Little Wolf's Love

Little Wolf's Love

Little Wolf's Love
21st October, 2004. Thursday.

It was a fairly windy afternoon as we sat by his favorite spot at the deck of the Pacific Place condo, away from the people, a secret hideaway. We had just come from his school trying to settle his requirements for the coming semester, that we decided to take a little breather up at the deck. The sun was high up and illuminated the blue serene sky as the wind blew gentle steady breeze.

Yesterday during Ragnarok siege, Taz had been very anxious to tell me something. He said he has realized something. I wondered what it was about. For a moment I felt a tinge of hope in his tone... I guess it's really good news.

As we sat by the small stairs' step, we talked on mostly about our friends and psychoanalyzing each one of them. Suddenly he cheerfully said, "Hey! I already know what my Chinese name is!"

"Really?", I smiled back at him, "What is it?"

He said, "It's Xiao Hu. You know what it means?" and smiled at me.

"Hmmm... I have no idea. What does it mean?", I coaxed as if I was talking to a little boy proud of his discovery.

"It means Little Wolf," proudly answering.

Taz, who has been so fond of puppies and dogs, believed what his psychic friend had told him that lifetimes ago he was a wolf, or he had a wolf guardian, or something like that. He even showed me the way his skin hair formed like a wolf's claw along his hands. After so much stories about the wolves and how much he loved them, he brightly told me, "I know your Chinese name too."

"Haha! Okay... tell me what it is," I said giggling.

He looked at me with a grin and said, "It's Xiao Hu Wei."

"Xiao Hu Wei," I repeated as I looked at the windows of the building beside the condo then I looked at him again with anticipation and asked, "And that means?..."

"It means...", he started to say coyly, "It means Little Wolf's Love."

I just stared at him trying to pick things up. Xiao Hu Wei. Little Wolf's Love. Me. How can Wryan be Little Wolf's Love? Thoughts ran through as I stared at the blue sky then at him then back at the blue sky, the wind untucking some strands from my ponytail unto my face.

Hmmm... Little Wolf's Love...

I realized it was such a long silence that had passed when Taz suddenly blurted out, "Oh Wryan! Why are you so slow?..."

"Huh?", I stared at him questioningly. Xiao Hu Wei. Little Wolf's Love. Can it be true? Not that I don't understand. I just didn't want to be self-assuming...

Taz took my hand and asked me to stand up. I did. And as we stood face to face to each other he started, "Remember last time I said that when I've put my heart into something, nothing can change my mind or how I feel?"

Turning everything to be casual I answered, "Yes you did. So... is this what you've been meaning to tell me since yesterday?"

"Wryan, I..." he stammered, "there's something..."

"Hmm... it seems like the writer has ran out of words," I teased him with a giggle. He laughed the same but tried to get back to serious.

He held both my hands and continued,"I... I don't have any gifts. I don't have flowers. I don't have chocolates or teddy bears...", his thumbs gently rubbing the back of my hands as he spoke, "I'm failing in school. I don't really have much to offer... but I know I love you. I love you, Wryan."

I stared at him struck by his words. "Can.. you.. say it again?...", I asked slowly as if my breath came in gasps. My heart started beating harder than it normally does and felt the heat rise to my face.

"I love you. I love you. I love you," he said close to me as if to whisper those words to my heart.

Still I stared on, breathlessly... then did the only thing my mind was able to come up with. Embrace him. Embrace him real tight. For so long I have waited to hear those words coming from him, now I'm finally hearing it.

He was surprised with what I did but he held me too, tightly, as he asked, "Can you be my girl?"

I answered, "Yes." as the heat on my face reached my eyes and tears started falling.

It's too much happiness that I could not contain. We stood there hugging each other for a long time, afraid that the wind might blow one of us away the moment we let go.

Then we started laughing. Good old Wryan and Taz. Back to normal. Except that the next time we visit his school and the Orb, we will be holding each other's hand and giving out too much glances on each other.

Except this time, we are in love.