This I Promise You Chapter 5
			Silence
	‘Damn it!’ Mark cursed as he threw a few bills on the table and went after her. If she had said something on the spot he knew it wouldn’t have hurt as much as it does now. Mark wanted to laugh at himself, but self-pity was ruling his emotions at the moment. ‘Why do you feel hurt when you were so sure this could happen?’ he thought as he scanned the busy streets of the town. She wasn’t that hard to find. He just had to look for someone who was in a red dress, running as if her life was in danger. But then he was taken by surprise as he found that he is totally incorrect. About a few blocks away he saw her, sitting alone on a bench by the bus stop.       Mark’s eyebrows raised despite of the pain he was feeling. ‘Well, looks like she didn’t go too far this time.’ He muttered as he began walking toward her. Toni was one to run away from her problems, and just now she literally did run away from them.       He watched Toni playing with her own fingers. She was busy looking at her hands and as Mark came nearer, he suddenly saw the tears in her eyes. She was crying silently, and she didn’t even bother wiping her tears away.       Mark sat beside her, sighing. He kept his eyes on her, wondering what it was that could be going on in her head. Toni looked at him. Deep in his cool blue eyes the pain was written all over. Not only had she hurt his pride, she had brought so much pain in his heart, and confusion in his head. A few months ago before Mark left, he would talk to her and drop hints on getting married soon. She would smile at him and nod, making him think that it was all okay with her for them to get married already. The truth was, she was scared to death of commitment and Mark seemed to have forgotten why.       He looked at her, pain written all over him. There was only one question on his mind. ‘Why?’ he seemed to ask without speaking. Toni sighed, unable to talk. She knew she let him down completely. She had no idea how her words would be able to heal the damage she had done to Mark’s heart. She had deprived him of the thing that he had wanted most. Toni placed her hand gingerly on the bench, contemplating whether to reach out for his hand or not. Mark suddenly took her hand and held on to it tightly with both hands. They stared into each other’s eyes and let their hearts speak to each other in silence.       Toni was the first one to look away, tears spilling on her cheeks. She was so ashamed. She had reacted so childishly toward the situation. Mark reached over and wiped her tears away with his thumb, not uttering a single word, not producing even a single sound. Mark placed his index finger under her chin and drew her face closer to his. He could see how sorry she was through her eyes. He slowly kissed her, and it seemed as if they were the only two people in the whole world. The noise from the street and the people passing by were drowned out, and they were both immersed in silence, even if it was only in their minds. They were both lost in the sweetness and intensity of their own little world.        Their lips parted, bringing them back to the real world. Still in silence, Mark stood up, still holding her hand and motioning her to come with him. Wordlessly, they walked back to the car. Mark knew that later on, they would talk about everything once they get home. He couldn’t care less. Sitting there with her, looking into her eyes and holding her hand had been the best conversation he had ever had with her. He quite understood everything he needed to understand. They would talk later just for the sake of saying that they talked about it. Words weren’t needed anymore. It is just way of communicating systematically. But words can’t ever express clearly what the heart feels. The eyes are the ones that do all that. They are the windows of the heart and soul. Looking into her eyes, he saw all the regret, the fear and the apologies. It was more than mere words could ever say.
			Chapter 6