【Reanna】

"Where did that come from?"

It was the first words that I uttered upon arriving at the bus stop heading to the town of Orizanillo. I uttered that question as soon as I saw a handkerchief seemingly tied to a tree branch.

"This was just like the movie I saw the other day..." I couldn't help commenting once again as I continued staring at the handkerchief that the wind was blowing gently. Of course, I couldn't really help smiling at the sight.

But it soon faded after remembering the reason why I decided to go to Orizanillo in the first place.

A heavy sigh came out of my lips soon after.

Why did I even end up having writer's block now, of all times? Honestly, it was the only depressing thought that my mind could conjure at the moment. Great! Why did I have to think of such things at this point, of all times?

If this would continue, I would never be able to produce anything for me to write.

"And now... things will start to feel lonely around me..." Once again, I muttered. A depressing sigh just came out of my mouth.

November cold doesn't really give me the greatest of feelings, if I would be that honest.

"Reanna!"

That voice brought me out of my reverie... again. Upon turning around to know who called me like that, I smiled at the sight of my best friend and former elementary classmate Mira Arabejo approaching me.

"Mira! Long time no see!" I greeted excitedly and ran towards her.

As soon as we were both within reach, she surprised me when she glomped on me and hugged me tight.

"Hey, careful with that, will you? You nearly pushed me to the ground," I reprimanded, but it seemed that Mira wasn't listening at all. She was just tightly hugging me.

It looked liked she really missed me, huh?

It wasn't long before Mira released me from her incredibly tight hug.

"Sorry. I just missed you, that's all. It's been so long since you last came here," Mira said to me with a grin.

"Yeah, I already thought of that. But you surely got heavier since the last time we met up, huh?"

"Hey, no fair! I've been working out, you know?"

Well, this banter could go on for as long as I wanted to. But for now, perhaps it would be better if I rest first since the travel from the city to Orizanillo was completely tiring for me. It had been a while since I went to this town, after all. So I think it would take some time for my body to get used to it again.

"Anyway, maybe we should head home for now. Mom already prepared your favorite dishes so you could eat to your heart's content and of course, let you rest as much as you'd like," Mira said soon after.

I could only sigh at her words. "Aunt Aya is going to spoil me again," I replied, mentioning about Mira's mother.

"Oh, come on! You know she's always like that to you. You should've gotten used to that by now."

In any case, I still took the offer since I really did need to rest properly. Besides, Aunt Aya was like a second mother to me, even when I was still living in Orizanillo during my elementary days.

But before I could take a step away from there, my eyes soon caught sight of that tied handkerchief once again.

"So you too are interested in that, huh?"

It was enough to snap me out and made me face Mira. She was looking at it with a sad expression. Of course, I found that weird.

"Mira?" I called out, hoping to distract her from it.

But even after I did that, Mira just sighed wistfully and faced me not long after. "If only people knew the real reason why that handkerchief was there in the first place..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Would you believe that the story of that tied handkerchief was something scary and quite superstitious?"

Of course, I didn't expect that to hear from her. But the words "scary" and "superstitious" only made me frown.

"The town mayor decided to do this, done on the 17th day of the month the couple who would usually meet on the spot where the handkerchief was tied to had died."

My eyes widened upon hearing that. "You're joking, right?"

But Mira shook her head, her eyes were looking at me seriously. And trust me, they were dead serious.

"It happened a year ago. The girl had a grave illness that she kept from her lover for a long time. But even so, they would still meet underneath that tree. It didn't take long before the guy discovered his girlfriend's secret and was depressed because of it that he didn't show up to their meeting place for quite some time. And when he finally decided to appear to her and tell her that he still loved her, it was all too late. She died there. Even during her last moments, she waited for him to appear. Though they got to say goodbye, it wasn't enough. He was about to take her to the hospital even though it was hopeless when a truck driven by a drunken driver hit both of them. The guy died holding his dead lover's hand tight."

Woah... That was seriously some kind of a story, if you ask me. But wait...

"What does the handkerchief has to do with that story?" I couldn't help asking.

"The red handkerchief that hanging there symbolizes the tragic fate of those lovers. And the mayor claimed to have seen the ghost of the young man wandering underneath the tree, looking up with a really sad look on his face. The mayor sort of had an epiphany that the red handkerchief the girl gave to the guy was a symbolism of trying to connect to his lover once again and also his way of trying to appease the spirit of the couple. Especially the guy who died unexpectedly, regretting that he left her despite her situation."

I couldn't believe such a story even existed. And Mirae said that it happened a year ago.

"But if you ask me," Mira continued. "I think it's for the best if they don't know the real story why that handkerchief was there in the first place. At least they could still create beautiful stories because of that, even though some of them could be a little exaggerated in some ways."

I could only smile at my best friend's perception about this issue. And if I should say so myself, I think it was for the best to preserve the real story of that handkerchief, no matter how painful it had become for the couple.

"How about you, Reanna? Have you ever felt something like that before?" Mira asked all of a sudden that my mind wasn't able to register the question immediately.

"Huh?"

"Don't just say 'huh'. Answer it."

"What am I suppose to answer?"

"Have you ever felt something like that before?"

"Like what?"

"Like you have chosen to stay by your lover's side despite what you've learned about him until the end. That even if it's a grave situation, you would still choose to remain by his side in spite of all that's about to come and tear you apart."

With that finally cleared, I sighed exasperatingly. Seriously, of all questions that Mira would ask me...

"Do I look like someone who already had experienced being in a relationship? My love life after all this time is like a tree waiting for the rain to fall in the middle of a drought." Okay, that turned out to be a little exaggerated as a description.

"Woah! Don't tell me you still have feelings for that high school sweetheart of yours that you were telling me before?"

"What? No! Besides, he married early after impregnating his girlfriend during college." I took a deep breath to remove the uneasiness I was beginning to feel for some reason because of bringing that memory up. "Maybe we should head home for now. I'd prefer you telling me about the story of the couple's handkerchief than focus on my story-less love life standing in the middle of its own drought."

"Enough with the drought comparison, will you?!" Mira exclaimed in frustration that only made me laugh.

Despite the sad (and possibly scary) story that the tied handkerchief held, there was a part of my heart that told me about an uncertain tale beginning to unfold in that moment.