Breathing the same air

2014

“Cho, do you want to take a gondola ride?” Maya asked her nephew and godchild as she toured him and his mother, her Ate Cris, and her husband Jeff at The Venetian in Macau. Cris and her family were in Macau after Hong Kong. It was Cris’s, and her husband Jeff’s treat to Pocholo for his birthday. Luckily, they came while she has some free time. When Crris told her they are coming to Macau as well, she took a much needed vacation too. Too bad her aunt and uncle can’t come this time as they are busy with their various businesses.

“Can we, Tita Ninang? Really, really!” Cho said excitedly. “Mom, Dad, can we?”

“Of course, Cho!” Cristina Rose told her son. “Pero, okay lang ba na hindi ako kasama, sweetie? Ikaw na lang, your Tita Ninang and your Daddy? Medyo nahihilo si Mommy. I will just wait for you at the restaurant over there.”

“Cris, you feel nauseous ?” Jeff asked solicitously. “If it is okay with Maya, sila na lang ang mag-gondola ride ni Cho, sasamahan na lang kita.”

“No, please Honey, just go with them. I’ll be okay. I just need to sit down and keep still.” Cris assured her husband. “I can’t just sit on a moving boat feeling like this. Di ba, you want to try to try a gondola ride and since we can’t go to Venice, this is the next best thing.” She smiled at her husband.

“Sure ka, Ate Cris, I can just take Cho? Okay lang naman na kaming dalawa!” Maya said. Jeff and her cousin told her earlier that Cho will have a brother or a sister in seven months or so. Cris found out that she is pregnant the week before they left for their trip to Hong Kong Disneyland and this Macau trip to see Maya.

“Yes, yes, I will be okay. Don’t worry.” Cris assured her cousin whom she hasn’t seen in two years, and her wonderful husband. She and Jeff got married two months after Maya left for Macau. She was already three months pregnant with Cho then. Maya was not able to make it to the wedding, but visited them the Christmas after that.

Maya and Jeff, both holding Cho’s hand walked to the place where they can buy tickets for the gondola ride down the hotel’s Grand Canal. They opted for a private gondola as a treat to Cho. Jeff and Maya put Cho between them. Soon after, they were gliding along with their very friendly gondolier, with Cho happily looking around.

“Nakakatuwa naman itong si Cho, Kuya Jeff! Hindi takot sa boat ride!” Maya remarked. “You and Ate Cris are so lucky to have this cute little boy. Ang bright bright niya for his age.”

“We are, Maya. He is a joy.” Jeff remarked. “Of course, hoping kami ni Cris na girl ang susunod naming baby, pero sa totoo lang, basta healthy and maayos na ma-i-deliver ni Cris, we are happy and blessed na.”

“That’s true, Kuya Jeff.” Maya said. “Iyon naman ang pinakaimportante sa lahat.”

“How about you, Maya? No plans yet of settling down?” Jeff asked his cousin-in-law. Maya is like a cousin to him too and they got along pretty well kahit hindi sila masyadong nagkikita. Maya on the other hand, considers Jeff an older brother. Unang kita pa lang niya sa husband ng pinsan niya, magaan na ang loob niya dito. She is also very glad that her Ate Cris found herself a wonderful and a very responsible husband.

“Hmmmm, malabo pa yata iyan sa ngayon, Kuya Jeff! Wala naman akong boyfriend!” Maya said with a smile. The truth is she hasn’t had a boyfriend yet, at age 27! But that’s hers na lang to know.

“Baka naman kasi sobrang pili ka and sobrang taas ng standard.” Jeff teased. Maya is a very beautiful girl, inside out. In fact, he already noticed several guys looking at them, at her while they glided along the man-made canal. Cris told him about Maya joining the Miss Mindoro Beauty Pageant years ago and winning.

“Kuya Jeff! No kaya! I date naman!” Maya said, grinning. “It’s just that, I can’t find pa someone that makes my heart beat faster and make me feel giddy seeing him or just thinking of him. Besides, hindi naman ako nagmamadali! ” Then, suddenly, she thought of the guy who managed to do that once in her young life.

Jeff noticed Maya’s faraway, longing look, as if remembering something from her past. Ah, so there was someone who managed to do to that to her. Jeff thought to himself. That guy must have made a very strong impression to his cousin-in-law for her to remember it until now.

“I’m sure, Maya. Matatagpuan mo rin iyon. Don’t settle for less.” Jeff assured Maya.

“Of course, Kuya Jeff. I want a love story like Mamang and Lolo Kiko!” Maya said smiling, then told him a bit about hers and Cris’s grandparents love story, just in case her cousin didn’t tell her husband about it.

While they were chatting happily, with Cho clinging to both their arms as he looked around him and pointed to them the interesting stuffs he sees, a guy was looking at them from one side of the canal. He was looking at them with a sad, pensive expression.

“I found her again and I guess it was too late!” Richard Lim sighed sadly, grimacing at the blow fate dealt him. “She is married and has a kid now. Lucky guy!” He felt like someone squeezed his heart when he managed to confirm that it was Maya Dela Rosa on the gondola, with a guy and a little boy who looks a bit like her.

Who would have thought that this is what he would see when he started to aimlessly watch the gondolas ferrying passengers along the canal while he waiting for their company lawyer, Ryan Molina and his wife Ivy, who went to the souvenir shop of the hotel. He got a bit impatient as they were taking very long, and decided to walk a little bit farther than the shop. That was when he saw her. At first, he thought that maybe it was just someone who looks like her, but as the gondola approached, he was able to confirm that it is Maya! She was chatting animatedly to the good-looking guy beside her and the little boy was clinging to both of them! She looks like the Maya etched in hs brain and who invade his thoughts from time to time. She has  just grown more beautiful and more poised since the last time he caught a glimpse of her.

Since Richard missed meeting her again four years ago at the airport in Singapore, he, sort of, believe that if they are meant to be, they will meet each other again, at some point. Stranger things have happened in this world. However, he is also a realist to believe that it may not happen at all. Besides, maybe, he will not feel this strange pull when he meets her again and get to know her better, so he just went on with his very demanding professional life, designing and developing boutique hotels and resorts all over the country and in some parts of Asia. Though in his heart, he does not believe that he will feel nothing for Maya if he sees her again. Seeing her again, here in Macau proved that. His heart still skipped a beat with a glimpse of her.

Now that he had seen that she has a family of her own already, he felt this overwhelming sadness. He could have actively looked for her the past several years. In this day and age of social media, it is not so difficult to find people you haven’t seen in years as long as they are visible online. And then what, just approach her like that, send a PM to her Facebook account or ask to be her ‘friend’ by sending a friend request, he asked himself? Likewise, thinking that what he felt years ago, the connection he thought they had when their eyes met, was just all on his part made him feel down. Maybe, it is time to move on, or try at least, he mused. She was just something beautiful from his past. For a time, she made him feel an emotion that was alien to him. She made him feel alive.

He took one more look at the gondola where she was, then turned his back to walk back to the shop and look for Ryan and Ivy. This is their last day in Macau as they will return to the Philippines the following day. They have arrived here two days ago to see if Emerald Hotels and Resorts, Lim Corporation’s subsidiary that handle all their property developments, can join in the hotel boom in this part of Macau. While the deal their potential partners were offering was enticing enough, Richard and Ryan didn’t accept it as in exchange the investors wanted the majority control.

“Richard, Brod, sorry natagalan kami.” Ryan said apologetically. “Ito kasing si Ivy, ang daming binili.” He said half-complaining, but smiling indulgently at his wife.

“Ha, sandali lang kaya ako.” Ivy said, gazing at her husband. “Let’s eat. The shopping made me hungry.” She suggested with a smile.

The three of them walked around, looked for a nice and quiet restaurant, and settled in to eat dinner. Husband and wife bantered and told Richard about some of the funniest, and most memorable antics of their children, while waiting for their food. Richard laughed at their stories. Being an only child, he misses having a big family. When he has a family of his own, he wants a big one.

“Ikaw naman kasi Brod, why don’t you settle down na! Eh di sana, may kwento ka na rin namin ni Ivy about your kids.” Ryan teased his boss, fraternity brother and his best friend. Richard have been the best man at his and Ivy’s wedding. When Richard offered him the job as Emerald’s legal counsel several years ago, he jumped at the opportunity.

“Oo nga naman, Richard.” Ivy seconded her husband. “Wala ka pa bang nakikita sa mga date mo. Ang gaganda naman nila. Saka iyong madalas mong kasama dati, mukhang mabait naman.” Ivy was referring to Linda, a model he dated for a while. He dated when the loneliness gets him, but there was always something lacking in those. He had stopped doing so for a while now.

“Kayong dalawa, ako na naman ang nakita niyo.” Richard laughed, a laugh tinged with sadness since the image of Maya with her husband and child suddenly propped up in his head.

“Babe, tigilan na nga natin si Richard.” Ryan told his wife, but added, “Brod, sino ba kasi iyon? Baka naman mahanap mo pa ulit. Kawawa naman ang mga nagiging date mo, goodbye na after several dates.”

“Hahahaha, let’s eat na lang. Mahabang usapan iyan.” Richard said, laughing. But when he thought that the two were not looking, he had a sad, faraway look, which Ryan saw.

While Richard and his friends were eating, Maya, Cristina Rose and Jeff with a sleeping Cho in his arms were on their way back to the hotel where Maya works, which is just several minutes away from where they were. Cris and her family is staying there instead of Maya’s apartment as the hotel is more convenient.

“Sayang Ate Cris, hindi ka nakasama. Enjoy na enjoy si Cho sa gondola ride. I took a lot of pictures naman for you.” Maya chatted as they walked, avoiding the throng of tourists with their camera’s clicking nonstop as they marvelled at this part of the hotel. Maya remembered the first time she was there. She felt like she she was suddenly transported someplace else since it was nighttime when she walked around and when she reached that area, it felt like daytime!

“Thank you, Maya. Next time. Malay mo naman, kapag malaki-laki na itong bago naming baby, mabalik ulit kami rito ng Kuya Jeff mo. Nandito ka pa noon siguro.” Cris said.

“Naku, Ate Cris, baka wala na. But for sure, we can always go back here, sama natin sina Tita Lulu and Tito Mario, saka sina Lino and Lindsay, family trip! Pwede one Christmas season!” Maya told her cousin. “I have been meaning to tell you and Kuya Jeff, that I’m thinking of returning to the Philippines late this year or early next year.”

“Really, Maya! That’s good news! I’m sure Mama and Papa will be glad to know that, pati na rin si Lino.” Cris said, grinning happily. Then she hugged her cousin. “Maya, I’m so happy you will be in the Philippines again. I misssed you a lot, little sis!”

“Awwww, me too, Ate Cris! I think it’s about time I return home.” Maya had been thinking about doing so, for several months now. She had been a way for so long. She felt a longing for the old country. It is time to move again. Maybe, she will get restless again but for now, she is longing for the Philippines.

“I agree with Cris, Maya. Iba pa rin ang sarili nating bansa. I also worked abroad, di ba, and even if the salary is bigger, hinahanap-hanap ko pa rin ang Pilipinas.” Jeff added.

“Eh ano pala ang plan mo pagbalik sa atin?” Cris asked.

“I submitted several job applications in hotels and resorts in the Philippines. Let’s see what will happen. I think something will turn up naman.” Maya spoke confidently. “If not, I can just develop one of the properties Mamang left behind in Mindoro. I’m sure Tita Lulu and Tito Mario will not mind naman. Noon pa nila sinasabi iyon sa akin. Di ba, I got na the money from Mom and Dad’s investment when I turned 25 two years ago. I can use that.”

“For sure, Maya, tatanggapin ka lahat ng mga inaplayan mo. In fact, baka nga over qualified ka pa, with your position and experience here. If you choose to develop naman one of the properties in Mindoro, lalo na iyong malapit sa beach sa San Nicolas, okay rin lang. Di ba, Mama and Papa told you na it is yours. It was what Mamang would have wanted. Kami naman ni Lino okay na okay na kami.”

“Thank you, Ate Cris!” Maya smiled at her cousin, happy in the thought that she is going back to the Philippines and she have several options when she returns.

They have reached the hotel and Maya said goodbye to her cousin and her family at the lobby. She promised to pick them up bright and early for their trip to the historic section of Macau the following day. On the way out, she said hello to her colleagues and staff who were on duty. She is not due back to work for another day.

Since she was not  yet sleepy and she felt restless, Maya opted to walk on the second floor of the hotel, which interconnects to the other hotels via a network of shops. She stopped at a Starbucks kiosk and bought her favorite brew, then continued walking, sipping coffee while window shopping.

While she was looking at a display of a very nice skirt, top and winter boots, her peripheral vision saw three people walking. They were talking in a combination of English and Filipino so she looked unconsciously. Her heart skipped a beat when she caught sight of the tall guy walking with another guy and a girl. He looks like Richard Lim! But before she can check again, they took a turn and disappeared from her sight.

Maya was stunned for a few seconds, heart beating so fast, indecisive on what to do next. Then as if her feet have minds of their own, she found herself going to the direction they disappeared to. However, she can’t find them anymore as the corner forked into two other directions, then several others.

“What would I say to him anyway, if it is him?” Maya asked herself. “Introduce myself and ask him if he remembers me from a long ago beauty pageant in Mindoro! Wouldn’t it sound weird? Saka, baka naman hindi siya iyon. That I just thought it is him dahil iniisip ko siya. Dami namang Chinese dito, baka kamukha lang!”

Nevertheless, that incident unsettled Maya. Coupled with the coffee she drank, which she shouldn’t have, she was unable to sleep that night. She had panda eyes when she returned to the hotel the following morning. While waiting for her cousin and her family, she looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the guy who looks like Richard Lim, but she didn’t find him anymore.

Maya drove her cousin to the other side of Macau where all the popular tourists sites are located – from Senado Square to the Ruins of Saint Paul, old churches and others. They spent half a day there, then returned to the hotel as her Ate Cris was not feeling well. Maya stayed in their hotel room playing with Cho, while her Kuya Jeff went out for a walk around the complex.

In that instance, Richard, Ryan and Ivy were in the process of checking out from the same hotel. While Ivy was busy doing it, Ryan inquired if Richard is okay.“Brod, I noticed na parang quiet ka since our sightseeing trip at The Venetian. May problema ba? Is something botthering you!” Ryan asked his best friend.

“Wala naman Brod, baka pagod na rin ako. We have been traveling for quite a bit for a month na.” Richard said, unable to share to Ryan, his closest friend, about Maya. He does not think he will understand. Even he, at times, does not understand this preoccupation with her.

Ryan wouldn’t be a good lawyer if he does not know how to read people at least, on a level, and he knew that there is something bothering Richard, that he was being evasive. But he respects his desire to keep it to himself. He does not want to pry, anyway. “Basta Brod, kung kailangan mo ng kausap, nandito lang ako ha. Daanin na lang natin iyan sa inuman sa paborito nating bar sa Makati.”

“Thank you, Brod.” Richard said, trying to muster a smile.

Ivy returned to them, telling them that they can now leave the hotel. They took the hotel car to the airport. Richard glanced one more time at The Venetian when they passed by it, as if saying a final goodbye to something, or to someone.

The following day, it was Maya’s turn to check out her cousin and her family from the hotel. While doing so, she chatted with some of her old colleagues and staff at the front desk. Two years after she started working there, she transferred to Operations and has been there ever since, as an assistant operations manager. She didn’t know what made her do it, but she thought of asking one of her old Filpino staff if someone named Richard Lim is in the hotel guest list. Edselyn checked the computer, and Maya’s heart was beating fast while she waited with anticipation.

“Meron po Ms. Maya, from Taguig City, Philippines, pero nag-check out na kahapon!” Edselyn said. “He stayed with us for three days.”

“Oh….” was all Maya managed to Edselyn as she felt breathless all of a sudden. So it was really him she saw! She is very positive of that now. They almost met again! She thanked Edselyn, and when she asked curiously if there is something she can do pa, she told her she only wanted to know if they had a guest with that name.

Maya was still in a bit of a shock, thinking of what could have been, when she returned to her cousin.

“Maya, okay ka lang ba?” Cris asked, noticing her pallor.

“Ha….? Oh, yes, I’m okay, Ate Cris.” Maya assured her cousin. “Halika na. Wait for me in the lobby, please. I will just get my car.”

Maya drove her cousin to the airport, distracted with the thought that she and Richard could have met again!

“Maya, thank you for everything.” Cris hugged her cousin when they were inside the airport.

“No worries, Ate Cris, Kuya Jeff, and you little Cho. I’m glad to see all of you.” Maya said with a smile.

“Paano, little sister, see you in Manila na lang soon. Thank you ha.” Jeff said with a big smile.

“Sure, Kuya Jeff. I’m sure bago lumabas itong si Cris Jr. eh I’m back there na.” Maya said, patting her cousin’s tummy. They said their final goodbyes and she went out of the airport. She was back on being on her own again.

On the way back to her apartment, Maya looked around at the place she had called home for the past four years as if starting to say goodbye. While she had a good life here, she really feels it’s about time to go back to her real home!

Glimpse

2010

Maya Dela Rosa settled into her seat in the economy class of Singapore Airlines’s last flight bound for Singapore from Manila that night. This is her first time to be out of the country in so many years. Three years will be a long time to be away from everything familiar to her, but this move is for her own professional and personal growth. She is looking forward to working abroad. For her, it is an adventure and it may cure the restlessness she had been feeling lately. After visiting a friend in Singapore, she will travel to Macau to work at one of the new hotels in Cotai Central.

Prior to this, and right after finishing a degree in International Hospitality Management two years ago, she had work for the same hotel chain in Manila. First she was hired as a front desk personnel and then was promoted as supervisor a year ago. Due to her excellent performance, the position at the new hotel in Macau was offered to her, with a higher salary, and more room for growth. For Maya, the consideration was not so much on the salary, but rather the chance to grow and learn more about the industry. She wants to be a hotel general manager in the future. Besides, it is time to spread her wings. She is restless and she can’t explain why. She felt she had existed in a vacuum since the night she was crowned Miss Mindoro three years before.

The morning after she was crowned as Miss Mindoro 2007, Maya’s Mamang, her grandmother, died. She took a turn from bad to worse while she was in the pageant. Since then, Maya had lived permanently in Manila with her aunt and her family. Her Tita Lulu, her mother’s only sister and her husband Tito Mario treated her like a daughter and she is very close to her cousins, but she feels it’s about time she goes on her own. She is almost 23 years old. If she had her way three years ago, she would have preferred to live alone and deal with the sadness she was feeling on her own. But her Tita Lulu wouldn’t hear of it, insisting that her Mamang would have not wanted that. Lulu Francisco also said Maya was too young be on her own, and they are family so they will take care of her, of each other. Maya deferred to her then, as she loves and respects her aunt.

“Mamang, I still miss you. I love you. Please be with me in my new adventure.” Maya muttered. She always have a silent conversation with Mamang’s spirit when she wanted to be comforted, when the feeling of being truly alone gets to her. Mamang was  more like a mother to her, than a grandmother. Maya barely remembered how her parents looked like since they died when she was very young. She knew, though, that they have loved her very much. She remembered family outings, her mom and dad reading her a story in the evening, and being cuddled by them.

Maya lost her parents in a car accident when she was 10 years old. Her Mamang took care of her. Like when her Mamang died, her Tita Lulu also offered to take her in then, to raise her with her cousins Cristina Rose and Lino, but Mamang insisted that she will be the one to take care of Maya. Both of them comforted each other and helped each other dealt with the lost of Teresita Dela Paz Dela Rosa, so young to have died at age 35, and her husband Arturo Dela Rosa, gone at age 40.

Maya and her parents used to live in Quezon City. Maya’s dad was an executive in an international cargo company. Her mother also worked in the same company as the personnel manager. One evening, on the way home from a party, a truck lost its break and rammed into her parents’ vehicle. They died instantly. Mamang brought her home to her native Mindoro after the funeral.

Maya’s parents left her quite wealthy. It turned out, her parents invested their earnings well. However, Mamang refused to touch her inheritance even for Maya’s schooling and expenses. She insisted on providing for her grandchild. She has hectares of farm lands, and some businesses in Mindoro. She said Maya can do whatever she wants with the money when she is 25 years old. But while she is in her care, she can well provide for her.

To entertain a young Maya, when she was feeling sad, Mamang will tell her stories about princesses and princes in faraway lands, of gods and goddesses in Greek and Roman mythologies. Mamang was a professor of literature at the college in San Nicolas before she retired. She also told Maya how she met her grandfather and the great love they had. It fueled Maya’s young mind, and she became determined to find the same kind of love when the time comes. She will not settle for less, she told her Mamang. Conchita Dela Paz also told her grandchild of her dream to join beauty contests, but her very conservative parents refused to allow her. In fact, she told Maya, it was one of her unfulfilled dreams. Mamang followed all the beauty pageants avidly – from Binibining Pilipinas, to Miss World, Miss Earth, Miss Universe, and others.

It was for Mamang that Maya, then a junior college student in 2007, decided to join, first the Miss San Nicolas Beauty Pageant, then the Miss Mindoro Beauty Pageant. Maya thought it would please and cheer up her grandmother who was already bedridden at that time. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in late 2006. It took courage on Maya’s part to do so as basically she was a shy, bookish person and she would have not thought of joining a beauty pageant on her own even if people have told her she is very beautiful and a ‘Binibining Pilipinas material’. She was the runaway winner of the Miss San Nicolas Beauty Pageant, which already made Mamang very happy. Then there was the Miss Mindoro Pageant. Ah, going back, down memory lane, meaning remembering the pageant night itself, and Richard Lim!

Maya was very nervous that night. But one thing was driving her, to win for Mamang. She gathered all the inner courage she could muster and forged on to compete. She may not win that night as all the other candidates were also very beautiful and very determined, but at least she tried for her grandmother.

When she was in the middle of the stage, for the first time, all she saw was a sea of people and bright lights. It was only when she was about to turn back to exit the stage that her eyes focused on Richard Lim. She didn’t know then that he was the Chairman of the Board of Judges, as the judges were only introduced midway through the pageant. When their eyes met, she felt like a current ran through her body and her heart skipped a beat. When she got backstage, she had to catch her breath not because of the ordeal of being on display when she was not used to it, but because of him.

Throughout that night, Maya was very conscious of Richard Lim. Her young heart was never the same after that. For the first time, a strange, wonderful emotion touched it. When the competition was just down to her and Jessica Lopez, her heart was somersaulting from nervousness, anticipation and this feeling of unexplained happiness and giddiness, knowing that he was there, sitting with the other judges. She was also beset with worry. Mamang was in a bad condition when she left. Maya didn’t want to go anymore but Mamang insisted that she should go and compete and even teased her about bringing home the crown for sure. Her cousin Cris was the only one with her that night. When James Ventura, a high school classmate, and a former suitor actually, announced her to be the winner, she thanked God and at the same time, silently offered her winnings to Mamang. Unconsciously, she had sought Richard Lim and saw him looking at her too. Suddenly, she can’t breath.

Her Ate Cris texted her Tita Lulu to let Mamang know through her that she won the pageant. Her Tita Lulu replied that their Mamang had the most beautiful smile when she was told. However, half an hour later, she took a turn from bad to worst. Her Ate Cris informed her about it when she and the two runner-ups went backstage to get ready for the after pageant party. She was just planning to say hello and not stay long, as she wanted to go home to be with her grandmother. But upon hearing that her grandmother was in a bad condition, she told Rebecca Bermudez that she will not able to attend the party completely. She understood. For a while, Maya felt a tinge of regret in not seeing Richard Lim again, but her Mamang was more important. Mamang rallied throughout the night with her family by her side, but at dawn, she had said her final goodbye to them.

The house in San Nicolas was closed down, the farmlands left in the hands of the caretakers, and the businesses sold as there was no one who can manage it from Manila after her funeral. Maya started her new life in Manila two weeks later. It had meant no more going to Mindoro twice a month and during her semester breaks.

From time to time, Maya had wondered about Richard Lim, even up to imagining their paths crossing again. However, the reality was they moved in different circles so she believed there was no chance of that. She just concentrated on her studies and finished at the top of her class.  She could have not asked for a more loving family than what her Tita Lulu, Tito Mario and her cousins gave her. She and her Ate Cris are like real sisters. But there were instances wherein she felt left out also, missing a having a mom and dad of her own, and missing Mamang so much. That restlessness drove her to travel around the country whenever she has the opportunity. In recent months, that feeling increased and it was one of the reasons why she took this job in Macau.

When Emman, her gay best friend in college who is working in one of the hotels in Orchard Road, found out about her plans, he cajoled her into spending several days with him first. She thought it would be good to see him also and unwind a bit before concentrating on making her way in the international hotel management world.

Maya settled more comfortably in her seat, with the thought of reading a book throughout the rest of the flight. She was about to get her Kindle from her bag under the seat in front of her when the guy beside her, a good looking foreigner, spoke and introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m Roman Taylor!” The guy said by way of introduction. “Are you off to Singapore or just transiting?” He gave her a friendly, non-threatening smile. However, Maya sensed his interest beyond that.

“Hi.” Maya said, then politely, “I’m Maya Dela Rosa. Yes, I’m going to Singapore.”

“Really!” Roman seemed to perk up more upon hearing that. “Staying for good?”

“Not really. I’m just visiting a friend for several days.” Maya replied, not volunteering more information.

“Oh, too bad. I thought we could get to know each other and go to dinner, you know, as soon as you have settled in.” He said, looking very interested in getting to know her. “Maybe, you and your friend can squeeze it in, one evening. Have dinner with me please.”

“I’m really sorry, Roman. Thank you for the invitation, but I don’t think we can. My time in Singapore is limited.” Maya said regretfully, using that as a way out.

“Oh well, just in case you find yourself there again, here’s my card.” Then he handed her his business card.

Maya took it politely, thanking him. To avoid further conversation, Maya opted to watch a movie. Roman also settled into his seat to do the same. Roman might look like an older version of Liam Hemsworth, but she is not interested. No one had made her heart beat faster since the night of the pageant. Maybe, it will skip a beat again for someone else, other than Richard Lim, but she is not in a hurry to find out. Romance was the last thing in her mind at that point in her life. “I wonder where is he now?” She mused.

Unbeknown to Maya, Richard Lim was in the same flight. He was in business class. He boarded the plane after most of the passengers in the waiting lounge had boarded. He preferred it that way. Richard is going to Germany via Singapore to meet with potential business partners of Lim Corporation’s latest project, a luxury resort in Bohol. Richard has been in charge of the family corporation’s property developments since three years ago. So far, he had built resorts and hotels in Mindoro, Palawan, Davao, and now Bohol.

Richard’s first project was actually in Mindoro. A month after the pageant, he was back in Mindoro overseeing the building of a mountain resort at the town adjacent to San Nicolas. In the beginning, Richard was hesitant to look for Maya as not only they don’t really know each other but he realized she is years younger than him.  He was not also looking for a relationship at that time. But he can’t help himself, he did. He asked around and found out that she had moved to Manila after the death of her grandmother shortly after the pageant. He believed it was the reason why she missed the party! Richard’s heart went out to Maya. His contacts didn’t know where she is staying in Manila or what schools she goes to. He thought of finding out that too. But he got busy with the project, and the next one, and the next one, as he needed to prove himself to his father.

Roberto Lim was initially very reluctant to diversify and put the family’s corporation into property developments, especially hotels and resorts. But Richard persuaded him, armed with tons of research and projections on how the industry was developing at that time and its potential for big growth and boom as more and more people travel, in search of beautiful places to stay. From time to time, he would think of Maya Dela Rosa and what could have been had the circumstances been right. Also, as if he was drawn helplessly, every time candidates for the various beauty pageants were announced, he would check if Maya is among the candidates thinking that with her beauty, intelligence and talent, she would find her way there, and win easily. But it seemed that she had laid very low since her grandmother died.

The flight attendant interrupted Richard’s thoughts and asked him what he would like to drink. She was also looking at him with interest. Richard politely asked for a cup of coffee. He then took out his laptop and started working. He needed to anyway, and this is his way of deflecting whatever signal the beautiful flight attendant seemed to be sending.

Richard got engrossed in the facts and figures he was reviewing. Before he knew it, the plane had landed at the Changi Airport. He was the last one to leave the plane. He hurriedly gathered his things, walked briskly out of the tube, going to the main airport, wanting to go the airline’s lounge, and continue working until he boards his long flight to Europe.

Richard was trying to find which direction leads to the airline lounge from the gate where he got out, when he caught sight of a girl turning on her mobile phone. Her carriage, and the half-profile of her face looks familiar. It looks like the girl also came from the same flight that he took as she was standing close to the gate where he got out. He was about to go to her, to check if he is correct, heart beating faster, when she moved while talking on the phone and took the travelator. Before he lost her in the crowd of passengers that surged in after her from the gate next to theirs, she turned as if she unknowingly felt someone staring at her. Richard saw her face and confirmed that it was indeed, Maya Dela Rosa!

“Maya….!” Richard uttered, then hurried after her but he can’t find her anymore among the throng of hurrying passengers.

Instead of going to the lounge, he decided to walk around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Maya, which was near to impossible as the airport is vast. He only stopped looking when it was time to board his flight to Frankfurt. It was a long and lonely flight for him.

Maya, at that time was already eating a late dinner with Emman at his apartment, not knowing that she almost saw again the man who have been haunting her thoughts the past three years, that they almost met again!