate him most. Not the mind, but his heart.
"Hello. . ." Kane greeted, keeping his posture straight.
"Hi," Kiera replied; it was still the same, her sweet, silvery tone of voice.
"Galing ka pa sa school, maaga ang out niyo?" Kane asked curiously
"Hindi rin, bago lang ako." She smiled while looking through the bookshelf in the same aisle where Kane was standing.
"I see," Kane replied with a smile, then looked back at his attention to reading the rear cover.
"Wala dito ang hinahanap kong book. Maano na ako." Kiera cues in way saying goodbye to Kane.
They wave goodbye to each other. He immediately ambled back to the first aisle, where he turned, uneasy and anxious.
"Nakita ba nya tayo? Nakita mo sya? Siya si Kiera." Kane asked in state of fidgety.
"Bakit ko naman siya titingnan?" Jennelyn exclaimed while her attention was focused on reading the open book.
"Wala lang para makita mo siya; kaya nga may mata ka, hindi mo ginagamit nang tama." Kane replied with a little giggle. Jennelyn laughed about it.
Kane remained still for a moment, his eyes lingering on the aisle where Kiera had disappeared; perhaps what captivated him about Elevation was not the supernatural mystery after all.
It was the feeling behind it.
For so long, Kane had carried a quiet resentment toward himself, the belief that perhaps he had missed the signs, failed to recognize the opportunities, or waited too long to say what he truly felt. He kept looking back at the moments they shared, wondering which one could have changed everything if only he had acted differently.
Yet perhaps not every missed opportunity was a mistake.
He had also judged the situation before knowing the truth. He convinced himself that Kiera might already have someone else because of what he saw, what he heard, and what he assumed. He had created an answer for a question he had never asked her, but Kiera had her own life, her own circumstances, and her own reasons. She was never obligated to carry the answers to everything Kane wanted to know.
And perhaps that was where his selfishness had quietly remained.
He had been so focused on what he wanted from her that he had forgotten to consider what she might want for herself subconscious, intrusive thoughts.
Kane lowered his gaze.
Maybe love was not always about being chosen; maybe it was also about learning when to stop holding onto what had never truly belonged to him. The thought did not erase the memories; it did not make the unanswered questions disappear, but somehow, they no longer felt as heavy as before.
Perhaps that was what Elevation meant to him.
Not simply rising above the world, but becoming lighter by letting go of the things he had carried for too long.
The resentment he held against himself.
The prejudice born from his assumptions.
The selfishness hidden behind his longing to be understood.
Kane took one last glance toward the aisle.
Then he turned away.
Some feelings are not meant to become stories between two people.
Some are meant to become lessons within one.
And perhaps, for the first time, Kane was ready to let the memory remain—not as something he failed to have, but as something he was grateful to have experienced.
