*Who's My Eternal*
*Sunday — Kael's Farm, 1:30 PM*
Cherry was still picking at her rice. Still saying _good luck_ in her head on loop. Trying not to throw up.
Then she heard it.
"Elian!"
Cindy's voice. Light. Sweet.
Cherry's head snapped up.
Cindy was walking across the field, carrying a plastic bag. Smiling. Her dress was clean, hair done. She didn't look like she'd been working all morning. Because she hadn't.
"I brought lunch," Cindy said, holding up the bag. "I figured you'd be hungry.i made extra adobo."
Elian stood so fast he almost knocked over his banana leaf. "You didn't have to—"
"I wanted to," Cindy said, stopping in front of him. She didn't even glance at Cherry. Like she wasn't there.
Elian looked between Cindy and Cherry. Then back to Cindy.
And Cherry watched it happen. The shift. The world narrowing.
Everything else faded for him. The farm. Cherry presence
Elian smiled. Soft. The smile Cherry used to get. "Thanks, Cin."
Cherry's name died in his throat. He didn't say it again.
He took the bag. Then her hands. Both of them. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Actually," Elian said, voice dropping. "I'm glad you're here. There's something I wanted to tell you."
Cindy tilted her head. "What is it?"
Elian stepped closer. He wasn't nervous now. He was sure.
"You make me feel…" He laughed, breathless. "I don't even know how to explain it. Like I'm awake. Like I've been sleeping and you just… you showed up. At the game. At the farm. Everywhere."
Cindy's cheeks went pink.
"So I need to say it," Elian said. "Before I lose my nerve. I'm in love with you, Cindy. I've been in love with you."
Cherry couldn't breathe.
Cindy's smile went wide. Eyes shining. "Really?"
"Really."
"Because I feel the same thing," Cindy whispered. "I've been waiting for you to say it."
Elian exhaled like he'd been holding it for weeks. "Can I—" He leaned in, forehead almost touching hers. "Can I kiss you? Please?"
Cindy didn't speak. She just nodded.
And Elian kissed her.
It wasn't a peck. It was real. Slow. Like he'd been thinking about it. His hands went to her waist, pulling her close. Cindy's arms wrapped around his neck. She kissed him back.
Under the mango tree. In the middle of the day. In front of everyone.
In front of Cherry.
Cherry sat there. Couldn't move. Couldn't look away. Her rice fell to the dirt.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Silent. One after another. No sound. Pretty girls don't cry. But she was crying. Because this wasn't pretty. This was ruin.
13years. Gone in one kiss.
Then a shadow fell over her.
Noa.
He was standing there. Work clothes on. Face dark. He'd just gotten off his shift. Came straight here.
He saw it all. Elian and Cindy. Locked together.
Then he saw Cherry. On the ground. Crying. Ankle swollen. Forgotten.
His jaw locked.
Cherry didn't even notice him until he grabbed her arm. Not hard. But firm.
"Noa—" she started.
"Up," he said. Voice low. Dangerous.
Cherry resisted. "I'm fine—"
"You're not." Noa didn't look at Elian. Didn't give him the satisfaction. He just pulled Cherry to her feet. She gasped when her ankle took weight.
Noa saw. His eyes flashed. He bent and scooped her up. One arm under her knees, one behind her back. Like Elian should've done yesterday.
Cherry struggled weakly. "Put me down—"
"No."
He walked. Away from the tree. Away from them.
Elian didn't notice. He was too busy kissing Cindy. Too busy holding her like she was the only thing in the world.
Noa didn't stop until they were far. Past the corn stalks. Past the mango tree. Where Elian's voice couldn't reach. Where Cherry couldn't see them kissing.
Only then did he set her down. Careful. On a patch of dry grass by the irrigation ditch.
Cherry wouldn't look at him. She just stared at her hands. Dirty. Shaking. Tear tracks still wet on her cheeks.
Noa crouched in front of her. He wasn't gentle now. He was mad. Eyes blazing. Jaw tight.
"Are you stupid?" he snapped.
Cherry flinched.
"You sat there," Noa said, voice rising. "You sat there and watched him kiss her. On your bad ankle. After he left you on a rock yesterday. After you cried to your dad last night. And you _watched_."
He jabbed a finger at her chest. Not touching. But close. "How much are you gonna hurt yourself for him, Cherry? Huh? Until your legs give out? Until there's nothing left?"
Cherry still didn't speak. Her throat was closed.
"He doesn't feel the same," Noa said. Harder now. Because someone had to say it. "He doesn't. You know it. I know it. The whole damn barangay knows it. He's in love with her. He said it. He showed it. Right in front of you."
Each word was a stone. And Cherry had no hands left to throw them back.
"Let go," Noa said. Angry. Begging. Both. "Cherry, please. Let him go before he kills you. Because that's what's happening. He's killing you slow and you're letting him."
Silence. Just water trickling in the ditch. Just Cherry's broken breathing.
Noa's voice cracked. "You're my friend. You've been my friend since we were kids. And I can't— I can't watch you do this to yourself anymore."
Cherry closed her eyes.
Because deep down, she knew.
He was right.
Elian chose. Loud. Public. With his hands and his mouth and his heart.
And she was still here. Bleeding. Limping. Wishing on a boy who didn't wish back.
She was only hurting herself.
Elian won't love her.
Not like that.
Not ever.
Without a word, Cherry stood. Wobbled on her bad ankle. Didn't ask for help. Didn't look at Noa.
She just walked. Away from the ditch. Away from the farm. Away from him.
Limping. But leaving.
Noa didn't follow. He stayed there, crouched in the dirt. Watching her go.
Then he stood. Slow.
His fists clenched at his sides. Knuckles white. Veins popping.
He stared back toward the mango tree. Where Elian was probably still kissing Cindy. Still forgetting Cherry existed.
Noa's breath shook.
"Fuck," he muttered. To himself. To the sky. To no one.
Because words weren't enough anymore.
He wanted to put action on it.
He wanted to break something.
And he knew exactly what.
Got it — the rain hits, and everything breaks open.
*Road Home — 3 PM, Rain*
The sky cracked open halfway home.
Fat, heavy drops. Then sheets of it. Monsoon rain. No warning.
Cherry didn't run. Didn't look for cover under a sari-sari store or a waiting shed.
She just walked. Limping. Ankle screaming. Rain soaking her shirt, her hair, the dirty bandage until it hung loose and useless.
She deserved it. The cold. The pain. The sky crying when she couldn't anymore.
By the time she reached her gate, she couldn't stand.
Her knees gave out. She hit the mud hard. Didn't even put her hands out to stop it.
And then she broke.
Not quiet tears. Not silent ones like at the farm.
This was ugly. Ripping. Bitter.
She screamed into the rain. Fists pounding the ground. "Why? Why does it have to hurt like this?"
The front door opened.
Mrs. Eva stood there. No umbrella. Just watching.
For the first time, there was no smirk. No poison. Just… something heavy in her face. Guilt. Regret. Maybe.
Cherry saw her. Looked up, hair plastered to her face, eyes red.
And she snapped.
"What?!" Cherry screamed at her. Rain in her mouth. "You gonna hurt me again? Huh? Come on! Do it! I don't understand what you people want from me! Why don't you all just take my life?!"
Her voice broke on the last word. She was shaking. From cold. From pain. From 13years.
"Elian doesn't want me. Noa's mad at me. You hate me. My dad can't even talk to me. So what's the point? Take it! Take all of it!"
Mrs. Eva flinched. Like she'd been slapped.
She didn't speak. Didn't yell back.
She grabbed the umbrella by the door. Stepped into the rain.
Cherry tried to crawl back. "Don't touch me—"
Mrs. Eva dropped to her knees. Mud soaking her skirt. She didn't care.
She dropped the umbrella. It didn't matter anymore. They were both soaked.
And she pulled Cherry into her arms.
Hard. Tight. Like she was trying to put her back together.
"I'm sorry," Mrs. Eva choked out. Voice cracking for the first time in years. "I'm sorry, anak. I'm so sorry."
Cherry froze. Too weak to push. Too broken to fight.
So she collapsed. Into the woman who hurt her. Into the only arms that were there.
And she confessed. Because she had nothing left to hide.
"I love him," Cherry sobbed into Mrs. Eva's shoulder. "I love him so much it's killing me. Since we were kids. Since the pandesal. Since he said pretty girls don't cry and I believed him."
Her nails dug into Mrs. Eva's back.
"And he loves her. He kissed her. He held her like— like he's never held me. And I watched. I sat there and watched and told him _good luck_ like I wasn't dying."
She was wailing now. "It hurts. It hurts so bad I can't breathe. I can't— I don't know how to stop. I don't know how to let go.
Mrs. Eva held her tighter. Rocked her. Rain hitting both of them.
"I know," Mrs. Eva whispered. Hand stroking Cherry's wet hair. "Anak, I know."
Cherry looked up, confused.
Mrs. Eva's eyes were wet. Not from rain. "I know what it's like. To love someone who doesn't look at you. Who looks past you. To everyone else but you."
Her voice shook. "Your dad… before the accident… he only had eyes for your mom. Even when I was here. Even when I tried. He never saw me. Not like that."
Cherry stopped crying. Just for a second. Stared at her stepmom.
"And I took it out on you," Mrs. Eva said. Shame breaking her voice. "Because you have her eyes. Her smile. And he loved you. Even when he couldn't say it. And I was jealous. Of a dead woman. Of a child."
She pulled back. Held Cherry's face. "I'm sorry. For every word. Every hit. Every time I made you feel like you were bad luck. You're not. You're not, Cherry. You're the best thing in this house."
Cherry couldn't speak.
Mrs. Eva pressed their foreheads together. Rain between them. "He's a fool, your Elian. And one day he'll know it. But you don't wait for him. You hear me? You don't drown for boys who can't swim."
Cherry broke again. But this time, she wasn't alone.
She cried into her stepmom's chest. And Mrs. Eva held her.
Not Eva.
Mom.
For the first time, Mom.