They Know The End

Russell

11:32 am

As we searched for a better shop for me to get dresses from, my face was still flushed from embarrassment after that encounter we had in the previous store. Surprisingly, I had no hatred towards the sales clerk. 

"You. . .didn't need to defend me like that," I began. My voice was still soft and mellow.

"I had to. She was stopping you from trying on a dress," Matt replied. He sounded so tough and protective of me. Him with his serious face was a very different person. He looked more confident and more decisive. The red tint on my cheeks only deepened. I had to slap myself to focus. 

"What was that for?" he asked me. 

"N--nothing!" I answered. "I was. . .very tired."

I could only hear my pounding heartbeats as the silent permeated. 

"Yeah I noticed. You didn't even try to defend yourself."

I huffed. "I was also scared." I looked at him. "I never experienced something like that before." Mostly because I never got to do anything outside of trying to survive, I wanted to add. "Are people always like that when it comes to doing something different?"

He licked his lips. "Well, this is the Philippines, what do you expect? People here are very. . .close-minded."

I didn't say anything. To be honest, I never went outside of my home. And even if I could, I probably wouldn't be able to adapt to the new way of life. "Are other countries better?"

"I guess." He shrugged. "I wouldn't know, 'cause I only heard things about them from the Internet. But usually, they are." 

Now, the blush completely disappeared. My heartbeat calmed. 

"Do you wish that you were born somewhere else? Like, a better place ha."

"Duh. I don't want to stay here."

We were both silent. The weight of the world seemed to bury us. For the first time in a long while, I started thinking of what would this world be in the future. Then, in an instant, I shook my head. There was no time for that. Focus on what's in front of you, I tell myself. 

I turned to Matt and noticed he was taking out a water bottle. He drank some and turned to me and offered it. "Thirsty?"

"No," I replied. I gritted my teeth. 

"Okay." He returned the container to his backpack. "Let's go get you a dress."

-

I eyed a colorful dress, filled to the brim with the blinding colors of the rainbow. It was enough to make someone stop and turn around, that's for sure. It stood out, and that was exactly I was going for. 

If I was dying, I might as well go out with a bang. 

- 

The sales clerk was kinder than the previous one. She treated me like an actual person who wanted to buy the dress. We managed to waive most of the fees thanks to our Decker discount--whatever Matt said.

I also decided to wear the dress itself. I gave back the clothes he gave me. Once we were outside of the store, I danced and twirled around, grinning in delight.

Me wearing a dress felt more liberating. It was the first decent piece of clothing I had worn since forever. I could see the duo-toned skin on my arms. I had lighter skin on my shoulders than on the lower part of my arm.

I hugged myself. It was one of the few moments I loved myself.

"You look good with a dress," Matt said, managing a little smile.

"Thanks," I replied, stopping the twirl and standing in front of him. I looked around. "What should we do now?"

I thought that he would take more time to think than he should. Instead, he smiled at me. "Well, you've been wanting to try those bikes, right? If you still have some money, then we can hire one bike for the both of us."

"Right!" I exclaimed. "Well then, we should go now!"

-

We found the stall that had mall bike rentals. At first, we couldn't afford it, but thanks to the Decker discount, we managed to avail of one of two offers. 

"So," Matt asked me. "We can afford two bikes for a limited time or one bike for an indefinite time."

I was blushing profusely again. "W--we can have t--the one bike. I want to. . .make the most of this trip."

He smirked at me and then paid the cashier. She helped us set up the bike and taught us how to use it. She also told us some of the rules, which went over my head. Matt nodded and he sat on the seat. He already placed his backpack in the basket at the back of the bike. 

He looked at me. "What are you waiting for? Let's go."

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

"You're just going to have to sit on my lap."

"Yeah, I noticed."

There was some awkward silence there. 

But, finally, I managed to settle in his lap. I fixed my dress. I could feel some damp parts of his shirt; he must still be sweaty. The bike was definitely not made for this. There was barely any room for me. I held the steering wheel. 

"So where to, miss?" he joked over my shoulder. The air from his breath tickled the left side of my neck. 

I mustered the courage to respond, "Anywhere. We should explore the mall."

-

And explore the mall we did. It turned out that the mall was like a donut. It was round, and there was a space at the center. The mall was also divided into four wings, based on where the entrances were pointing. There was the one pointing to the city, one to the mountain, one to the sea, and one to the Cube--a man-made landmark. 

We passed by a big window, showing us what was inside the donut, that was the mall. 

"You see that?" Matt pointed at the window, showing the base of a tower. "That's supposed to be finished a little later after the mall was done, but there were a lot of delays. Even now, no one is allowed to enter it."

"We wouldn't be able to see what it would be like when it is finished," I said. 

That scary feeling settled in again. It was like the darkness was creeping from behind us. I suddenly became wary of anything that could kill us both, something to distract me from blushing all of the time. 

"Yeah, I guess," he replied. "But it's not really my problem. If anything, this mall is fine as it is."

I thought about the sheer beauty of the place, despite how quiet it was now. I thought about the experience with the sales clerk, when he defended me from her, and when we bought this dress. Now I thought about us riding this bike, up until this very moment. 

I managed a small smile. "Yeah. I don't think this mall needs this tower too. It already has everything."