Signs left Behind
Chapter 2 - The Weight of Boston
It was a decision born from ruin. Matthew didn’t think twice when his boss offered him the opportunity at the health center in Moalboal. “Matthew, the other doctors have families,” he said. “They can’t go. So if you want, the job is yours. I’ve already spoken to the manager there, and all are happy to have you as long as you want.”
After he screwed up in Boston, they wanted him out of the hospital as soon as possible. “Nobody needs me in Boston, nobody needs me anywhere,” he thought.
His grandmother was gone before he could say goodbye, and it didn’t hit him exactly like when his girlfriend Lisa left him for another man. He said nothing. He didn’t catch her cheating because he wasn’t paying attention. After 2.5 years together, she told him herself. He was one of her colleagues at the law firm. They spent so much time together that it just happened while she was trying to fix things with Matthew.
How could he blame her anyway? Lisa was unhappy because he didn’t love her the way she wanted him to. She was lovable, sexy, successful, and a good, caring person, but nobody could help Matthew to change. No matter how hard she tried to reach him, his heart remained guarded.
She poured that effort into their small home instead. “These are calming colors,” she used to say about the monochrome simplicity of their cramped home—a chosen minimalism due to a lack of space. But even that couldn’t soothe the distance growing between them.
So he wasn’t surprised when she messaged him the day he traveled to the Philippines, after a month of silence. “I hope you will find peace everywhere this life will take you. I really do, Matthew. With love, Lisa.” He didn’t message her back. Not that he didn’t want to, but he couldn’t find the right words to apologize for his behavior. He wanted to say sorry for not giving her the love she deserved, for all the nights spent at the hospital even when he wasn’t on call. He was unfaithful, a liar, and distant most of the time. He cared, but he couldn’t show her, and it was easier for him to be an asshole instead of trying to change and be a better person.
He switched off the phone and left his past behind with everybody included. But the weight of it all didn’t vanish so easily—it followed him like a shadow he couldn’t shake off. His life in Boston had unraveled, and running from it seemed like the only option left.
Before that moment, his boss forced him to see a psychologist to solve his issues. He went for a couple of sessions but gave up when the doctor asked too many questions. One thing stuck in his head, though—the solitary journaling habit. The therapist said a journal could help him tap into his subconscious and uncover his true emotions. So when he stumbled upon a little notebook at the airport in Boston, he decided to take a chance—on himself and on it. After all, it costs nothing to try.
A few weeks before leaving, he stumbled upon Moalboal while exploring the clinic’s website, discovering a world away from what had been his home: Boston, United States. He checked some stats, as he always did, just to be able to talk with others when required. “In Cebu province in 2023, the poverty incidence among families was recorded at 42.4%, indicating that approximately 1.45 million individuals lived below the poverty line,” he read. No pictures were attached.
He handed in his resignation, rented out his tiny sand-and-white house to a couple, stored all his belongings in a rental unit, and booked a one-way flight to one of the farthest islands in the Philippines.
Exactly two weeks after making that life-changing decision, he boarded the plane, leaving behind the mess he had made—the mistakes, the people he had disappointed, and a life that no longer held him.
“A story of love, loss, and the invisible threads that connect us.” Here is the entire section where, every week, I will share 2 chapters of my short novel. I hope you will enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.