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Written by Rianne Danielle Laurito of G10-Proactiveness
Graphics from Canva AI Generator
To some, letting go is easy. But to anyone, it’s hard to let someone go when you've found a connection you’ve longed for and suddenly had to let go of that person…
For Engi, letting someone go was easy (or so he thought). His father left him when he was just 3 years old, and being the only child, with families from his father’s side not wanting to contact him, and with his mother's side of the family having stopped getting in contact with her, including Engi, his mother was all that he had.
Fast forward to 2025, Engi is already 21 years old. While he was doing his normal routine of morning jog, his mom went out to run some errands, but as she was crossing the road she heard a loud honk and as she turned to look, she saw a light flashing with a fast approaching car, but because everything happened so fast, she was hit and run by a car.
After getting home from the morning jog, Engi heard a knock on the door. There were two policemen right at their front door with devastating news. One of the officers said:
“Is this the house of Mrs. Lorri Obalios?”
“Yes, it is, sir. I am Engie Obalios, Mrs Lorri Obalios’s son. May I ask what happened?”
“I’m very sorry to inform you that your mother, Mrs Lorri Obalios, was involved in a traffic accident earlier today. It was a hit-and-run incident, and she's been taken to the Philippines Health Care Hospital for emergency treatment.”
When Engi heard the news, blood started rushing through his ears, and words were nowhere to be found. He rushed to the PHC Hospital, where his mother is receiving treatment. When he saw her, his face turned pale. In one of the cubicles in the Intensive Care Unit, his mother was lying on the bed, unconscious, closely being monitored by the nurse with a ventilator on her.
As soon as he saw her, he felt his world crumble. After the incident, Engi was never the same; his routine was disrupted, and after a few months, when his mother was finally able to return home with him, he refused to leave her side.
One day, his mother had had enough of his behaviour, and so she insisted on being alone at the house, making Engi go outside to breathe some fresh air. And so, with no other choice, he went out to stroll for a walk, and as he was strolling, something caught his eye.
Just a few steps away from his house was a cafe he had never been to or seen before, and right at the big glass window of the cafe was a girl with hazelnut brown eyes, long, straight, deep brown hair, with a height of 5’3, and wearing glasses. There, on the other side of the street, was Engi in awe of her beauty. He then walked up to the cafe and placed an order.
“Hello, sir, what can I get for you?”
“One large Americano”
“Name?”
“Engie-O… And you are?”
“... excuse me, sir?...”
“Well, you asked for my name… Wouldn’t it be rude to ask for someone’s name and not ask theirs back?”
“Oh… I mean… Alright, I’m Raemi.”
“Nice to meet you, Raemi.”
“Pleased to meet you, too, Sir. Engie-O. Kindly wait for your order. Thank you.”
And with that, Engi got Ms. Beautiful’s name, and the start of his regular visit to the cafe began. With every visit, he ordered a Tall, Black Americano coffee. After a few friendly visits from Engi, Raemi had also started noticing him— his glance, his regular visits, his charm, his humor, and him. One day, Engi asked Raemi if they could meet up and have lunch together at a nearby restaurant the following week. And so, they met up at a restaurant and something to them both just instantly clicked, they learned that they were the same age and as well as Raemi’s background; how her was father at prison and that the reason that she was working so hard in the cafe was to help her mother to bale his father out of prison.
After that, they began to get to know each other better and started meeting more frequently. For the first time in many years, Engi felt like he had someone by his side, and as time went by, he started to develop feelings for Raemi. A feeling he had never felt before; something new to him, a tingling feeling inside him that makes him want to spend more time with Raemi. One day, Raemi visited Engi’s place, and she met his mom, who was oddly familiar to her. Soon after, she realized that the mother of Engi was the same woman who the police showed a picture of the victim in his father’s accident. Raemi felt a sense of guilt, and starting then on, she didn’t dare to get in contact with Engi; for her, it was just too much to bear.
Engi couldn’t understand why he was suddenly being ghosted by Raemi. He tried calling, texting, and talking to her, but it all came down to being ignored by her. For him, he did all that he could to get in touch with her and for them to communicate their misunderstandings. But even so, Raemi, filled with guilt, couldn’t stand the thought that her loved one is the reason why her crush’s only beloved is suffering. Because of this, she moved cities, and Engi went back to his old self, locking himself in his room and just crying himself into silence.
Engi never got the chance to learn the reason behind their sudden drift with Raemi, but whatever it may be. He always longed for their bond to come back. For him, she was the connection he had long longed for, but because he respects her and her decisions more than he does himself, he just had to let go of her for now. But deep in his heart, he hoped and wished that one day, she would come back to him.
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