AFTER hours of flight, nakarating na din ng Seoul si Jace. Wearing a simple white shirt paired with his acid wash jeans, he wore his glasses to avoid people. Kahit may mga ilan na namukhaan s’ya ay agad din itong nakaalis sa airport ng mapayapa. Sinundo ito ng kanilang manager at dalawa sa kagrupo n’ya. Sa loob ng sasakyan ay agad n’yang binuksan ang kanyang cellphone at sunod-sunod na text messages at notifications ang kanyang natanggap. Medyo napasimangot ang binata dahil wala s’yang mensahe na natanggap mula sa nobya. Pina-roaming pamandin nito ang sim na ginamit n’ya sa pilipinas. He scrolled through his inbox and smiled as he read his younger brother’s message. “Thank you, hyung.” It was a simple thank you, but Jace couldn’t help himself but smile as he was called hyung or kuya by a person he hadn’t seen for years. Sa isip n’ya ay kulang pa nga ang mga gamit na ibinigay nito kumpara sa mga taon at pagsasamahan na dapat binuo n’ya kasama ang kapatid. Kung hindi pa n’ya kinalk
“HAS he arrived yet?” Tanong ni Regina sa binatang si Justin habang pilit niyang iminumulat ang mga mata nito sa pagkakatulog. She was advised to stay at the hospital because she could give birth at any time. Napatingin ang dalaga sa orasan na nakasabit sa puting ding-ding at muling nilingon ang binatang nakaupo malapit sa kanya. “It’s been six hours since his flight. Bakit wala pa s’ya?” she asked nervously. Hindi nanaman ito mapakali sa isiping hindi nito makikita ang lalaking minamahal. “Shh... He’ll come. I’m sure my brother will come. You just need to take a rest. Kailangan lumabas ng pamangkin ko nang hindi stressed,” Justin responded jokingly. He looked at the time on his black watch and took out his phone from his pocket. Later on, excused himself from the room. Ngunit bago pa ito makalabas ng pinto ay nakita n’yang kinukuha ni Regina ang remote ng telebisyon na nakalapag sa isang puti at maliit na lamesa. His eyes widened as he tried to stop her from getting it. “Wai
ISANG malakas na sigaw ang narinig mula sa kwarto na ikinagulat nila Jazy at Justin. Both rushed to the bathroom where Regina is. “Ang sakit!” Muling sigaw ng buntis habang nakasandal ito sa pader at nakahawak sa kanyang tiyan. “What are you guys doing there? I said ang sakit!” she added. Nagkatinginan ang dalawa na hindi alam kung anong gagawin. Muli nalang silang gumalaw nang makarinig muli ng isa pang hiyaw. Si Justin ay agad na lumapit kay Regina habang ang kaibigan ng dalaga ay mabilis na lumabas upang magtawag ng nurse. “Noona, are you going to give birth? A-anong gagawin ko?” tanong ng binata. Dahan-dahan nitong inaalalayan ang buntis at tinulungan na makaupo sa higaan. But Regina didn’t like the feeling of sitting down, as she felt uncomfortable, so she slowly bent down like she was praying. Napakamot sa ulo si Justin dahil sa nakita nito at napaatras nalang s’ya dahil isang malutong na mura ang kanyang narinig. “Putang-ina Jace! Nasaan ka ba!” she was furious. N
“DA-DDY! “Sigaw ng isang batang babae kay Jace habang pilit nitong isinisiksik ang kanyang maliit na katawan sa braso ng ama. She went beside her dad, kissed him on the cheeks, and started jumping up and down the bed. “Mm? Era, baby. Why did you wake up this early?” Kahit pipikit pikit ang mata ay pilit n’yang iminumulat ito at tumingin sa maliit na alarm clock na nakapatong sa kanyang lamesa. ‘It’s just five in the morning...’ Kahit nakahiga ay nilingon nito ang paligid ng kwarto at dumungaw sa labas ng bintana na katabi lang ng kanyang kama. Ang puting kurtina ay ihinangin ng malakas kaya natakpan nito nang bahagya ang gwapong mukha ng lalaki. He woke up to the sound of the waves. ‘Hey, wake up sleepy head. We need to see the sunrise.’ Jace heard these words, so he slowly turned to look at her beautiful wife. He stared at her for seconds and genuinely smiled at her woman. Gandang-ganda padin ito kay Regina kahit pa araw-araw niya itong nakikita. “And why are you wearing
Jace, My heart aches in sadness, and secret tears flow while writing this letter. After I found out about my pregnancy, I was diagnosed with severe anemia. I was told to take a rest and drink my medicine, which I did. But unfortunately, it didn’t work on me. If this letter was passed on to you, then I might be gone now. But that’s okay, because I have prepared everything for Era, the things that our daughter would need as she grows up. Her documents are all prepared in case you would need it for processing her papers and also, I have left an album that records my pregnancy journey. I wanted her to know how much I took care of her while she was still inside my womb until the day, I last held her. Tell our daughter that I’m always looking after her. Tell her that mommy loves her so much and tell her I’m so sorry because I couldn’t be there for her. Jace, I love you so much that if given a chance in the afterlife to turn back time and change it, I wouldn’t. I would still cho
Nilibot ng binata ang kanyang mga mata sa ganda ng kalikasan. The last time he and his friends went here was three years ago, and they were amazed by the scenery. “Jace!” Sigaw ng isa sa mga kasamahan n’ya sa Yate. He immediately turned around when he heard his name. Nakatingin ito sa lalaking nakasuot ng puting pang-itaas at kulay asul na pang-ibaba. Isa ito sa tour guides at dahil nakailang balik na s’ya sa lugar ay kilala na s’ya nito. “Why are you alone? Where are your friends?” asked the tour guide. "Oh, I left them. I guess I really just like this place so I came here alone." Lingid sa kaalaman nila ay nagpunta ng pilipinas mag-isa ang binata. Hindi n’ya alam pero may nag-udyok sa kanya na bumalik sa lugar. “GUYS, you got fifteen minutes to explore. Please don’t forget to look at your diving watch,” paalala ng lalaki sa kanila. Naghahanda ang binata ng mapadako ang tingin nito sa isang grupo na nakasakay sa isang yate na mas maliit ng kaunti kumpara sa gamit nila. He th
“REGINA!” Sigaw ng kaibigan nitong si Jazy na hindi mapigilan ang kilig na nararamdaman. “Wait, you mean he grabbed your arm?” Sa sobrang kilig ay hinampas pa nito and balikat ng kaibigan. Kahit natatawa ay tumango si Regina at pabalik na hinampas ang balikat ng kaharap. Dahil nagbubulungan lang ang mga ito ay pilit na inilalapit ni jazy ang kanyang tenga sa bibig ng kaibigan upang mas marinig pa ang sinasabi nito. “Lakasan mo naman, kahit langgam hindi maririnig ‘yang sinasabi mo,” Pagrereklamo n’ya. Hindi sila makapag-usap ng maayos dahil nasa trabaho ang mga ito. Bahagyang kinurot ng dalaga sa tagiliran ang kaibigan at inalala ang mga nangyari noong araw ng insidente. ‘I really think we’ve met before.’ ‘I’m sorry, but I think you got the wrong person. This is the first time I’ve seen you.’ ‘Okay, yeah, I must have mistaken you for someone else. Look at you, you got hurt. Here, this bandana could help prevent the bleeding.’ Napatigil sa pag-iisip ang dalaga ng maala
Jace’s heart kept on beating fast as he looked at the person from the last row who stood up. Kung kanina ay nagtataka lang s’ya kung bakit pamilyar ang babae, ngayon ay napagtanto na n’ya kung sino ito. “No. How… Why is she here?” he asked himself. He kept on looking at her and noticed the scar on her right arm. Papalapit ng papalapit ang dalaga sa kanya and his heart kept on pounding. He tried to calm himself, but how? ‘Why do I even feel this way?’ ‘Hi, this is my sister’s diary. She has a message, and she wants you to sign on this page, please. Thank you.’ He looked at her for a second. He wanted to see her reaction if she would recognize him, but to his dismay, it seemed like she didn’t recognize him at all. Ngunit ang pagkadismaya na naramdaman n’ya ay napalitan ng masayang reaksyon dahil sa prutas na ibinigay nito sa kanya. Agad nitong ibinaling ang tingin sa diary, he knows he’s been signing this notebook every event, but it’s his first time to see the lady in front of he