Dear Jhi,
I wasn’t expecting my phone to ring that afternoon. Not anymore.
Somewhere along the way, I had gotten used to the silence. I had even put my phone on silent because no one really called me anymore.
So when you tried calling, I didn’t hear it.
Not the first time. Not the second. Not even the third. You called my mobile phone four times. You sent me a text.
And when I still didn’t answer, you called me on Discord. That was the call that reached me.
I was talking to my nephew when Discord suddenly started ringing. I looked at the screen, froze for a second, and quietly said, “Someone’s calling me.” Then I ended our conversation.
It was you.
After all those days of wondering if I would ever hear from you again, it was your name on my screen.
I don’t think you know how long I stared before answering.
Part of me was happy. Part of me was nervous. Part of me couldn’t believe you were really calling.
When I finally heard your voice, it felt strangely familiar, as if the silence between us had never happened.
You asked why I wasn’t answering.
I laughed and told you my phone had been on silent because nobody called me anymore.
Then you said, “Nagtatampo ka.” I only answered with a quiet, “Mmm.” I didn’t have to explain.
You already knew. You apologized.
You told me you missed talking to me. I smiled and admitted, “Same.”
We talked in little pieces. Every eleven minutes, the call would suddenly end.
Maybe it was the network. Maybe it was your phone. But every time it disconnected, you called again.
And somehow, I think that’s what I’ll remember most. Not that the calls kept getting cut. But that you kept calling back.
We talked about Mindanao, where you’d been.
We talked about the game I had stopped playing because, honestly, it just wasn’t as fun anymore.
You teased me. I teased you back.
For a little while, everything felt easy again.
When we finally said goodbye because you had to go to work, I realized something.
I hadn’t been waiting for a perfect explanation. I had only been waiting to hear your voice.
And that afternoon, after so many unanswered questions, I finally did.
Until the next call, Nikka