Against all odds.

“The subscriber cannot be reached.”

Frustrated, I slammed the phone down into the receiver.

“Hey, what the heck is up with you?” My elder sister gave me a look of annoyance. I barely give her notice, too caught up in my own thoughts to bother with her.

It has been four days since we last spoke to each other. He wouldn’t receive my landline calls and I couldn’t reach him through his cellular phone either.

Kenji had good reason to shun me. I couldn’t blame him if, after everything I said to him, he hated me enough to want me out of his life permanently. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to let go easily. It was my fault after all so I immediately decided to head to his dormitory.

Stuck in the middle of traffic and left to tolerate the humid summer heat while breathing the toxic exhaust fumes of jeepneys, I was left to my guilty thoughts as I recalled Wednesday’s events.

“Listen, I’m sorry,” I remember telling him. “This just isn’t working out anymore.”

He tried to dissuade me from leaving. But I was bent on breaking up with him because I thought I was doing what was best for both of us. It did not take long for me to regret my foolishness.

In my mind’s eye, I saw the image of warm brown eyes and that bedimpled smile that never failed to catch my attention. How could I let slip the most special person in my life?

Kenji struck me as different from Day One. The way we just seemed to fit together from the very beginning surprised the both of us. We accepted each other despite various differences. It took a lot of strength from both sides until I finally fell on the verge of crumbling from the pressures our relationship was under. I took the initiative to end everything. Little did I expect the torment I inevitably suffered for that decision.

I had to risk it all before entirely discovering and understanding the depth of my feelings. I needed Kenji in my life.

Catching sight of the familiar stucco building, I called the driver of the jeepney to a halt and stepped down onto the sidewalk.

A heavy feeling weighed on me as I dragged my legs through the front door and the flight of stairs to the third floor. Then I stopped in front of his apartment and pounded on the door with my fists. In all my desperation, the thought of ringing the doorbell just didn’t occur to me.

“Kenji, open the door! It’s me!”

Doors along the silent corridor opened as inquisitive boarders checked out the commotion.

“Please, I’m very sorry. Let’s just talk, please? I know you’re in there!”

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a frail-looking adolescent in a flimsy, sweat-soaked vest and boxer shorts. The dark circles under his swollen eyes were proof enough that I wasn’t the only one who had been through tears and sleepless nights during the past few days.

“Kenji, I’m sorry,” I said imploringly. “Please take me back? I love you…” Pitiful, I know, for me to resort to clichés. But what else could I say?

He didn’t respond for a few moments. Kenji just took a tentative step closer to me, with his eyes locked onto mine.

“Are you sure this time?” His voice came out softly, barely audible.

“I don’t care what other people think or what they will say about us. I just love you, okay?” I told him.

“Christopher,” he said, “I love you, too.”

Then we kissed, not caring anymore even if people were watching. We had each other again and that was all that mattered.