Jeremy sits at a table for two in a diner, both his hands grasping a cup of coffee. He stares at it as the steam from the run against his face, mind wandering elsewhere. Moments later, he snapped back to reality as the waitress in front of him called his attention.
“Sir!” She calls out to him.
“Uhmm… Yes?” He’s still pretty shaky because he was startled by the waitress, and because the weather is cold.
“Your blueberry pie?” She points at the pie on the table with her eyes.
“Ahhh…” He chuckled. “Thank you. Sorry.”
“Everything okay, sweetheart?” The waitress asked with genuine concern.
“Oh, it’s just…” He took a quick sip of his coffee.”I’ve been travelling for 5 hours now. I caught myself in traffic, so it took way longer than I expected. I did a quick stop because I’m sleepy as hell and you know… I need some juice if I want to make it home in one piece.”
“Where from?”
“Maine.” Jeremy held his coffee mug tight. He’s jittery from all the coffee that he consumed. “I’m uhh… graduating from college in a few days. Decided to move back home, and you know… Pick up my family for the ceremony. Two birds with one stone, I guess.”
As Jeremy was about to take another sip, she grabbed his wrist. “Maybe let’s stop it with the caffeine, m’kay, sweetheart? Now I’m not your mother to tell you what or what not to do, but if you keep drinking all that shit while driving, you’ll end up killing yourself even before you finish college. You get me?”
Jeremy complied with the waitress and lowered his cup of coffee. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right.”
“I know I’m right.” She chuckles. “Now I have to go and serve the others. Enjoy your pie, and call me if you need anything else or if you’re billing out.
He nods. She went her way to other tables and asked for their orders. As soon as she left, Jeremy let out a heavy breath and immediately turned off his social face, dropping his smile. He took out his phone from his corduroy jacket and turned on his camera to see what his face looked like. He touched the bags under his eyes, which looked heavy. His brown complexion looks like it’s draining the more he stays awake. His hand moved to his lips: chapped and a bit pale. He can basically peel the skin off. “I look like shit.”
Jeremy felt a sudden pain coming from his head. From his inner pocket, he pulled out a pill bottle and stared at it for a while. He was thinking whether he should take one since he’s already drunk one before he left for his trip home due to his headache. But since he’s experiencing another episode, he decided to take another one. Jeremy popped two pills due to the intensity of the pain. Since there’s no water around, he grabbed his cup of coffee. “Ah fuck it. Sorry, waitress lady. No time to ask for water.”
He drank the medicine and chugged it down with the coffee. He rested in his seat for a while and closed his eyes to wait for the pain to subside. Jeremy has had headaches since his third year of college. Every time he experiences stress, he experiences headaches. The more stressful the situation is, the more intense it is. It reached a point where he could not take it anymore and visited the doctor, who gave him a prescription for medicine for his headaches. It took about 5-10 minutes for the pain to subside. At least now he’s feeling better.
“Jeremy?” A man’s voice calls out to him. “Is that you?”
Jeremy opened his eyes and saw a familiar man wearing a full coat standing next to his seat. “Zac?!”
“Oh my god, Jeremy!”
Jeremy immediately got up from his seat and went in for a hug. These two best friends haven't seen each other since they left for college. While Jeremy left to study in Maine, Zac stayed in Massachusetts and studied at a nearby university. Since then, these two haven't had a chance to meet and talk. No communication for 4 years.
Jeremy and Zac sat right next to each other outside the diner parking lot. While Jeremy stares at his reflection in the rain puddle in front of him, Zac flicks his lighter and lights the cigarette that rests on his mouth.
He didn't know Zac smoked, so he looked at him and asked, “Since when did you smoke?”
Zac huffed a smoke from his cigarette and chuckled. “Well, shit happened, you know… Turning 18, starting college, and graduating. Now we have to deal with being an adult with a 9-to-5 job. Eventually, you’ll lose your spark when you’ve gone through it.”
“Yeah…” He smiled and looked at the stars in the night sky. “I know how that feels.”
“Is that why you haven’t returned my calls and messaged me back?” Zac looks at Jeremy. “Because ever since you moved to Maine for college, you haven’t reached out to me.”
Jeremy looks down at the puddle, staring back at his reflection. He embraced himself due to the cold weather. He didn’t know how to reply to that. Partly because he’s right—stressing out because of college and his upcoming transition to become an official adult—and partly because he isolated himself from everyone who isn’t from his college. He could only focus on one thing at a time because he didn’t have time to entertain anyone outside of his college life. He knew that one day, this would catch up to him, but he didn’t expect it to be right now, on his way home with too much caffeine intake and lacking sleep.
“Zac…” He took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry for that. I really am.”
“You know you can tell me anything… You can always do. You’re my best friend.”
“I know…” He looks at Zac with a faint smile. “But tons of shit happened during those 4 years of college, so it will be an incredibly LONG story to tell in this diner parking lot close to sunrise.”
They laughed. Zac replied, “Yeah, I get that. Why don’t we catch up later tonight? At Delighted Bean Cafe. I have time as long as I move my stuff home and I get enough sleep.”
“Yeah, same here.”
Zac extinguished his cigarette and got up. “Well, I'd better go now. I’m really tired as hell, and I want to sleep.”
Jeremy got up as well. “I'd better do the same. Though I feel like I’ll sleep much later because I drank too much coffee.”
They both laughed. There was a moment of silence between them, and then Zac smiled the biggest smile Jeremy had ever seen. “I missed you, man. So much.”
Jeremy smiled back. “Me too, man.”
Once more, they hugged. It really has been a while since they’ve met. As kids and teens, they were inseparable—two peas in a pod. So the reunion really meant a lot for both of them. For once, they felt genuine happiness ever since they were separated.
As Jeremy was driving, he began to recall fond memories that he had with Zac. As a kid in elementary school, Jeremy didn’t know how to make friends. He’s always seen alone during recess while the other kids played together. One time during recess on the playground, Jeremy was throwing a ball against the wall. As usual, he was playing with nobody. As he was doing so, a kid approached him.
“What are you playing?” The kid asked.
He stopped for a while, then started to throw the ball again. “Playing catch.”
The kid looks around. “But doesn’t that need two people to work?”
Young Jeremy shrugs. He kept playing by himself, ignoring the kid.
When young Jeremy threw the ball, the kid caught it. “Here, let me play with you.”
“Why?”
The kid shrugs. “Why not?”
Young Jeremy smiled. “I’m Jeremy.”
The kid smiled back. “I’m Zac.”
And that’s where their long friendship began. Ever since then, the two always hung out and never left each other’s side, to the point that it looks weird when one is not with the other when seen in public alone. Every weekend, they would always hang out at each other’s house playing all kinds of games—from toys to video games. They’re so close that their parents also became best friends. Growing up, these two boys basically did everything together, and they have each other’s backs, come hell or high water. So it’s peculiar to see that they’ve stopped talking since they started college—especially Jeremy, who didn’t reply to any form of communication that Zac did to connect. Not even a text or a call.
Another memory came flooding into his mind. Jeremy and Zac stand in front of a shelf in a game store. Jeremy was conflicted if he should buy the game he’s been eyeing or not.
“Hmmmm…” He stares at the game. “If I buy this game now, I won’t have to eat anything for lunch for the entire week…”
“That’s an incredibly bad idea, dude.” Zac shared his thoughts. He also looked at the spine of the game container. He pulled it off the shelf and looked at the game cover. “Silent Hill?”
“Yeah!” Jeremy’s eyes lit up with the mention of the game. “It’s an old PS1 game that helped define the survival horror genre.”
“PS1? If that’s the case, couldn’t you just look for the game online for free and play the game on an emulator?” Zac suggests.
Jeremy giggled and pats his back. “Zac, my man, my dude, my bro. This game is already a classic, and most physical copies are probably out of stores. I am lucky enough to find one here, and it is with great HONOR to have one copy of this iconic game. Aaaand I also bought a second-hand PS1 last month and have been collecting dust in my room ever since. It would be uhhh, a waste if I don’t use it.”
Zac sighs with a smile and shakes his head. “Oh, Jeremy. Hmmm, if that’s the case, hide that first deep behind the games in this shelf. If I’ve calculated this correctly, with the amount of allowance you have each week, you can save for 2 weeks and buy the game. Since this game store has few customers, you won’t have to worry about it being found. Much better than spending all your money in one week, no?”
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“Hmmm…” Jeremy thought about it for a while. “Yeah, you’re right. Plus, I don’t want to deal with mom once she finds out I spent my entire allowance on a vintage game.”
They chuckle. Throughout the years that they’ve been friends, Zac has always been his sort of guide. Whenever Jeremy has ideas or is about to do something that can put him in trouble, Zac would be there to give him advice and help him weigh his choices. Between the two, Zac is more analytical, while Jeremy would jump into action without thinking. Ever since they figured this out about each other, they agreed that whenever Jeremy is about to make a major decision that seems too dangerous or reckless, he would consult Zac first to avoid potential trouble.
Back in the present, Jeremy keeps his eyes on the dark road lit by his car headlights as he drives. The memories with him and Zac cheered him up. He remembered how life was easier when they stood by each other. In a way, this warmed him up—both literally and figuratively.
Jeremy parked his car in front of the closed garage gate of their house. As he stepped out, he glanced at his home from top to bottom. To him, it seemed like nothing had changed. While he feels like his memory has been declining recently due to extreme stress from college, this is still the same home that he grew up in. The flowers in the front yard that’s well-maintained by his mother—it seems like this year, she’s growing Dahlias since it’s summertime—are still there, the baby blue colored exterior walls of the house that’s a bit dirty now due to time, and of course, the dog house that Jeremy himself built for his woodshop project in high school—although due to the absence of his dog Jitters, it seems that he passed away when Jeremy was gone for college. He noted this down to ask his mother about it later. He checks his watch. 6:30 AM. Usually around this hour, his mother is awake to cook breakfast. He didn’t know if she still does the same ever since he left. But since he told her that he’s coming home, she’s probably awake to cook breakfast.
He pulls out his house key and opens the door. “Mom? I’m home!”
The smell of bacon and dried fish wafts through the air as he enters. He was right, his mother was awake. He made his way to the kitchen. He saw his mother near the stove, cooking breakfast. There’s a plateful already, yet she’s still cooking. She was blasting an 80s Filipino song on the speaker, which makes sense why she didn’t hear him call out. He lowered the volume of the speaker, which caught her attention. He turned around to see that her son was in front of her.
“Oh my god!” She exclaimed. “Jeremy, you’re home!”
Jeremy took his mother’s hand and put it against his forehead. “Bless, mother.”
Immediately after, she embraced his son tightly. “Oh, Jeremy, how I missed you! How are you?”
“I-” before he could say anything, his mom immediately continued to talk.
“Have you been eating? Are you sleeping well? Why didn’t you reach out to your uncle and me? How are your grades? You didn’t fail, did you? Did you join any fraternity even though I told you not to? Do you have a girlfriend? Is she pregnant?” She gasps. “Am I going to be a grandmother???”
Bombarded with questions and some assumptions, Jeremy is immediately overwhelmed. It doesn’t help that he didn’t have any sleep and that he’s fueled by caffeine. “Mom, chill out!”
She let go of her embrace of her son. “I’m sorry. Overreacting, I know.”
Jeremy sighs. “No, I don’t have a girlfriend, and no one is pregnant. I didn’t join any fraternities and focused on my studies, and no, I didn’t fail. If I did, I wouldn’t be here to pick you up for my upcoming graduation.”
They chuckled. Jeremy kissed his mother on her forehead. “I’m really sorry mom for not reaching out. College is really stressful, you know? Didn’t really have the time.”
He really didn’t. On top of his studies and various organizations—that didn’t involve any frats—he’s also working to pay for daily necessities and his school fees, including tuition. He even took up a regular job every summer so he could keep up with his fees. While his mother occasionally provides for him, it really isn’t enough to sustain a student life without a scholarship.
“It’s okay, sweetie. “ She tells her son. “At least you’re graduating. Plus, since you’re moving back, you’ll have a lot of time to make up for the time that’s lost.”
Jeremy smiles and hugs his mother. “I promise.”
They embraced for a moment, then his mother broke free. “Oh, why don’t you eat breakfast? It’ll get cold.”
Jeremy yawns. He’s really tired. “As much as I want to mom, I think I’d better get some sleep first. I’ve been on the road for 6 hours, and if I stay awake for even more than 30 minutes, I might collapse.”
“Ahh, okay.” She replied. “You'd better catch some Zs now. It’s unhealthy to stay up for too long without sleep.”
“Alright, mom.” Jeremy picked up a piece of bacon from a plate and chomped on it. “Though I do want some bacon.”
He let out a chuckle and went upstairs to his old—well, now current since he moved back—bedroom. Jeremy opened the door, and before entering, he took a good look at his bedroom. He felt a wave of nostalgia rush through him as he looked around. His queen-sized bed in the middle of the room, a plastic-covered wooden desk with a bunch of stuff above it—desk lamp, pencil case from elementary, a bunch of novels and manga arranged at the corner, and a piggy bank that he emptied when he was moving away—at the corner of his room near the window, a mini flatscreen TV on top of a small coffee table right across the bed, and under it is the old second-hand PS2 that he bought when he was in high school. A bunch of posters was also plastered all over the walls of his bedroom from various media—video games, movies, TV shows, bands, and celebrities. While he didn’t remember what this looked like before he went home, he did miss this room. This is his safe space whenever life feels unfair. The room has witnessed countless tears and joy, whether it be him alone or with Zac. After all, Zac is the only person he trusts enough to let inside his bedroom. Even for a little bit, he felt the same comfort he felt as a kid and as a teen after glancing at his bedroom.
Eventually, he was too tired to reminisce. He dropped his bag on the floor and plopped on his bed face-first. Not even a minute after getting into bed, he was already knocked out, dozing.
The more that Jeremy felt comfort returning home—reuniting with his best friend, coming back home, seeing his mother, and resting in the comfort of his beloved bedroom—the more nightmares also flooded him during his sleep. These nightmares are familiar, yet faint—a girl from his high school, his parents’ behavior when he was younger, a hospital filled with horrible memories, and moments about himself he’s not proud of. Voices related to these memories echoed in his mind. It got louder and louder until eventually, he woke up in a cold sweat. He got up from his bed, catching his breath. He didn’t know what happened. He saw nothing and only heard voices, but he’s certain that he had a nightmare.
He checked the time on his phone. 6:49 PM. Slept for more than 12 hours, he really was tired as he slept more than 8 hours. Under his phone clock is a notification: his mother left a message.
Mom: Hi, sweetie! I noticed that you forgot to lock your door since you were exhausted, so I locked it for you. A letter also arrived under your name, so I left it on your desk. Your uncle and I are out for the night to look for some clothes that we could wear for your graduation. We’ll be out for an hour. Love you! <3
The message was sent not too long ago, so he’ll definitely be home alone for a while. Except he wasn’t, since he remembered that he would meet up with Zac later for coffee. He replied to his mother and told him that he’ll be out as well. He then messaged Zac and asked what time they would meet. They agreed to meet around 7:30 PM. He got up from his bed and walked to his desk since his mom told him that he had a letter. Though he wondered, who could it be? He hasn’t been home in 4 years, and he told his old friends that if they want to mail him, it should be sent to his dorm address. The timing is also odd since the letter arrived the day he returned home. His mom mentioned any more mail addressed to him since he moved, which makes it more odd. He just shrugged it off and thought it was a coincidence. He opened the letter and read it.
Jeremy Santiago
1940 Abigail St.
Sunnyside Valley, MA 01974
Dear Mr. J. Santiago,
The Sunnyside Valley High School will be holding a class reunion this year as part of the school’s foundation week celebration this coming June 25, 2026. This year, the reunion will center around the students of the academic year 2018 - 2019. As a freshman student of the academic year mentioned, we are inviting you to attend the Class ‘18-’19 Reunion that will be held at the Sunnyside High Gymnasium.
Plus ones are allowed, and the attire that was discussed by the Reunion Council is a semi-formal attire (for reference, please look at the invitation included in this mail). If your attendance is confirmed, please contact our Reunion President, Ms. Aimy Hill, so that we can secure you a freebie shirt. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the reunion!
Sincerely,
Chase Williams
Reunion Council Secretary
Class of ‘18-’19
Jeremy clutched the letter, hands shaking. He hated high school—all of it. While he has completely suppressed his high school memories due to how bad it was, the letter is slowly reminding him about everything that had happened—especially that her name was in it. Standing there staring at the letter in his hand, anxiety starts to take over him. He just paced back and forth in his bedroom. The stress of the situation caused him a migraine, so he pulled out the same pill bottle from earlier and drank two pills. He didn’t have any water nearby, so he just swallowed the pills.
“Okay, Jeremy. Calm down.” He kept pacing back and forth, and the more he paced, the faster he walked, until eventually, he stopped.
Without even consideration, he grabbed his bag from the floor and his car keys and immediately ran for the car. He dropped his bag next to him in the passenger seat and immediately drove away. He kept driving and driving without any destination in mind. He just drove, just to get away from the town. Whatever happened, it was bad enough that he wanted to leave. Maybe that letter was a step for him to remember all the bad memories and experiences he encountered in the town. With just a wave of bad memories already causing him so much distress, he doesn’t want to know what will happen if he stays longer. As long as he doesn’t remember, he’s okay with leaving without a destination. Maybe he’ll go to Maine since he stayed there for college. He has friends over there; maybe one of them can let him stay while he thinks of how he’ll go through all of this.
It wasn’t until he realized that what he was doing was stupid that he drove for 30 minutes. He stepped on the brakes and stopped. He laughs at himself. “What the fuck am I doing?”
He grips the steering wheel, hitting his head repeatedly on it. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”
He left without telling anyone, not even Zac. They’ll definitely be worried that I left without notice. He hasn’t even been back for more than a day, and he already wants to leave. It’s understandable due to the bad memories he had there, but it’s no use running away. After all, he’s been running away from the town for 4 years. Jeremy gathered his thoughts.
I haven't talked to anyone from home ever since I left college. I didn’t even visit every summer. University life indeed contributed to why I did that, but deep inside, I don’t want to admit that the main reason was that I was running away. Running away from my past that I don’t even remember anymore, and I’m scared of the possibility that staying will make me remember everything. But if I keep running, will that do anything? Yes, it will keep me away from the pain of the past, but it can’t be the solution forever. Running will do no good, and eventually, I have to face it. Plus, I’m not alone. Zac is here with me now. I’ve always relied on him throughout my life, so why not again?
Jeremy laughs at the latter of his thoughts. “What would I do without you, Zac?”
He turned around and drove back to town. After a few minutes, he finally regained his composure and is feeling better, though his forehead still hurts after slamming it against the car’s steering wheel. While fear and nervousness still lingered in his system, he’s firm with his choice to stay and face it rather than run away.
While driving, his phone vibrated above his leg. A phone call from Zac. The vibration caused the phone to fall on the car floor. He tried to reach for it while still keeping his eyes on the road. He couldn’t locate where it fell.
“Come on, where are you?” He kept searching for it, and yet no phone in his hand. He was slowly getting frustrated. “Ahh, fuck it.”
Jeremy looked down for a moment to look for his phone. Upon spotting it, he immediately grabbed it and turned his attention back to the road. Immediately upon returning, his eyes were met with a pair of headlights from a car ahead of him. His car was slowly driving on the wrong side of the road while he was looking for his phone. Now, he’s about to crash into a car, its horn blaring as he gets closer. Immediately, he swerved and avoided the car. Unfortunately, this caused him to lose control of the car. Without any options left, he stepped hard on the brakes and–
A crash.
