LOST MEMORIES

Can't Help Falling In Love

"Wise...men...say..." I started 

"Only fools...rush...in..." I continued tears falling from my eyes 

"For I...can't...help...falling in love...with...you..." I continued as I put flowers in a clear glass vase. 

I was thirteen and he was fifteen when we first met. I fell in love at first sight, not knowing that he was slowly falling for me.

I was eighteen and he was 20 when he started courting me. I gave my sweetest yes to him and gave him the sweetest kiss a man can ever have. 

I was 19 and he was 21 when he and I had our first fight. I saw him with someone else and thought he was cheating on me, but the next day I soon realized he was with her because he and she were planning for my birthday.

That girl he was with was his sister. I was 26 and he was 28 when we got married. He and I sang the song "Can't help falling in love" by Elvis Presley. 

"Shall...I...stay...would it be...a...sin...for I...can't...help...falling in love...with...you..." he sang when I was crying on our wedding day. I was 28 and he was 30 when I found out I was pregnant with our first child.

He jumped, he screamed and cried in joy and was so happy that he is going to be a father. On the day of my labor, he was there. Holding my hand, telling me to not give up on our child, and telling me that I can do it. 

I gave birth to a baby boy and we decided to name it after him. I was 31 and he was 33 when we went to Hong Kong. We spent our vacation in Disneyland with our little baby boy.

My husband took our child to different places, not just Disneyland. I saw his smile. His smile when he held my hand, when he held our fragile child, when I was in pain, when I was stressed, every time I doubted myself that I'll be a great mother to our child. 

I was 35 and he was 37 when my child started going to school, when I was getting too busy with my work and I barely got time for myself.

My husband told me to rest but I always tell him no. My husband then pulled me to him and started dancing. 

At first, I was irritated but then he slammed his lips on top of mine. He and I dance throughout the night with our child sleeping peacefully. His touch, his voice, his lips, everything about him, just made me fall for him even more. 

Every time he slams his lips against mine, it just made me wonder, "Why do I keep on falling for this man? Even when we're already married, how come am I still falling for him?" and that's when I realized, this man is someone that's really meant for me.

The one who understands me more than how my parents understand me. My handsome husband, my annoying enemy, my best friend, my father, my son, my guardian, my teacher, my everything. He's got everything that I ever asked for. 

Every time that I kiss him, it's just bringing me back to when we were kids. Times when he and I would hang out. Run away from our parents and sing it all away. It's him. My hero to my depression. 

I was 45 and he was 47 when our child started rebelling. He would curse at us, throwing things at us, going out on parties he's not supposed to be in, skipping classes just to hang out with his "gang"...

I did my best to connect with my son again, even my husband. But nothing worked. We did everything. We tried to talk to him, we did our best to understand him...

Until my husband snapped. He wanted our son to be just like him. Discipline, well-mannered, well-educated...not some rascal in the streets trying to disobey the law.

My husband never spanked our child. He never compared him to other children, neither did I. We did our best to be the best parents for him but I guess our best wasn't enough. I remember when...

He would say that his friends are better than us, he would say that we're useless in his life. When I felt that everything was starting to fall apart with my relationship with our son, my husband was there to be the judge. 

He made our son choose. Go live with his "friends" and have no money at all, no support, no help, no guidance or live with us, respect us like the way he used to from when he was a child. Live with us and be loved like no one has ever loved him. 

I did our best for him to realize that his "friends" are just there to ruin him. He was a smart kid, he used to be one of the best in class but ever since this "gang friendgroup" started bullying him and they thought he needs to be strong so they recruited him...

He fell apart. My husband was disappointed but he wasn't mad. He, my husband, was disappointed with my son's life decisions and he did his best to educate him.

He, my son, thought that being a "nerd guy" is boring so we made him realize that being a "nerd" is way cooler than a bastard walking around the street trashing them up with plastics and painting walls with profanities.

Then he woke up to reality. My husband and my son had a conversation I wasn't involved in in and I think it's okay. Whatever my husband told him made, he was successful in waking him up. He left his friends and lived with us until he went to college.

I was proud, very proud of my husband.

I was 52 and my husband was 54 when we found out that my husband has cancer. He got diagnosed and was unconscious for a few months. I was 53 and he was 55, when our son graduated and found a job. 

My husband had his operation and thank God his operation went well. He's now cancer free. We all went to church and thanked God for everything that he has done.

I thanked God for giving me a wonderful husband, a graduated son, I thanked him for healing my husband, I thanked him for everything that had happened. 

We went to McDonald's and ate our lunch there. That's when my son found his girl. She accidentally bumped into him like those cliché dramas and wattpad stories...

Then they started off as cats and dogs. They got to know each other like how my husband and I did. Then soon they hit it off. They had a relationship. They'd fight sometimes but it didn't end up to cheating, fortunately. And soon...

I was 55 and my husband was 57 when my son proposed to his girlfriend.

He found someone like me, someone who loves him the way I loved his father. Not long after, they got married. 

Our son's bride walked down the aisle, wearing her white gown and the prettiest smile that our son has ever seen. He almost wanted to cry, just like his father.

I smiled at our son and gave him a reassuring look that they will be able to get through this day.

I held my husband's hand and leaned my head on his shoulder. I was 59 and he was 61 when our son had their first child. My son had the same smile just like his father when he held his child. He's just as happy as his father. 

We got our grandchild and our son had the biggest smile his wife has ever seen. I was 64 and he was 66 when...he died due to a sudden heart attack...I couldn't process what happened.

It was even the day of his birthday when he left me. I mourned, I screamed, I threw a tantrum, hoping that it was just a dream. 

"Like a river flows...surely to the sea...darling...so it goes...some things...are meant to be..." I cried, touching his grave. 

"Take...my hand...take my whole...life...too...for I...can't...help...falling in love...with...you" I finished as I imagined him, sitting beside me while caressing my hand and telling me that everything will be alright.

"For I...can't...help...falling in love...with...you..."

-The End-