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I am Bert and this is my story.
She's Elise, the most beautiful girl I've ever met.
From the moment I first saw Elise, I already liked her. We were in elementary school when we first met. I remember that I didn't expect her to become my classmate.
"HEY!" I shouted at her.
I was still thinking about what to say next when she suddenly approached me, slapped and punched me, but I didn't feel any pain.
"My name is not 'Hey,' it's ELISE!! ELISE!!! ELISE!!!"
She said angrily and loudly, then she left quickly. I watched her while holding my cheek, smiling.
I saw her again! In the classroom, I looked at her and she looked back at me. My heart raced during that moment, and I felt embarrassed and looked away.
When I look at Elise, my world seems to stop. Even when my teacher scolds me for being mischievous, I still smile because of her.
—
Days and weeks passed, and Elise and I became close, but she still kept hurting me haha.
As she told me stories, I couldn't hear any voices around me, I just watched her, admiring her beautiful face. I felt happy when I talked to her.
Elise's dad is a lawyer, and her mom is a teacher. Their family is well-off, while I always have a hard time.
A few days later, Elise talked to me. They were going back to Manila.
"When will you come back?" I asked.
"I don't know, maybe never."
I didn't stop her, knowing there was nothing I could do.
The next day was the day of her departure. She waited for me at our favorite spot to bid goodbye.
"Don't forget me, Bert." She said sadly.
Then she kissed my cheek and gave me a music box.
Elise was getting on the jeep.
"Don't forget me, Bert! We're breaking up!!" were her final words to me.
I was left teary-eyed while holding the toy she gave me.
"I'll miss you, Elise." I said.
First kiss, first crush, first heartbreak.
——
12 years later...
I finally graduated from high school, still contemplating whether to become a marine. I didn't even like my course, but I needed to push through, and as a result, I graduated cum laude.
I suddenly thought of Elise. I wish she was here to graduate with me.
When I got home, the lights were off, and the house was empty and quiet. When I entered...
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BERTTT."
My friends and family surprised me. I had forgotten it was my birthday today; I wouldn't have known if they hadn't surprised me.
"Hey, Bert, have you seen the beautiful girl outside?" Niklaus whispered to me, my close friend Nik.
He introduced me to Kylie. She was beautiful, and I was stunned when I saw her. My world stopped again.
Feeling shy, I hesitated to go out because I'm quite shy, but Nik pushed me until I was in front of Kylie.
I could only shake her hand.
—
Over time, Kylie and I became close. She also liked chocolate, just like me.
Kylie visited our house every day. I even started picking her up from school.
Eventually, I confessed my feelings to Kylie, and we became a couple. She was my first girlfriend, sweet, caring, and loving.
A few months later, Kylie started becoming sad. She was going to America to pursue nursing.
It was painful for both of us to be apart, and I tried to persuade her to stay, but she declined. Her father also insisted on it. I couldn't stop her, knowing there was nothing I could do.
The day of her departure came. She hugged me while crying, and I was left in shock and unable to accept what was happening.
Tears slowly fell from my eyes as I watched her walk away.
Things where I find happiness always seem to slip through my fingers. They come quickly and disappear just as fast.
——
During a festival in our neighborhood, Nik suggested going to a dance party. He was the one who suggested it, but I ended up waiting for him.
As I navigated through the dancing crowd, a girl bumped into me. She was with a group of tough-looking guys.
I ignored them until Nik arrived and called my name loudly.
"BERTT!!! You were just here? I've been looking for you." he said.
"Oh, why only now?" I asked him, scratching my head.
Someone else called my name, and I turned to look. It was the girl who had bumped into me earlier.
"Bert?! HAHA oh, you're here. I didn't recognize you. You used to be so small, and now you've grown tall." she said with excitement.
I was happy to see Elise again, and I greeted her and caught up with her. Then a guy named Vandrius, her boyfriend, arrived.
Elise introduced me to Vandrius.
"Hi, I'm Vandrius, Van for short. Nice to meet you, uh, Bert?" he said.
"Y-yes, B-Bert," I stammered in reply.
I felt a slight pinch, maybe because my feelings for Elise resurfaced when I saw her again.
—
Days and months passed, and I noticed that Elise was always crying whenever she visited me.
I found out it was because of Van. Elise remained loyal to him despite witnessing him cheating openly.
Van had a tough and bad-boy image, and I didn't understand what Elise saw in him.
Elise continued to turn a blind eye to Van's infidelity.
"When did she learn to be a martyr?" I remarked.
I walked home with Zein, who had been interested in me for a while, but I didn't pay much attention to him.
As we walked, I saw Elise at a restaurant, alone. I let Zein go ahead and walked up to Elise.
"Hey, why are you alone?" I asked her.
"Van didn't show up for our dinner," she replied.
I saw the sadness in Elise's eyes, so I started joking around to make her smile. That night, only the two of us had dinner and headed home together.
—
Rain poured heavily, accompanied by loud thunder and lightning, when someone knocked on my door. I quickly opened it and found Elise standing there, crying and soaked. I let her in, gave her some clothes, and offered her to change.
"Get dressed, you can borrow my clothes for now," I said and turned away.
As I faced away, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw Elise's beautiful figure. I quickly averted my gaze when I saw her looking at me.
"I hope he didn't catch me," I muttered.
After she changed, I asked her why she came to my house.
"I saw Van kissing another girl at the bar. I slapped him, and then I left and came here to you. You're the only one I know I can turn to. I thought I was smart, but now I'm wondering if I'm just dumb. I believed in what I achieved, but maybe I'm a fool? I've been so impressed by what people think, I should have believed in what I want, not what I think. He promised to change, but nothing changed, that's how handsome guys are, right? They're players, that's how you guys are."
I was taken aback by Elise's words and couldn't help but get angry. "You know, I think if he truly cared about you, he wouldn't make you cry. Elise, are you really this foolish? Are you just going to keep turning a blind eye? Are you okay with being an option all the time?"
"Because I love him," she shouted.
"Does he love you, Elise? If he did, he wouldn't make you cry. Why are you here crying in front of me? He's openly cheating on you, and you still want to reconcile. How many times have you cried because of him? Why can't you leave him?"
"Because I love him," she repeated.
"If he loved you, why are you here crying? Elise, he's cheating on you right in front of you. And now you want to fix things. I've had enough of seeing you cry because of that jerk. Can't you leave him?"
"Because I love him," she said with determination.
"Elise, if you really loved yourself, you wouldn't let him treat you like this. Don't waste your love on the wrong person."
I saw tears slowly stream down Elise's face, and I stopped talking, apologizing to her.
"Sorry, it's just... you know, I care about you. It's okay," I said, embracing her.
............
I lay in my room, waiting for sleep to come, when Elise suddenly walked in.
"Bert, can I sleep here?" she asked.
"Why? Aren't you comfortable in your room?" I inquired.
"Not really, I'm just not used to it," she replied.
"Would I refuse? Sure, but you take the bed, I'll just sleep on the floor," I said.
Two hours passed, and the atmosphere became serious. I sat up from my lying position and looked at Elise.
"If only you loved me instead, you wouldn't have to cry," I said.
I thought she had fallen asleep, so I said it. But apparently not.
—
The next day, Elise invited me to our favorite spot. When I got there, I saw her with a lot of luggage.
"Where are you going with all those bags?" I asked.
"Just sit down," she replied.
........
As we enjoyed ice cream and shared stories, suddenly Vandrius arrived and picked up Elise. She quickly said goodbye to me and left. I didn't get a chance to ask where they were going or what he was planning. I couldn't do anything. The events of last night replayed in my mind. They had fought yesterday, but now they were making up. And here I was, watching Elise slowly move away again, smiling to myself, and then I went home.
From then on, I never saw Elise again. I didn't know where she and Van went or what happened to them.
Days turned into months without any news from Elise. Until one day, Nik suddenly told me something.
"Bert!! Bert!! I heard some gossip about Elise," he said.
"What gossip is that now, Nik?" I replied.
Nik told me that Van had already taken responsibility for Elise because she was pregnant. At first, I didn't believe the rumor Nik was sharing, but upon reflection, I realized it wasn't far-fetched given how much Elise loved Van. If it was true, it was their decision, and I hoped she would have a good life with Van, I said.
8 months later...
"Child! Bert, our child!" my mom shouted.
"Oh mom, is there a problem?" I answered.
"Get dressed, I'm taking you to yoga," my mom said.
At first, I resisted because I was feeling lazy, but she insisted, so I went with her. When we arrived at the gym, I saw a familiar woman. I looked at her slowly, from head to toe, and that's when I saw... Elise.
Seeing Elise again made me happy. I had so many questions for her, and that's when I found out that she wasn't really pregnant with Van's child.
"Where's Van? What happened between you two?" I asked Elise.
"We're not together anymore. I broke up with him after I saw him with another girl again. I slapped him and told him it was his last time fooling me. After that, he had nothing to say," Elise proudly replied.
"You're still the same Elise I knew," I said.
.....................
A lot happened between Elise and me, like my confession of feelings to her. Eventually, Elise and I became a couple, and I was so happy when she said yes.
We kept our relationship a secret from her parents because we both knew they would disapprove.
After a few weeks, Elise's parents found out our secret.
"Elise! Let's talk, the man I want you to marry is William. He's rich and educated, unlike that B-Bert! Out of all the decent men out there, why did you end up with him? You know, I want you to break up with him and marry William whether you like it or not!" Elise's father angrily said.
Elise, who was crying, spoke up, "Dad, I don't love him. I don't love William! Dad, I'm finally happy now. Are you going to deny me that? All my life, I've followed your orders, never once was I allowed to be happy for myself. But now, I want to be happy with my decisions. Can't I have that, too? Can't I?"
Her father couldn't respond to her words. He just left the room.
Elise cried all night and was overwhelmed by everything that had happened.
—
Both Elise and Bert knew that nothing could stop Elise's father from forcing her to marry William.
All my life, I had let the people important to me slip away, and that night, I couldn't let Elise go.
"Nik, can you rent a car for Elise and me?" Bert asked.
"Of course, Bert, just for you," Nik replied.
That night, with thunder roaring and heavy rain pouring, Bert and Nik arrived in front of Elise's house and waited until Elise came out.
Elise saw Bert and Nik in a car, and she quickly placed her belongings in a suitcase, not knowing what Bert had planned. Her father was unaware of her intentions to leave with Bert. She grabbed her wallet and was about to leave the gate when it suddenly slipped from her hand. To her surprise, there was a lot of money in it. Looking up at her window, even in the darkness, she could clearly see her father's cigarette smoke as he watched her. She smiled at what she saw, an event that carried deep meaning. With that, she got into the car, and Bert quickly drove away. It was the best decision of my life, and I followed the course of my story.
—
Elise and I were happy together. I never regretted leaving with her. Her family never found her.
Our love eventually bore fruit.
"Bert! Bert! I'm going into labor!" Elise shouted.
I panicked and called Nik to pick us up. When we arrived at the hospital, they didn't let me into the emergency room. I waited outside until the doctor came out.
I greeted the doctor with a smile. "Doc, how's the baby?"
"The baby is okay, but I'm sorry, sir. We did everything we could to save your wife, but she didn't make it through childbirth," the doctor said.
I stood there in shock, unable to believe it. The news felt like being thrown into a fire of pain. I went to see Elise.
"I thought you were strong. With all the challenges we faced, why did you give up here, my love? It hurts so much. You left me when I had so many dreams with you. You left me when I could finally love you freely. It's so unfair, Elise!" I exclaimed loudly while sobbing.
What I initially thought was good news turned into a nightmare when I went to sleep. I couldn't accept the loss of my beloved Elise.
Many people heard my crying. I kept repeating Elise's name and screaming in anguish.
During Elise's wake, her parents arrived, approached the casket, and cried as they mourned. I cried too, unable to accept Elise's passing. I couldn't comprehend losing her. The memory of the happy days we spent together and how our love story began haunted me, making me feel even sadder.
After the funeral, I went home and took the toy Elise gave me when we were kids, back when everything was okay. I gave it to her parents as a token of our memories.
After Elise's death, I couldn't bring myself to be interested in anyone else. She was the only woman in my heart.
........................
I told our story to our child.
The end...
