Where Do Broken Hearts Go XII

Six months passed and they had no communication whatsoever. Sarah continued on her journey and John Lloyd continued on with his life back home. Sarah was so busy with school and extracurricular activities that those six months passed by without her even noticing. John Lloyd counted down the months, weeks, and days till he would see her again. It would be a lie to say he was never tempted to date or that he never got tired of waiting. But at the end of the day his love for her was stronger than any temptation that made itself available to him. For him the day he flew back to where she was could not come any sooner.

It hadn’t occurred to her that in a week she and he would be in the same city again and that she soon had to decide whether or not she was ready to pursue a future with him. He may not have said it directly but Sarah knew that if she wasn’t ready now she might as well never be ready because he wasn’t likely to wait any longer. A week before their awaited reunion he sent her an email to remind her of his arrival:

Miss me? Well six months have finally passed... I’ll see you in a bit.

- Idan

The email was short and to the point but it didn’t tell her much. She was left wondering when they would see each other and whether or not he still felt the same way about her. The email was casual and she could decipher from this email what it was she was to expect from their meeting again.

Day after day she would search around social networking sites and forums for news of whether or not they had departed from the Philippines and when they were expected to arrive. Ever since she left showbiz she steered clear of anything remotely related to it but in his email he said nothing about when the concert was all he said was see you in a bit. Well, how long is “in a bit”. Every day that passed that he didn’t come around to see her left her anxious thus she had to get answers and the best way to do so without going straight to the source was to get it from the fans. After lurking through several forums she found that the concert was in two days and that he had departed the day before.

“So, he is here?” she whispered to herself as she stared at her computer screen.

It was a Wednesday and she had to rush straight to the coffeehouse for her set. The whole time she was performing she was bothered by the fact that he hadn’t contacted her. He said “see you in a bit” and yet he didn’t email her again nor did he come to see her. He knew where to find her so why hadn’t he come around yet?

That night she tossed and turned in bed wondering what was going on. “Maybe he couldn’t wait any longer,” she thought to herself, “maybe he’s not coming back for me. What if he’ll see me in a bit just to tell me he’s fallen in love with someone else?” It bothered her that he was in the same city as her and yet he didn't even email her to tell her so.

The next day she had had it. It was time to take matters into her own hands; she wasn’t going to wait on him any longer. She spent the day carefully planning our how she was going to go about seeing him again. She didn’t care if in the end she would look like a fool if he indeed had fallen in love with another all she cared about was seeing him and knowing the truth now because the waiting was killing her.

Friday morning she went about her business and got her things together. Tonight was the night of the Star Magic concert that he was in the city for. The day went like any other day for her and come evening she was at the coffeehouse ready to get up on stage. Before starting her first set she looked at her watch, 7 PM, the concert must have just started. She takes her place on stage and starts to sing. 8:45 PM and she is about to start her second set. The concert was nearing an intermission. It was half past 9 when Sarah came around to her last song for the night, her last song at this coffeehouse.

“The past year singing at this coffeehouse and sharing my music with all of you has brought me a happiness that I have long been searching for. I first set foot in this coffeehouse during an open mic night last year. I was at a place in my life where I was trying to find my way back to who I wanted to be as opposed to whom people expect me to be. I walked into this coffeehouse with a broken heart and with the hope of finding my way back home. A part of me will always be with this coffeehouse and I will truly miss sharing my Wednesday and Friday evenings with all of you but it’s time that I pack up and move forward. Although it saddens me to be saying goodbye, I am glad to say my heart has found its way back home. For anybody in the crowd who may be nursing a broken heart this song is for you, I hope that like myself your heart will find its way back home.”

[N.B. Where Do Broken Hearts Go by Whitney Houston]

And with that she begins to sing “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” by Whitney Houston.

At the end of the song the crowd stands on their feet and gives her a hand. She smiles at the crowd and bows for the last time. Before she runs out of the coffeehouse she says her thank you’s and good-bye’s to the coffeehouse crew and takes her usual coffee to go. She hails for a taxi right away and quickly rushes to the concert venue.

The concert venue was a ways from the coffeehouse and the traffic didn’t help. She looked at her watch constantly as she waited in the taxi. Quarter after 10 and still they had a fair ways to go. 10:30 PM and they’re stuck in traffic due to a vehicular accident at the intersection. Sarah looked out her window and then pulled out her wallet from her purse. She hands the taxi driver the money she owed him and hopped out of the taxi. She ran to the side walk and started walking. The venue couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes away from where she was. As she was walking the rain started to pour. She was dressed in an above the knee spring dress and wedge sandals. She had no umbrella or sweater with her to help her stay dry so she ran as fast as she possibly could to avoid getting soaked. Normally she would have had no problem walking in the rain and getting soaked but today was no ordinary day. She had spent over an hour staring at herself in the mirror, changing outfits and fixing her make-up, to make sure she looked her best when she saw him tonight. But, the rain ruined it all, her hair was a mess her makeup had smudged and her dress was soaking wet. But that didn’t stop her she just kept on running. Right in front of the venue she slips and falls to the ground hurting her ankle.

She sits for a second in the rain thinking about how ridiculous she must look right now and she wonders whether or not it was even worth staying to see him still. She could imagine in her head how silly she would look limping up to John Lloyd looking the way she looked right now. She looked up at the sky and let the rain just hit her face, laughing a little at how this night was turning out. Just as she is about to get up to hail a taxi and head back home the crowd from the concert starts to exit the concert hall. Worried someone might take notice of her she limps to the side of the building and hides for a bit. As the crowd exited the venue Sarah slowly walked towards the back of the building trying to avoid bumping into anybody. As she is passing by the side door it swings open and almost hits her. Startled she jumps and faces the person standing at the doorway. Trying to get a better look at who is standing at the doorway she wipes her face and looks directly at him.

“Sarah?” he says.

Wide eyed she replies softly, “Sam...”

He smiles and gives her a hug. “I’m so happy to see you. You know I was worried about you, how have you been?”

Just as he is talking she sees John Lloyd pass behind him.

She looks up at Sam and replies, “We’ll have lots of time to talk later. Mind if I come in there’s something I need to do...”

Sam looks at her questioningly; confused as to what it is she is in such a rush to do.

“There’s someone I really need to speak with...” she says with urgency.

He asks no more questions and just steps aside to let her in. She looks at him briefly and says thank you as she rushed to follow John Lloyd.

John Lloyd is standing at the lobby with some of the other artists as some fans were lining up for autographs and their table was being set. Sarah appears from behind taking small slow steps, limping to one side. With every step her doubts about whether this was the right thing to do grew and her heart started pounding even stronger. Finally someone takes notice of her and you can hear as people started to audibly whisper amongst each other. Everybody’s question: “Si Sarah ba yan?” Suddenly one by one some of the artists started turning their heads to see what everyone was pointing at only to find Sarah standing in the lobby soaking wet. Finally someone taps John Lloyd’s shoulder and he turns around and sees her.

She nervously smiles at him as she says “Hi...”

He starts to make his was over to her with a confused look on his face. Now face to face with her he asks “Anong ginagawa mo dito? Pupuntahan dapat kita bukas... Sarah, ang daming tao dito, paano na yung secret mo?”

Looking him straight in the eyes she shakes her head “It doesn’t matter anymore...”

Still confused he asks “Anong ibig mong sabihin.”

“You once told me that it didn’t matter which life I chose to live because, if I would have you, you would gladly live that life with me. And I’m hoping that that offer still stands. I don’t know with certainty what it is I want to do, if I want to continue on with my simple life here or if I wanna go back home and hopefully revive my career but I do know one thing is certain, I love you. And to be perfectly honest it doesn’t matter if I’m here or there because as long as I’ve got you I’ll be happy because your heart is where I am home. I want you; I want a life with you...”

He said nothing he just pulled her into an embrace and then as he pulls away he takes her face in his hands and kisses her softly on the lips before uttering "I love you" back to her.

The two had not a care in the world, at this very moment it didn’t matter who else was in the room because finally their broken hearts were whole again.

****

[N.B. Your Home Is in My Heart by Boyz II Men]

He stares at the closed doors as “Your Home Is In My Heart” by Boyz II Men starts to play in the background. As the singer starts to sings the door swings open and his eyes immediately lock with hers. With her parents at her side, and before their friends and family, she walks down the aisle with a smile on her face. He wipes away some tears as she approaches the altar. He smiles his sweetest smile as he takes her hand from her father’s and walks her to their position in front of the altar. As the song fades away they look at each other, their eyes so full of love, and he mouths “I love you.” To which she replies “I love you too.”

The journey may have been long and they may have had to endure some broken hearts but in the end their once broken hearts found their way back to each other, back to the open arms of a love that was waiting for them, for that "IN TIME". Finally it was time.

THE END.