“I’LL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU”

A short story

Written by: Elaine Zennia A. San Jose

12 - HERSCHEL

Submitted to: Mariz Fernando

 “I’LL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU”
Do you believe in what they call “soulmate” “the other half," or "true love"? It is said
that our soulmate brings us the best and most unexpected versions of ourselves. Aeliana is one of
those whose soulmates exist and whose other half is somewhere in the world. The thing is, she
has a low probability that she will meet her soulmate because of her sickness. She might die
before she has a chance to find her soulmate. As a child, Aeliana has been in and out of the
hospital; due to this, her parents are overly protective of her, and she did not have a normal
childhood. After years of treatment, Aeliana is fortunately allowed to attend the school where she
can meet new people and make friends. The school assigned someone to show Aeliana around
campus and to her classes on her first day at her new school. Jane is the person assigned to her;
they became friends right away. As they tried to navigate their way to their classroom through
the sea of students, Aeliana suddenly bumped into a person, saying, "I’m so sorry." The boy did
not have a chance to respond when Jane suddenly dragged her to the door of their classroom.
Jane introduces Aeliana to an organization or club for future doctors, nurses, medical staff, or
persons who want to learn first aid.

A year later, there will be a training camp for the organization that Aeliana joined at
her school. While they were waiting for their other colleagues, Aeliana was chatting with her
friend Jane when she noticed a man sitting across from her. "Wait, Jane, is that a new member?"
"What? That is Arche Kyle Levine, the vice president of our organization." "Why did I just see
him now?" "Last year, he was suddenly inactive here in the organization." We can see him just
now." "Aaaah, is that so?" They continued their conversation until they were all called to check
attendance and start riding their service to the location where their training camp will be held.
After a long day, Aeliana was lying down and couldn't sleep when she decided to go out and get
some air. While Aeliana was walking, she saw Arche sitting under a tree and decided to approach
her. "Can you sit down?" Arche just nodded. A few minutes had passed and they were resting
without speaking when Aeliana said, "Do you believe that if we die, we will become stars?"
Arche didn't answer but just stared at Aeliana. "My grandmother told me that when a person
dies, they will become a star to watch over the loved ones they left behind." Aeliana keeps
talking about her theories about the stars and the mythology of the constellation that she spotted
while Arche is looking at her and listening to her rants. Until Aeliana suddenly feels sleepy.
"Good night, Arche. I had fun talking to you." Aeliana said she was not expecting a response
from the boy's "Night, sweet dreams," which caught her off-guard. She hadn't recovered from
 “I’LL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU”
what Arche had said when she returned to her bed, and Aeliana didn't expect him to respond,
given that she was a stranger to him.

The next morning, the camp director gathered them to start their first activity.
"Yesterday we had our orientation day; this time we will divide you into five groups." This
group will be your permanent group during this training camping trip. The first group will be
Sheila, Steve, Kyla, Sophia, Alex, and Blair. The second group will be Adrian, Jane, Bailey,
Aeliana, Tyler, and Arche. "Now, for the third group... "Our first activity will be the First Aid
scenarios. There will be two rounds of the game and each group will be given a scenario." After
two minutes of deliberation in turn each group narrates a course of action, detailing the correct
approach to administering appropriate first aid ( from Troop Program Resources). During the
whole day, Aeliana tries to avoid Arche because whenever Arche is near or talking to her, she
feels awkward. She didn’t even have a reason to be awkward with Arche. "Are you avoiding
me?" Arche’s voice rang in Aeliana’s ear: “What?” Me? Avoiding you? No" "I feel like you're
avoiding me." "I’m not avoiding you." "Really?" "Yes." "Okay, no need to be defensive... "Meet
me tonight, at the same place." That night Aeliana contemplated whether she was going or not,
but in the end, she decided to meet Arche. When Aeliana got to the tree, Arche was already
sitting on the base of the tree, saying, "Sit." "What?" "I said take a seat." Aeliana hesitantly sat
down next to Arche. "Tell me something." "What?" "Tell me something about the star like what
you did last night," "do you see that..." just like the other night, Aeliana told me about theories
about the stars and the mythology of the constellations that appear in the night sky. Every night
during the camp, Aeliana and Arche always meet up under the tree where they first met. On the
last night of the trip, they do their usual routine, but before Aeliana could head to her cabin,
Arche stops her. "Wait, give me your phone." "Why?" "So I can put my number in your phone."
"Okay, just call or text me if you need anything, or if you're bored, you can talk to me." "Okay,
good night, Ana." After their trip, Aeliana and Arche continued to talk to each other through
phone calls and texts. Until Arche suggested they go outside and talk because he had something
important to say to her. When Aelianan arrived at the mall, she quickly spotted Arche near the
water fountain. "Hi," "hello," "so what do you want to talk about?" "About that here," she said,
handing Aeliana a bouquet of flowers. "I have been meaning to ask you if I can court you."
"Sure," "Really?" "Yeah." After that day, Aeliana and Arche can always be seen together;
 “I’LL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU”
Aeliana even introduces Arche to her mother as her tutor. On their high school graduation day,
Aeliana and Arche finally became a couple.

The thing is, life does not always go the way that you want, and when it does, you
feel that every bad thing that can happen will happen. That's what happened to Aeliana when
Arche told her that he was going away to take care of his sick grandmother. "Hey, we’ll see each
other again." "I have to be there; no one is available to care for my grandmother, so that's why
I'm going," Arche explained as he tried to console the sobbing Aeliana. "What about your
promise that we will finish our course and graduate from medical school together?" "We will be
graduating together, but just at different schools." "I'll miss you." "I'll miss you too, but we can
always video call; just call me whenever you miss me." The day that Arche has to leave Aeliana,
she shares her last moments with him before he has to leave her side. While Arche is walking
away, Aeliana feels like a piece of herself is also going away with him. Months have passed.
Aeliana’s illness has worsened, and Arche still doesn’t know about Aeliana's condition. But then
Aeliana decided that she needed to end her relationship with Arche because he deserves someone
who can be with him, not a sick girl whose condition worsened over time.

It's a normal day for Arche as he’s walking through the sea of students when
suddenly someone bumps into him. "I’m so sorry," said the girl. Suddenly, Arche’s heart is
beating fast, but before he could respond, a hand drag the girl out of his sight. During that day, he
kept thinking about the girl he bumped into and why his heart suddenly started beating fast. For
the past months, Arche has kept seeing the girl, but he never got a chance to be close enough to
have a conversation or even to introduce himself to the mystery girl. A year later, he is going to
attend the training camp of their organization when he hears a familiar voice: "Wait, Jane, is that
a new member?" "What? "That is Arche Kyle Levine, the vice president of our organization."
"Why did I just see him now?" " Last year, he was suddenly inactive here in the organization.
"We can see him just now." "Aaah, is that so?" Then he noticed it was the mystery girl; he had no
idea his mystery girl was in the same organization as him. During the whole orientation, he
cannot take his eyes off of the mystery girl, whose name he still cannot figure out. Later that
night, he couldn't sleep, so he decided to go out to get some fresh air. He sat down at the base of
a tree when a voice caught his attention: "Can you sit down?" Arche couldn't form words, so he
just nodded. They were just sitting there, not talking, and Arche still couldn't believe the mystery
 “I’LL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU”
girl who had invaded his mind for more than a year was sitting beside him. "Do you believe that
if we die, we will become stars?" Arche still did not dare to talk to the mystery girl. "My
grandmother told me that when a person dies, they will become a star to watch over the loved
ones they left behind." The mystery girl then rambled on about the stars, her theories, and stories
about the constellation she saw in the night sky. Arche could not help but stare at how the
mystery girl's eyes shine on her small rant. "Good night, Arche." "I had fun talking to you."
Arche finally responded. "Night, sweet dreams," he says, seeing how surprised the mystery girl
is by his response to her. When the mystery girl enters her cabin, Arche realizes he did not
inquire about the mystery girl's name. The following morning, Arche is still disappointed that he
did not get the name of the mystery girl. The next day, Arche is very happy because he finally
knows the name of his mystery girl and could have a chance to get close to her.

Arche was in a cafe shop when she heard a familiar voice. "Aunt Aileen?" "Oh my,
Arche, is that you?" "How are you?" "I'm fine "How is Aeliana?" "Ayo is still confined to the
hospital." "Huh?" "What happened to him?" "Don't you know?" "Aeliana's cancer is back,"
"where is she confined in the hospital?" "Would you like to visit Aeliana nearby?" "If you agree,
I hope so." "Yes, of course." On the way to the hospital, they were talking. Arche slowly opened
the door, his heart pounding loudly. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the
once-bright-smiled and energetic Aeliana lying nearly lifeless in a hospital bed. "You're here."
Arche could not stop his tears from flowing: "Yeah, is this the reason why you did it?" "Yes," I
say, "but why didn't you tell me?" "I didn't want to be a burden"; "you'll never be a burden to
me"; "I know"; "I never stop loving you"; "me too; I didn't stop loving you." After that day,
Arche would always spend time with Aeliana in the hospital after his classes. One evening,
while Aeliana was sleeping, the doctor delivered the worst possible news: Aeliana did not have
much time left to live. Aeliana and Arche are sitting next to each other under a tree where they
first properly met, Aeliana gazing at the sky while Arche tells Aeliana mythology about the
constellations they see, just as they did the first time they sat next to each other under the tree,
except this time Arche is speaking. As Aeliana takes her last breath, Arche is just savoring his
last moments with her.
“I’LL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU”

SIX WORD STORY

I hope your watching over me

“I love you” i never stop

I’ll meet you on the sky

She talked while i listen

The once energy was gone now

She’s gone along with my heart