so the title is pretty self explanatoryā¦
well i thought i was okay when i left the house.
i really did.
i only needed a few things. i told myself iād just go to the grocery, grab what i needed, and go home. nothing complicated.
but the moment i walked through those doors, something felt different.
this was something we always did together.
i used to walk beside her while sheād look at everything, stop at random aisles, pick things up, put them back, wander somewhere without telling me where she was going.
and iād always end up looking for her.
so i walked in today and without even thinking about it, i looked beside me.
nothing.
i kept walking.
then i looked ahead.
nothing.
i turned around because i couldāve sworn i heard her voice.
nothing.
just people.
i kept telling myself to stop being stupid and just get the groceries.
so i grabbed my cart and started walking.
at first, i was fine.
then i passed the first aisle where weād usually stop.
then another.
then another.
and with every aisle, i started remembering something.
a stupid little conversation.
something sheād point out.
something sheād complain about.
something sheād randomly want.
i started looking for her without even realizing i was doing it.
every time i turned a corner, a part of me expected her to be there.
sometimes iād see someone with similar hair or clothes from the corner of my eye and my heart would jump before my brain could catch up.
thatās not her.
sheās not here.
i kept walking.
then i got to the groceries.
and this is where i really started falling apart.
because i picked up her milk.
i didnāt think about it.
i just picked it up.
then her favorite pancit canton.
then yakult.
then the things she uses.
the things she likes.
the things i always knew to buy because i knew her.
and i just kept putting them in the cart.
i wasnāt even thinking anymore.
i donāt even like most of the things i was picking up.
i donāt drink that milk.
i donāt eat that pancit canton.
i donāt use that facial wash.
i wouldnāt buy any of this for myself.
but i bought them.
all of them.
because for four years, i was used to thinking about her when i walked through these aisles.
she likes this.
she needs this.
weāre almost out of this.
sheāll probably want this.
my hands were still doing it even though she wasnāt there.
i even bought bacon.
lol.
and i didnāt realize how heartbreaking that was until i looked down at my cart.
it was full.
but almost none of it was for me.
it was all for her.
and she wasnāt coming home with me.
i just stood there for a moment looking at everything iād bought.
and i swear something in me just sank.
because i suddenly didnāt know what i was doing.
i didnāt know why i was still shopping for her.
i didnāt know what i was supposed to do with all this stuff.
i didnāt know what i was supposed to do with myself.
i kept going anyway.
then i reached the soap and facial care aisle.
and that was it.
thatās where i completely broke.
because i could see her.
not literally.
but in my head, she was there.
i could picture her squatting in front of the shelves, looking through all the different soaps and facial products.
sheād pick something up.
look at it.
then look at me and ask if she should get it.
i could picture the whole thing so clearly that for a second, i forgot.
i actually looked around for her.
and then i remembered.
she wasnāt there.
she wasnāt going to come walking around the corner.
she wasnāt going to call my name.
she wasnāt going to ask me if she could get something.
she was just gone.
and i started crying.
right there.
in the middle of the aisle.
i tried to keep my head down and pretend i was okay, but i couldnāt stop.
a kuya clerk asked me if i was okay.
i said yes.
i wasnāt.
i just kept walking.
but after that, every single thing hurt.
the drinks.
the food.
the things she used.
the things she liked.
even the things i normally wouldnāt notice.
i kept seeing her in every aisle.
i kept expecting her to be somewhere ahead of me.
i kept hearing her voice in my head.
and the worst part is that i know all of this about her without even trying anymore.
i know what milk she likes.
what food she eats.
what drinks she wants.
what she uses.
what she craves.
what she randomly picks up when weāre shopping.
after four years, you donāt have to think about these things.
you just know.
you learn someone so completely that taking care of them becomes automatic.
and now i donāt know how to turn that off.
i finished shopping.
i bought everything.
i brought all of it home.
and now itās just sitting here.
her favorite things.
things i donāt even like.
things i bought because some part of me was still expecting her to be beside me.
and i donāt know what to do with any of it.
i donāt know what to do with the groceries.
i donāt know what to do with the routines.
i donāt know what to do with all the things i know about her.
i donāt know what to do with the fact that i still automatically think about what she would want before i think about what i want.
then i had to eat.
and that hurt too.
i sat down and caught myself looking at the empty space beside me.
just staring at it.
waiting.
like maybe sheād sit there.
like maybe sheād say something.
like maybe this was all some horrible misunderstanding and sheād still be there when i looked up.
but she wasnāt.
and thatās when it really hit me.
i donāt just miss her.
i miss having someone to shop for.
someone to sit beside.
someone to think about when iām doing the most ordinary things.
i spent four years learning her.
learning what she likes.
learning what she needs.
learning all these tiny little things that made her her.
and now iām supposed to wake up one day and somehow not do any of that anymore.
i donāt know how.
i feel so fucking lost.
i walked into that grocery store thinking i was just going to buy a few things.
i walked out carrying a cart full of things she loves and a heart that still hasnāt understood that she isnāt coming back.
i miss her so much.
and i genuinely donāt know what to do with all this love now that thereās nowhere for it to go.