(Tom"s PoV)Knock, knock.
I opened my eyes instantly as soon as I heard the door was knocked from outside.
"Tom? Are you awake?" It was my mother"s voice. My eyes drifted to the clock and saw it was nine in the morning.
Ah, my mother must have let me sleep more because I remembered I returned around four or five in the morning. I usually woke up at six or seven and I was worried my mother would come into my room if I didn"t wake up at the same time, but I guessed I worried for nothing.
My mother only knocked at my door when it was nine because at that time all food had been served on the table. She didn"t want me to eat cold food in the morning, that"s why she didn"t wake me up before it was all served.
"Yes." I replied, my voice was a bit hoa.r.s.e and I thought I might catch a cold.
I went into my bathroom, cleaned up myself, and made myself presentable before I went down to the dinning room and had breakfast with my mother. As usual, those girls were eyeing me. Some of them had gone to campus, but most of them were still at dorm. Truly making me uncomfortable!
But, what could I do? I couldn"t just scold them, right? I couldn"t just ask them to leave either. All I could do was to keep my distance with them as well as maintain a luke warm att.i.tude in front of them. I didn"t want to be overly friendly or too aloof to them.
If I were to be overly friendly to them, I was worried the issue of me being close with girls in my mother"s would spread and reach Jane"s ears. I had not seen her being jealous but it was because I didn"t give her a chance to do so. I was still a ghost, Jane was my first girl I hooked up with when I was in the state. After all, she was the only one who could see me. So, I didn"t give her chance to do so when I was still in ghost state, I was sure I wouldn"t give her a chance now that I had my body back. Even though I didn"t know how scary she would be if she was jealous, I still didn"t want to risk it.
If I were to act aloof to those girls, I was afraid it would hurt my mother"s reputation. Therefore, let"s play safe! I wouldn"t act too friendly nor too detached to them.
"Tom, I want you to meet someone." My mother started. It was rare for her to say something like this.
Why did I have a bad feeling about this?
"Who?" I asked, hiding the uneasiness I felt inside.
"You see, do you remember Aunt Tari that came that day?" I could see my mother was trying to be calm, but she also hid her nervousness.
Aunt Tari? "The one who brought along her daughter?" I arched my eyebrows. I didn"t like them.
"Yes, yes, that one." My mother nodded.
"What"s wrong with her?"
"I know you"ve just returned and I still want you here with me. But, don"t you think it"s time for you to find a girlfriend? If it"s okay for you, I can arrange it so that you"ll be officially wedded before the end of this year." My mother spoke softly and carefully but she couldn"t even see me in my eyes.
And that explained my bad feeling. "Did she tell you that her daughter likes me?"
"Well, yes... But, if you don"t like her, it"s fine. I can tell her that you still want to accompany me." She said hastily.
Saying that after you spilled the fact that you wanted me to get married soon? Mom, you"re too obvious. "I have a girlfriend." I stated. "I"m going to pick her up soon and I"ll introduce her to you. At that time, you"re free to decide the date of our wedding. The sooner, the better. But, until I return with her by my side, I beg your permission to let me pursue her."
Well, that"s abrupt, I know. But, I would rather make it clear than make my mother anxious and confused.
That dumbfounded look on my mother made me slightly regret about telling her my plan. But, she snapped back quickly as the light in her eyes changed into excitement.
"Who is she? Where did you meet her? Is she a good girl? Do you need my help to convince her to be your wife? Tell her not to be worried. I"m not going to make her a slave in our house. I"m not going to ask her to do house ch.o.r.es. I will be super good to her. Now, tell me, son, who is this girl?"
Ah, she was beyond excited. She even made a bold statement about not going to ask my future wife to do any house ch.o.r.es. My mother really wanted a daughter-in-law. But, how could I tell her that the girl was Jane? I needed to meet Jane to match our story so that my mother would not feel suspicious.
"Wait, is it your girlfriend from back then? What"s her name again? Nita?"
"Mom, she"s got married long ago." I hurriedly said.
"Ah, she did? Then, what are you waiting for? When will be your turn?" She went back to nag me about my marriage. I could only sigh, what else?
"Should I go to pick her up tomorrow? But, I can"t guarantee that she wants to follow me back soon."
"Yes, just go tomorrow. The sooner, the better. Just go and win her family over so that you can bring her back here. After that, we can discuss it here first before I go to her family for the official proposal."
Ah, my mother was overly excited. It seemed like I really needed to bring Jane soon. Seeing my mother"s excitement made me smile. It was good that she didn"t need to be in constant worry. Now that I returned, it was normal for her to think about my future.
Now that I had avoided the issue of me going into a blind date with her friend"s daughter, I could finally breathe. If I didn"t say the truth that I had a girlfriend, I didn"t know how many girls would be shoved into my eyes by my mother. I really forgot she could be overly reacted and excited sometimes.
"Mom, I want to go out for a bit. I want to visit my old friend.".
"Hm? Sure." She nodded.
With her permission, I finally went out for the first time since I arrived. The weather was a bit cloudy when I was out. Here and there I could see "them". But, no one came close to the dorm. I guessed Jane had put something here to prevent them to come closer.
I went to Uncle Ben"s house. His house was not that far, actually. I could take a grab there, but I still wanted to enjoy my hometown. So, I walked to his house. It took nearly thirty minutes for me to reach his house, but I felt great. My purpose in visiting him was to borrow his motorcycle.
However, as I went there, he said his son took his bike to visit his friends. So, he lent me his car, instead. So lucky.
My next destination was to buy some flowers. With a small bouquet of flowers in the pa.s.senger seat, I went to the public cemetery where Rizal was buried. It was almost midday, but since it was cloudy, I didn"t feel hot being in the middle of graves. Finding Rizal"s grave was not hard. There were some wilted flowers on it, someone must have come to visit him.
I stared at his grave for a while before I squated down and put my flowers before the gravestone with his name written on it. Poor young man. I didn"t really know what happened to him but I did know that he married a wrong a woman, and being used by his family. May he rest in peace, I prayed.
"Hey, buddy." I started. "I"m back. Thanks for taking care of Jane. It was short, but still you are the part of her life. It"s a bit regretful that we can"t meet, you know, alive and healthy. You thought I was dead, but here I am, sitting beside your grave, talking to your gravestone. Even though there were times where I hated you for taking Jane"s attention, it didn"t affect how you were one of my precious friends. You still are." I stopped for a bit. I didn"t know what else I should say to a gravestone. It sounded stupid, but I couldn"t stop myself once I started. The one who was buried here was one of the men that I thought would be beside me when I got married later.
"Hope you"re happy there, buddy." I whispered softly, my hand rubbed the gravestone carefully. My eyes stung, I didn"t think I could be this emotional visiting this man"s grave.
I was too engrossed in my one way conversation with Rizal that I failed to notice some steps were heading towards me and had stopped near me. Only after I heard someone called my name that I realized I was not alone.
"Tom?"
I turned my head and saw some familiar faces standing behind me with widened eyes. Ah, I didn"t expect to meet them here.