Yugto

The humid, sweltering heat caused beads of sweat to trickle down their necks. But honestly, she didn't mind. They sat, close enough for the hairs on their arms to touch, in silence under the only mango tree in their school. She peered at him from her periphery, watching his eyes follow a figure - Sabine, she realized - from afar.

With bated breath, she waited for him to say something, the soil under her hands, bare.

"Aba, if you want something, go for it."

Deep in her heart, she knew that the advice wasn't meant for her but for himself.