Thousand Regrets

Drew sipped at the cup of tea offered to him by Matilda, the woman who was currently living in May's house. She had told him to make his nerves calm, before she told him where May was. He had agreed, she was the only lead he got on where to find May, and he didn't want to be rude by not accepting her hospitality.

She sat down across from him, a paper in her hands.

"This letter is for you, Drew. A friend of mine gave it to me three months ago, saying that May wrote it for the man she loves. The name Drew Hayden was written on the envelope, but there was no address, and we couldn't be sure on which Drew Hayden she was talking about. She never did tell her love life to any of us until she was sure that they— I mean you two are together."

Drew took the letter, carefully eyeing the cursive of May's handwriting. It was a bit shaky than her previous handwritten letters and he wondered why. Why had she written a letter for him and not address it to him immediately? Why was her handwriting like something really bad happened to her?

He would only get his answers on the letter, so he opened it and began to read.

Dear Drew,

I'm sorry for writing this letter to you. I never would have written it if times were a bit different.

The first thing I wanted to say is I love you.

I love you so much that I would have wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. But fate is fickle, and she only gave me less than a year before a rare sickness took over me. I was going to wait for you for such a long time, because I know you, and I know that you are busy with work and you don't have time to come here and visit me.

I understand that, Drew, and I don't hate you for it.

What I don't understand though, is why you never told me that you already had someone else. You should've just told me straight out that day and rejected me, I would've taken it better.

You're not the type of person to cheat Drew, I know because you that's what your father did and you hated him for it.

I was scared. Scared that you're only giving me hope and won't come to me in the end. I had wished that you would still visit me even when you're only going to reject me.

And then I received the news of your engagement.

I never thought I could be bitter about such a thing, but I did.

Eventually, I got over it.

I realized that maybe you just didn't tell me because you didn't want to hurt me; that you didn't want to ruin our friendship.

I'm sorry for making things complicated. I'm sorry for hoping that you'll return my feelings back. I know you love me Drew, I was just too blind to see that it wasn't the same love I was giving you. I had assumed that we were going to be okay, but we weren't.

If I had the chance, I would still be waiting for you right now, right this second, until you come and say what you wanted to say that day. But I don't think my body would last any longer.

I love you Drew, and I wanted to say congratulations even if you didn't give me an invitation. I know it would take years from today before you're able to read this. You might even have a swarm of kids of your own. I know you want to have many, since you're only a single child.

I'll miss you, and I'll still be waiting on the after life. Maybe then I can hear your answer. I'll accept it no matter what the outcome is.

I love you.

May

A blotch went straight to the paper, and he didn't realize they were his tears until Matilda gave him a handkerchief. He took it, but didn't made a move to wipe them away. The tears just kept falling, his vision becoming blurry yet he felt numb. So numb.

"Where is she now?"

"At 3rd street," Drew knew even without asking that that was where the cemetery was. The tears just fell harder, and he began to sob out. He clutched the paper in his chest, trying to will away the pain the blossomed inside him.

"W-when… when d-did she p- leave…" he couldn't continue what he was about to say, just because if he said it, it'll mean he's accepting that she's gone. That there was no longer a place he could go back to. That he was too late.

And he was too late.

"Six months ago," was what Matilda whispered, her voice void of emotion.

It took a few minutes before his sobs finally died down, the handkerchief was soaked with his tears but he didn't mind it at the least.

He was about to leave, thanking Matilda for the letter and the information about May, when there was a soft knock on the door. Matilda stood up from her chair and opened the door to a face of waist long chocolate hair and bright blue eyes, matched with a sunny smile.

His eyes widened, thinking that he had passed out and dreaming right at the moment.

He said her name in barely a whisper, and she seemed to have heard him and looked directly at him seeing him for the first time.

Her eyes mirrored his in their size, before she uttered "Drew."

A/N: Forgive me, I just love cliffhangers.

Originally I had this story in tragedy section, but I don't really like sad endings no matter how much I love angst-y stories. So yes, this will be a happy ending. There will be one more chapter left, so read and review! Enjoy~