Mamihlapinatapai

Chapter 32

Cray

"How would you know if the stars are about to die?" I gently nudged Ember beside me.

She's hastily putting her clothes on but I am still lying naked on the sand. Inilatag ko kanina yung mga damit na suot ko bago ako doon nahiga. And I am too tired to even move a muscle. I think I'm gonna die here.

"I don't know." Saglit itong tumingala sa langit bago naiiling na bumalik yung tingin sakin. "Most probably the ones you're seeing are about to die for them to shine that bright."

"What happens when they die?"

Nagkibit-balikat lang si Ember. Patuloy lang ito sa pagsuot ng damit nito. "Probably they just quietly fade away or-"

"-Or could destroy themselves like a supernova and drag the other stars around them in that massive explosion?" I added with curiosity.

"Seriously?" Ember chuckled lightly before tapping my cheek. "Are we just going to talk about the dying stars all night long?" niyakap nito yung sarili na halatang nilalamig na.

"I think I'm a star that's about to die." I blurted without thinking.

Ember without a word averted her gaze back at me. She just slipped her polo on me without bothering to do the buttons. "We'll surely die if you're not going to get up your ass. C'mon, babe. Let's go back home."

"This is my home."

I don't know how Ember can still be able to get up on her feet as she scoop me like a lightweight paper, carrying me as if I'm a baby.

"Don't move, babe. My body aches like hell." Awat nito nang maglumikot ako dahil bigla akong nakaramdam ng lamig nang umihip yung malakas na panggabing hangin.

I don't know what's with this moment that made me feel vulnerable while I am still inside her tight embrace, almost gently, making me feel that warmth I used to fear the most. The same warmth I've felt as she imprinted her scent on me. The touch that I once hated became something that lingered on my skin, in a good way. Making me long for it.

Peppermint and woods.

Ember reminds me how it was to be a child again. Something that her Mom taught me not to be.

"I met your Mom when I was lost in the forest." I decided to tell her the truth. Maybe, if for the first time, I let it all out, I can feel better. Maybe telling the story would help me. Or maybe not.

But whatever or wherever this fate drags us, I just want to be at least an honest wife to her.

"This forest." Tumango si Ember. Her expression is blank, trying her best to act nonchalantly, but I could feel her trembling body giving her away. "This island once belonged to your family."

I bat an eye on her. She just shrugged.

"Mom told us that the painting hanging at our doorway were already here even before us. So it's making sense that if you draw that one, it only means that you were here before us."

Embers grasp on words and sequence are quite sharp.

"Why did you leave this place, Cray?" Bahagyang inangat ako nito para mahalikan yung ulo ko. "This place is a paradise."

"Was."

Mas lalo ko pang ikinawit yung mga braso ko sa leeg nito. I want her to feel that everything will be alright. I just need to talk. I badly need to talk.

I know the timing's not perfect. Our bodies still ache. I am almost naked. And Ember most probably feeling sleepy and tired, given that it was her first and we didn't only sated contentedly for just one time. Her strength is making me wonder how she can still walk and carry me at her state.