Hearts Don't Forget

By the time I stepped outside Starbucks to try their pumpkin spice latte, the leaves were on fire. The leaves of the trees had turned to red and gold. The beauty and splendour before me was something I have seen only in postcards and brochures. My heart fluttered as I began clicking away, completely immersed in what I was doing when,,,oops! My step faltered. I had stumbled on a piece of rock.

"Aray!" I cried aloud, hoping nobody had heard or seen what happened or I would have been embarassed. But I was wrong. Somebody did see me.

"Are you all right?"

"Do I look like I'm all right?" I shot back, trying to get up.

He held a strong right arm to me. "Here, let me help you," he offered and sat me on the nearest park bench.

"Uh oh, you have scraped your knee," he observed. He took out a white handkerchief and dusted the soil from my knee and blew over it. I smiled in surprise. Where did he learn this thing?

As if reading my thought, he volunteered, "I am Filipino. I heard you shout aray so I assumed you are Filipino too. My mom cries aray a lot especially when she is in the kitchen preparing our meals. Both my parents are Filipinos who came to Portland when they were young. I was born here and hardly speak Tagalog but I understand the language very well. He said he finished a degree in Information Technology

'Thank you for your help, Mr.."

"Quinto, Ralph's my first name," he introduced himself.

"Gertrude Alvarez," I answered extending my right hand to him. That was the start of our beautiful frendship.

Ralph was a gentleman through and through, it must be the way his Filipino parents brought him up. He opened doors for me..Pull out a chair for me to sit on, did not interrupt during conversation. Every weekend, he fetched me from my dormitory and we drove all over Portland to soak up the autumnal sights.

He showed me Hillsboro, the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County..The city hosts many high technoology companies such as Intel that compriise what has become known as the Silicon Forest.

On another weekend we went hiking to Three Sisters Wilderness Trail that was full of breathtaking autumn foliage.We also did the amazing eight-mile long Peter Skene Ogden Trail where we saw Paulina Falls and Paulina Peak. The vibrant autumn foliage were awesome to behold.

We soaked up the remarkable autumn foliage at Mount Hood Scenic Loop driving along Columbia River Gorge and the Hood River. Our last stop was the incredibly beautiful Silver Falls State Park with its lush autumn foliage and great waterfalls.At the end of the day we would drop by the seaside to grab the famous Elephant Ears which was just fried dough covered with sugar.

But then, "All good things must come to an end," the adage goes. And I didn't know what hit me.

While devouring our Pumpkin Spice Latte, one Monday morning, Ralph reached across the table and held my hands for a long time.

"Ralph Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"Gertrude, I don't know how to say this. But I have accepted a job at the Silicon Valley in California. I shall be leaving in a few days. I .."

"Ralph, You have caught me unawares. I am surprised, I mean I am shocked, really," I interruoted. At the back of my mind i knew I had no right to detain or even stop him. Yes, we went out and enjoyed each other's company. But that was all there was to our relationship. We were just friends. Our friendship ended as fast as it started.

"This is goodbye then" I stumbled on my words.

"Yes, Gertrude, This is goodbye...for now. But we shall be together again...soon," he tried to reassure me.

He dropped me at the gate of our dorm and drove off without turning his head. I followed him with my gaze until his car was out of sight, hidden in the autumn foliage along the street.

"Goodbye, Ralph, It was nice knowing you."

I immersed myself in my schoolwork to ease the pain of losing a dear friend. "California is only a few miles away. He can easily come home on a weekend if he wanted ," I consoled myself. I continued going to Stsrbucks to have my pumpkin spice latte. And I always stopped at the spot where Ralph and I first met. Sometimes, I laughed recalling how clumsy I had been. But most of the time, I cried. Suddenly my tears would well up in my eyes, running down my cheecks and breaking into smithereens as they hit my hands. "Oh, Ralph, why am I missing you so much? Have I fallen in love with you without intending to"

One Saturday morning my classmates and I went shopping and I saw this friendship ring in a jewelry store. I thought I should buy it and send it to Ralph...to remember me by. But then I thought for a second. "I am living on a scholarship granted by my government. I should not waste good money on luxury. And as the day wore on, we stopped at a cafe to order sandwiches and coffee, not pumpkin spice latte, before we went home.

As soon as we opened the door, the lady at the front desk waved an envelope at me. I ran to get it, hoping it was a check from home. How surprised I was when I found out the letter came from Ralph. Actually, it was a greeting card, I quickly opened it and read its contents.

"Hello Gertrude, Here's something I have read somewhere that I would like to pass on to you: Do you know the relationship between our two eyes. They blink together, move together, cry together, see things together and sleep together. even though they don't see each other. Friendship should be just like that. I miss you." It was simply signed Ralph.

As I folded the card, I noticed something written on its flip side: "Distance doesn't matter when your relatonship is strong enough." I flipped it once more and I was more surprised to read in big bold letters: I LOVE YOU. WAIT FOR ME."