Gil is a painter with a simple mindset.

Not even worried about where his life will

take him. He used to think that living is meaningless and life was just a trial, and all you

have to do is enjoy it. People see Gil as a weird painter who solely loves to paint, and

nothing else in life matters.

One night by the calm sea, on a moonless night. Gil found him, a man with long

blond hair with a perfect face, unconscious in the shore. He thought he was an angel in

human form. Drowned in his thought on who this man is, Gil sighed. How can he know? It’s

his first time seeing this beautiful man. As a curious person, Gil tried to wake up the man by

tapping the man’s shoulder multiple times.

“Hey! wake up,” he whispered. The man suddenly opened his eyes and confusedly looked at

Gil, who gasped for what he had seen. The mysterious man’s mesmerizing blue eyes.

“Who are you? How did you end up here? Why do you have blue eyes?” Gil, a curious one,

bombarded the guy with multiple questions.

The man gave answers to his questions by hugging him and uttered. “I finally found you.”

--------

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What was I thinking? Gil thought. The man who deliberately hugged him is now inside of

his house, sitting and looking at him, full of longing in its eyes.

Gil sighed. “I have no choice but to take you in. It’s not like I took a liking to you, get me?”

The man nodded and beamed, making him blush. It’s like he has seen that smile before.

“I’m not saying you like me.” the man teased him, making him blush even more.

“Don’t make fun of me. Don’t you know your name? Where do you live? How old are

you?”

“If I knew, I would have told you earlier.” The man answered.

“Right, using sarcasm now?” Gil tsk.

The man just laughed at Gil enjoying his annoyance, and continued to tease Gil with

his interrogation. Quite a tease for someone he just met. That was the thought that crossed

Gil’s mind.

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 As months passes by, Gil and the man got to know each other’s personalities. What

they want to eat, the color that the two of them like, and they even got to hold to each

other’s temper. Gil often experiences déjà vu whenever he and the man are together. It was

as if he had known the man before.

One day, while Gil was cooking in the kitchen, he heard something broken. He

immediately ran to where the sound was, and saw the man with a bleeding hand.

"What's the matter?" he asked the man as he covered his bleeding hand.

"I dropped your picture frame. I'm curious, so I looked into it." The man then pointed to the

frame. It was a photo of Gil as a child with his parents.

Gil remained to stare at the picture frame as he caressed it. Only now did he see this

picture again. The picture frame has always been at the top of his cabinet. He never wants to

look into it for the reason that he misses his parents. It has been years, mom, dad. I miss you.

It’s been a long time since Gil’s parents died in an accident, and it was his seventh birthday.

For a kid like Gil, it was very traumatizing. The reason he had a hard time accepting his

parents’ death.

“They loved you so much.” The man abruptly said while patting his head.

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“Why? Did my parents tell you that they loved me so much?” Gil laughed.

“N-no. I mean, they are your parents, so it is unquestionable.” Gil noticed that the man

stuttered and felt uncomfortable with his joke. It’s like he’s hiding something from him.

“Yes. My parents loved me so much. That’s why they are not here with me anymore.” Gil

said and smiled sadly at the man in front of him.

Gil hugged the man and uttered. “Don’t leave me too. You made me want to think that life’s

not meaningless at all, so don’t go anywhere.”

While hugging, Gil heard the man’s heartbeat. It was fast. It was as if the man was

nervous. Gil looked up to glance at the man, and as he faced him, he was shocked. The man

was blushing while covering his eyes. He is shy. Gil said is his mind.

Gil and the anonymous man both enjoyed their times together. They watch movies,

eat together, and laugh at their jokes. Being with a person with a lack of identity is

complicated. Gil keeps on guessing, but for him, that never matters. He loves the gestures

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the man gives him. Gil loves every single day they spend together. Perhaps he already likes

him?

Night came, and the atmosphere was tranquil. The man, thinking that Gil was

already sleeping, sat beside Gil’s bed and combed his hair and whispered afterward. “I’m

not like other normal people. I’m different. I’ve known you since you were little.”

He heard it all. Gil was shocked. He disregarded the thought and continued to listen to him,

pretending to be asleep.

“I do not have any idea why I am just telling you all of these now that you’re

sleeping. Maybe because you forgot about me and I am too shy to talk to you. I like you,

Gil. Ever since you turned twenty.” The man then kissed Gil’s forehead full of love.

Gil is awake. Gil was having a hard time falling asleep because of the man right

beside him. He was already confused about his feelings, but being with him in the same

room made him more nervous. He continued to listen to the man.

“I am the God of the sea cringe isn’t it? I’ve lived for over two thousand years

already. I thought of wasting my life by socializing with humans until I met you and your

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parents. You were just a kid back then, six years old. I approached your parents, and we got

close to each other.” He continued.

Gil cut the man’s story by his sobs. The man looked at him with concern.

“If you are a sea God or whatever, then you must have power, right? No, you have. But why

didn’t you help my parents?” Gil was sobbing.

“I was not around when the accident happened. I am so sorry, Gil, please forgive me.” the

man plea and hugged him.

Gil keep sobbing and hugged the man back. “Tell me your name.”

The man cupped Gil’s face and wiped his tears. “I can’t tell you.”

“Why? You already told me how did you know about me. Can’t I know at least your name?

Gil was irritated by what the man said. It’s just a name.

“I can’t. It is the rule of the sea. No one can know my name unless they are from the sea

themselves. If other people knew, I will suffer consequences. I will disappear.” The man

said.

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Gil still wanted to insist, but he stopped himself. He doesn’t have the rights. Not even to

know the man’s name.

Three days had passed since the talk happened between Gil and the man. Gil sulked

that night and ran away from his own home. Gil went back to his house and tried to find the

man for reconciliation. He thought the man was just around the house waiting for him until

he saw a leaf on his bedside table. There was a word written, Wade. Together with the leaf is

a letter.

Gil realized that the man was no longer in his house, that the word that Gil read

written in the leaf was the man’s name. And he was gone. Only the things and the memories

they shared were left. The man who he likes was already gone and disappeared like a ghost.

Thinking the man left him and never coming back, Gil sobbed.

“I’m left alone again. I wish I didn’t ask for your name.” Gil uttered to himself.

-------

“I still remember those times. I wish I had not let him go. What about me has changed? Ever

since meeting him? He was my first love. My dream. And my God.” Gil said.

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Heather. The nurse taking care of Gil in the hospital is crying because of the last words that

her patient said. Gil has been telling this story to Heather ever since he was hospitalized, and

she can see in Gil's eyes the longing and sadness every time he tells the story to her.

“You can rest now, grandpa. Meet him and be happy,” Heather hugged Gil as he closed his

eyes with a smile. A tear dropped on his cheek, making Heather smile.

“This is the day you first met. The day you found him, the day of your goodbye. And the

day you will be meeting him again. I hope you are happy, grandpa. Rest well.” Heather said

and kissed his temple as a sign of goodbye.

“Time of death, eleven forty-five pm. January 16, 2013. Patient, Gil Williams.”

Dear Gil,

I know you want to know my name so I am telling you. I will suffer the consequence of

breaking the rule, but I like you and I would rather suffer the consequence than to not tell

you my name. I’m sorry for not helping your parents. I love you.

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Sincerely Loving You,

Wade