Chapter 9

Two weeks before the start of the first semester, Isabella and her mother went to the school to finish her registration and to find her a boarding house. They walked around the residential areas surrounding the university, looking for a cheap one. After an hour of walking under the heat of the summer sun, they found one at P. Campa street. It was an old wooden house owned by an old couple. They have a small store in front of their house and a small room in the first floor. For additional source of income they decided to make the second and third floors available for rent. There are three rooms in each floor, with four bunk beds inside. Isabella's mother paid two months' worth of rent and they went back home in Cavite.

Isabella immediately went to Carlo's house to tell him about the boarding house.

"Here's the address. You can visit me anytime. It's a cheap boarding house, made of wood but it's clean." Carlo was busy working on a broken chair. He pretended not to hear her. He just continued hammering.

"Hey! Carlo!" she shouted, just behind him. Carlo did not give a budge, focusing himself on what he was doing. Isabella touched his shoulder and called him again. "Carlo?"

She knows that he is acting this way because it means they will be seeing each other less. She decided to go inside the house and sit on the couch and just wait until Carlo is ready to talk to her.

Lucy came out of her room and saw Isabella sitting on the couch. Her head on the arm rest.

"Did you have fight?" The old lady asked.

"No, we didn't, but he doesn't want to talk to me."

"You know he hates that you will be studying far from him. I've heard him plan almost every detail of your life together, so I guess it's normal for him to be disappointed.

"But I will be coming home every weekend so we can still be together."

"Well, we do not know what comes ahead of us. We may plan but sometimes fate and destiny plays with us. They put us on a different path first before leading us to where we really want to be. We make promises, promises that at the moment feel very real, but after sometime, things go a little differently that the promise we've made would have to wait, not really broken, but just have to wait a little longer before it is fulfilled."

"Lucy," she whispered her name as she sobbed. "He is all that I want, but the University sounds promising and my mom would be upset if I don't pursue my studies there."

"He loves you so much, I know he can wait. Both of you can wait."

Isabella cried harder and hugged Lucy tightly. At that moment, Carlo entered the house and saw them. Lucy looked at him, her eyes asking him to talk to Isabella. Isabella didn't notice that he came until he touched her hands that are still wrapped around Lucy's neck.

"Come here," he said as he led her to the balcony.

Isabella followed him and sat on the wooden chair, looking at the white rose buds that seem to be sleeping under the heat of the sun.

Carlo felt like everything is falling apart. He can feel the twitch in his heart, the pain of Isabella leaving. He doesn't know what he will do without her beside him. It felt like everything that he has worked for are going in vain. His sun is starting to set, his stars are falling one by one.

"I've made plans for us, everything that we are going to do. Everything. You've been part of my daily life, my daily prayers, my life goals and my everyday happiness. Now that you are leaving, even if you tell me you'll be coming home every weekend, I doubt it. I know it's not going to happen.

"How can you say that? I promise you I will."

Carlo wanted to tell her the reason he doesn't believe it will happen. He doesn't want to slap her with the truth that her parents won't be able to afford her fare to go back and forth from the city to their town. "I hope," he said.

Isabella leaned closer to Carlo and held his hands. "Whatever happens to us, we'll always be in each other's heart and mind, and even death can't make us part," she said, not knowing what else to do to give him the assurance that she will come back. Carlo hugged her tightly, never wanting to let her go.

"You are my life, Isabella, I will always wait for you."

The new semester is about to start in a week. Isabella has prepared everything she needed and is set to leave on Sunday evening. She spent all week at Carlo's house, cherishing every single moment together.