LUKE: The Second Save

By the time 9:00 PM came, the ballots have been placed in big can containers and brought to base for tallying. All of us, volunteers, were gathered there. Some of the girls, including Mace, were tasked to tally the votes on the blackboard as the proctors call each Presidential candidate by name.

The blackboard was tall and wide, just enough for all the girls to stand some few meters away from each other. Each of them was assigned to a set of names of candidates written in a column. If a candidate’s name under their assigned column was called, they would add a line and tally it by five. However, since they couldn’t very well reach the top of the board, the girls were standing on chairs.

As they started, I looked at Mace standing on a white, plastic round chair that just had two legs. What if she’ll fall? I wondered. The chair doesn’t look sturdy. Sure enough, barely fifteen minutes after, I saw her reaching out for a candidate’s name on top and her chair wobbled.

I never realized how fast my reflexes were because before I knew it, I was on my knees, holding one foot of her chair with one hand and steadying her waist with the other.

“Hey!” she yelped in surprise.

“It’s okay,” I assured her. “You won’t fall, I’ve got you.”

Her eyes were wide and her breath was fast as she looked down at me. Giving her a smile, I pushed her a little to her feet and seeing that she was already standing, I sat down again to hold the feet of her chair with my two hands.

“Are you okay?” one of our fellow volunteers asked her.

She looked up at the person who asked. “Y-yes,” she stammered. “I’m okay.”

It was my first time to see Mace flustered with reddening cheeks. I found myself thinking that I’d like to see her looking this cute again.

She was looking down at me. “Thanks,” she said clearing her throat. “That’s the second time you saved my life tonight.”

I met her gaze. “I could make a habit of that.”

Her face flushed even more. She hurriedly turned back to the blackboard and suddenly had a very intense expression as she concentrated on what name the proctor was calling.

“Don’t worry,” I said softly. “I’ll stay here and hold your chair till you’re done with the tallying.”

I didn’t expect her to answer but a few seconds later, I heard her say thanks under her breath.

I hid a smile.

After an hour or two, we were finally finished. All results were forwarded to the people-in-charge and basically, we already knew which Presidential candidate was leading, at least in the neighborhood where we lived.

She was tired, that much was obvious. Well, who wouldn’t be after standing for practically two hours tallying all those Presidential candidates? We were sitting on the grass, beside each other. She had her legs stretched out in front of her, leaning back with her hands on the ground. “It’s done at last,” she said with relief in her voice.

I followed her comfortable position. “We should go home now. It’s already 11 PM after all.”

She looked at me in surprise. “But aren’t we all going home by groups?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I was told that we’d go home by groups. You guys from the village you live in go home together.” She gestured toward the youth members who lived near her house. “I get to go home with them.”

“That’s stupid,” I replied. “You’re tired now so you should go and rest already.” I stood and pulled her up. “C’mon, you can come home with us. We’re going to be riding in a van so I’m pretty sure there’s still room for you.”

She reluctantly stood up. “But there are quite many of you from your village. I don’t think I should impose myself there.”

“Nonsense,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I’m sure there’s still room to spare.”

But as it turned out, the van going to our village was packed and the members living there or near the area were the ones prioritized.

“I’m sorry,” I said embarrassed that I couldn’t make her ride with us. “I really thought there’d be no problem."

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “I knew this arrangement in the first place. You go home ahead now.”

I held her arm. “But what about you? Who will you be going with?” I was really worried how she’d get home at this late hour.

She pointed to the group of people living near her house. “I’ll be fine going with them,” she said in a reassuring voice. “They’re sure to drop me in front of my house too.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced but had to settle for that since I couldn’t do anything else. “Make sure to come home by midnight okay?” I said still holding her arm. “I’ll call you.”

Mace’s eyes widened in surprise. “Do you even have my phone number?”

“I have my ways,” I answered mysteriously.

Actually, I did have her number even if it was unlisted in the phone directory. Every first month of the new year, we would gather contact information from all members of the youth committee. This is protocol just in case there’s a need to update anything new with the members, like a new address or new phone number.

I was the lucky one asked to gather such details last January and I’ve got a copy back home. I remembered feeling slightly pissed at being assigned this task. It was tedious after all; but at this particular moment in time, I have the sudden realization that the saying, “Everything in life has a purpose,” holds true.

She was shaking her head and peering closely at me. “I’m curious to know what way you used then,” she said. “Our number is unlisted.”

“It’s no rocket science,” I answered with a grin. “But you’ll find out soon enough.”

“You know, I’ve been wondering what you ate today,” she said slowly.

That remark caught me off guard. “Why?”

“Coz you’ve been the perfect gentleman this entire time,” she answered, her eyes looking down at the ground.

“Is that a bad thing?”

She looked up and I could see troubled brown eyes. “No, I guess not,” she answered uncertainly. “It’s just that I’m not used to it I guess.”

I was about to say something else when I heard my neighbors calling me. It was time to leave. I was still holding her arm. “Get home soon okay? I’ll call you at midnight to check if you’ve made it back safe.”

“I can’t say I’ll be home by 12,” she answered gesturing toward her group of neighbors. “It looks like they still have a lot to do.”

“I’ll still call you,” I said. Then giving her arm a squeeze, I ran towards the van with neighbors who looked really annoyed at me for being the cause of their delay. The van sped away and I looked back at her, getting smaller and smaller until I could see her no more.

Mace went home way past 12 midnight. I knew this because I called her three times. First, at exactly midnight, second at 1:30 AM and finally, at 2:00 AM. It seemed like it was an old woman who answered, “No, she hasn’t arrived yet” each time I asked for her.

I collapsed on the bed after the third try. Where is she? Did they do a re-count or something? I wondered. I glanced at the clock which said 2:05 AM. Fatigue came without warning and I didn’t even notice that my eyes had closed.

I fell asleep thinking of what she could possibly be doing at this late hour.

And dreamt of her sunny smile and our hands entwined.