LOGINEPILOGUE The morning sun spilled across the hospital floor, but it didn't bring any warmth. Just a harsh, glaring light that exposed every ugly, unwashed truth in the room.Audrae sat propped up against the pillows, staring blankly at the small table beside her bed. On top of it sat Mama Beth’s pink phone—unlocked now, the final voice recording already played out to its devastating end at 4:00 AM. She had cried until her throat bled, until her eyes burned, until there was nothing left inside her chest except a hollow, echoing void.But as the silence of the morning stretched on, her mind didn't stay on grief. It drifted back to the rooftop. To Kenji’s eyes. To the way he had looked at her like she was the only thing anchoring him to the earth.And suddenly, a bitter, suffocating wave of realization crashed over her.Ang tanga ko.How could she have been so unbelievably, frustratingly blind? Or worse—how could she have pretended to be?For months, Kenji had been showing up. Not just o
CHAPTER : endThe hallway outside Mama Beth's room was unusually quiet.Audrae remained seated on her wheelchair, staring blankly at the dimly lit corridor.She wasn't crying anymore, not because the pain had disappeared.But because she had already cried too much.At some point...Even tears became exhausted.Beside her Kenji quietly sat on one of the waiting chairs.Neither of them spoke, he simply stayed, like he always did.Audrae slowly turned her head toward him only then did she realize something. Ever since the day she got injured he never once asked her to be strong, he never told her to stop crying.He never forced her to smile, he simply...Stayed.When she refused to eat, he brought food, when she stayed in the hospital.He came after every class, when everyone was busy, he somehow found time.She couldn't even remember asking him to do any of those things.Yet he did.Every single day.Quietly.Without asking for anything in return.A small smile appeared on her face."...You
CHAPTER 41; Will You Wait for Something Unsure?"Some goodbyes don't sound like goodbye, that's why they hurt the most."The drive from Manila to Pasig felt longer than it actually was.The city remained awake despite the late hour.Streetlights reflected against the rain-soaked roads while the occasional headlights passed by in silence.Inside Vince's SUV...No one spoke.Audrae sat quietly on the passenger seat, hugging her phone against her chest.She hadn't stopped crying, not because of her injury.Not because of basketball, but because all this time Mama Beth had been carrying her own battle alone.Every memory suddenly came rushing back.The packed lunches she never forgot, the mornings she woke Audrae before sunrise for training. The endless reminders to bring an umbrella, the warm meals waiting after every exhausting game.The simple words— "Mag-iingat ka, alaga."Audrae lowered her head, her shoulders trembled."...I'm sorry..."She whispered to herself."I'm sorry..."Vince tig
CHAPTER 40: When Saving Someone Means Watching Them Fall Apart"Not every battle is fought on a basketball court. Some are fought inside a person's mind... where even the people who love them the most are powerless."There was something more painful than losing a championship. Something far more terrifying than hearing a doctor say, "She needs surgery."It was watching someone slowly lose the will to keep fighting.No one could ever prepare themselves for that.Not Coach Cath.Not Vince.Not Matt.Not Elijah.And certainly not Kenji.Because nothing could compare to seeing the strongest person you knew, become someone you no longer recognized.The fearless captain who once refused to leave the court despite bleeding knees...Now cried until her body gave out.The girl who always reminded everyone to "Stand up after every loss."Could no longer stand on her own, the same Audrae who hated hospitals. Had been given a sedative just to stop her from hurting herself.And somehow that image
CHAPTER 39:CHAPTER 39: But Some Confession Is Better to Keep"Sometimes, love isn't proven by saying 'I love you.' Sometimes... it's proven by staying, even when no one asks you to."The room smelled faintly of medicine.Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains, but it failed to brighten the quiet atmosphere inside.Mama Beth slowly adjusted herself on the hospital bed before looking toward the small table beside her.A bouquet of fresh flowers.A few fruits.Several get-well cards from people she barely knew.She smiled softly."Ang dami namang bumibisita..." she whispered to herself.A few moments later someone knocked gently on the half-open door.Knock. Knock."Pasok."The door slowly opened.Kenji stepped inside carrying a paper bag from a nearby bakery.The moment he saw Mama Beth awake, he smiled politely."Good morning po." Bati ni Kenji.Mama Beth immediately smiled back. "Ikaw pala, good morning."Kenji walked closer and placed the paper bag on the bedside table. "Dumaa
CHAPTER 38: THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE"The cruelest injuries aren't always the ones that break your body... sometimes they're the ones that steal the life you've always dreamed of."Wednesday morning arrived far more quietly than anyone expected.For the first time in weeks, there was no game to prepare for. No scouting report waiting inside the locker room, no pressure of defending an undefeated record.Only one word echoed throughout San Diego University that morning: Recovery.Recovery for sore muscles. Recovery for exhausted minds. Recovery for athletes who had spent months surviving on adrenaline, discipline, and determination.Yet despite the scheduled rest day, the entire campus still carried the energy of yesterday's victories. The Lady Blue Eagles and the Blue Eagles had both officially secured their spots in the UAAP Final Four—marking the first time in years that SDU would be represented in both championship races.Students wearing blue jerseys filled the pathways. Everywhere A







