Before The Last Sunset [Before Trilogy #1]

[alternate ending 0.1]

IF CHASE DIDN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER

a special chapter

. . .

It's been years, but nothing really has changed.

Pinanuod ko ang paghampas ng mga alon, sinusulit ang katahimikan sa aking paligid. Ang sarap rin pala bumalik sa ganitong buhay; mapayapa, simple, tahimik. Matagal na panahon rin ang huli kong bisita sa lugar na 'to. I never really realized how much I missed being here until I set foot on the very ground I grew up in.

No matter where I go, La Paraiso would always be home to me.

And nothing really beats the feeling of being home.

Hindi ko rin alam kung ba't hindi ako umuwi rito. Siguro ang daming nangyari sa buhay ko at nawala sa isip kong bumalik. Binuo ko ang buhay ko sa Manila ng ilang taon. Wala na rin akong dapat balikan rito dahil sumunod rin agad ang pamilya ko sa'kin matapos ang ilang taon.

And...I guess this place just reminded me of her.

My first love.

Years ago, I struggled coming back here without the thought of her haunting me. It was like wherever I go, I would always see her. The memories would flash in my mind and I would keep going back to where I started. I hated moving forward and then ending up back in square one.

Nakakapagod rin naman kasing maghintay sa hindi naman darating.

Summer never came back. Mula nung bumalik siya sa London, wala na akong narinig sa kanya. I guess she was hell bent on keeping her word of cutting me off. She just...vanished. I tried to contact her, really. I did everything I could.

But you can't really find someone if they didn't want to be found.

I waited, but all I had was memories and that fine line of hope that maybe she would come back.

I thought that maybe she loved me enough to give us a try.

But...she didn't.

I gave up even if it seemed like it was the weak choice to make. Sometimes, the bravest and best decision is to let go of whatever was holding you back.

Life is too short to be stuck in one place forever. You move forward, no matter how hard it is to do so, until one day, the weight doesn't feel as heavy anymore.

I had a hard time accepting that she was gone, I must admit. Muntik ko na nga siyang puntahan sa London, pero pinigilan ko rin ang sarili ko. There was no point in doing so, anyways. I promised her that I would be happy. I let her go so she could be happy, too.

What really could I do if her happiness was not with me?

All I really wanted was for her to find what could bring her joy, because God knows how much she deserved it.

I hope she did find it.

Because if she did come back, I wouldn't have found mine.

"Dada! Dada!" I heard a little girl call out.

Lumingon ako at napangiti sa maliit na bata na tumatakbo papalapit sa'kin.

There she was, my little Joy.

Tinatangay ng hangin ang kanyang buhok at ang suot niyang sundress. Ang kulit rin ng anak kong 'to, e. Mukha siyang manika pero takbo pa rin ng takbo kahit 'di ganun ka-komportable ang suot niya.

"Why, love?" I asked in a soft voice. "Are you tired from playing? Do you want to go back to Mommy?"

"No! I'm not tired!" she shook her head. "I wanna introduce you to my new friend, Dada! He's waiting for us!"