Forever and Always

Prologue

A/N

After 6 months of hiatus I am finally back with a new story entitled Forever and Always. It's now my second year on wattpad as a writer! 

I got out of my car and inhaled the breeze of the sea. Ilang taon na ba ang lumipas ng huli akong pumunta dito? Apat? Tama nga apat na taon at pitong buwan simula ng lumipat ako ng Cebu. Malapit lang ang Cagayan de Oro sa Cebu, pero apat na taon akong hindi umuwi sa lungsod kung saan ako pinanganak. Cagayan de Oro, sa apat na taon, marami ng nagbago, maraming mga istrukturang naipatayo, maraming nawala, maraming bumalik, katulad ko. Pinangako ko sa sarili ko na hinding hindi ako babalik sa lugar na to, pero heto ako ngayon. I had no choice, but to come back to the place where I decided to leave 4 years ago, due to a tragic accident, an accident that I don't want to remember. I saw kids with their families on the beach enjoying the cold water, and the scorching heat of the sun, I removed my shoes and started walking barefoot on the sand, it's temperature was bearable kaya naman ay naglakad lakad muna ako sa buhangin. I was walking around the beach when I saw a kid get pushed by another kid on the sand, a small little girl, I saw her cry kaya naman ay lumapit ako sa dalawang bata, nilagay ko muna sa buhangin ang sapatos na dala dala ko, at lumuhod sa buhangin. I wiped her tears. I looked at the other kid,

"Do you know that pushing and fighting is bad? Why'd you do it kid?" the other kid rolled her eyes at me and ran away

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she shook her head, baka nagulat lang. She was running when she got pushed by that kid, medyo malakas din ang pagka tumba nya.

"Stop crying na, where are your parents?" tanong ko, I looked around until she pointed at a couple who were at a cottage with another baby, hindi ko masyadong makita ang mukha ng magulang ng batang babae.

"What's your name, little girl?" I asked

"Lizian Antoinette, but my parents call me, "Ian" po" she was now smiling, inayos ko ang buhok nya at pinunasan ang kanyang mukha, I was shocked when I saw her face, she looks a lot like him.

"What happened? Why did that kid push you?"

"K-kasi po s-she wanted my necklace po, but sabi ko po, no because it's mine, pero she i-insisted po kaya po nag-away po kami, m-my daddy gave me this necklace po and it's my favourite po" I looked at the necklace and froze, it's the same necklace he gave me on my 16th birthday, a crescent moon, with a tulip in it.

"Your necklace is pretty"

"Thank you po!" she smiled.

Nanginig ang buong katawan ko ng marinig ko ang boses nya.

"Ian, come here let's eat", nakaluhod pa din ako sa buhangin ng marinig ko sya. The little kid ran to her father, namalayan ko nalang silang papalapit sa akin.

"Papa she defended me po from that bad kid po"

"Miss? Thank you for defending my daughter"

"Putangina? Daughter? So they got married huh? When? After I went to Cebu"

I wore my shoes, and stood up

"Aniela Ryale Sarmiento" I shook his hand, and he was clearly shocked when he saw me and heard my name. I look a lot different now.

"Iela you look-

"It was nice meeting you and seeing Ian, but I have to go, I wish I could say the same to you, Mr. Mallari" tumalikod ako at bumalik sa kotse ko

He has kids. He has a wife. Edi sana all masaya. Pinabillboard niya sana. Tangina.

Vesper fucking Anthonius Mallari. Unang araw ko palang sa Cagayan de Oro, ang makapal mo pa talagang mukha ang unang makikita ko. It was a bad idea going back to the place where we celebrated all of our achievements. The place where we laughed and cried. Things changed.

I drove to my grandmother's house, the ancestral home of the Sarmiento's na pinamana sa akin, before I came back to Cagayan de Oro sinigurado ko munang maayos na ang bahay, renovated and fully furnished. I don't earn millions every month and not spend it. I deserve this after all the shit that happened in my life. The house looks modern now, malaki din tong lupa namin dito sa Cagayan de Oro, the result of my late grandmother's hard work, who did her best to raise her kids. I drove through our land, until I got a clearer view of our home. Naaalala ko pa nuon na isang palapag lang tong bahay na toh, until slowly it became this huge mansion, hanggang sa nabili na din namin ang lupa ng aming mga kapitbahay. It's a huge land, maraming puno, sariwang hangin medyo malayo sa syudad. It was still within Cagayan de Oro, just peaceful.

May mga katulong ng sumalubong sa akin, many new faces.

"Paki pasok nalang po yung mga gamit ko sa kwarto ko, thank you" I removed my shades and went inside our house. It's just me and the other workers who maintain the house and the whole land, taga luto, taga linis, taga laba. I have no other things to deal with except for the company itself. My grandmother died working, just a few months ago, I didn't even get the chance to attend her funeral. Sinalubong ako ni nanay Corazon, the oldest house help, she took care of my mom at the young age of 16, and she's been serving our family since then, she never married, never had a kid, we're her only family.

"Anak kamusta ka na? Apat na taon kang hindi umuwi, nakakatampo kang bata ka, pati nga nuong namatay si senyora eh hindi ka umuwi" niyakap ako ni Nay Corazon ng mahigpit.

"Busy lang po sa trabaho ko sa Cebu, kakatayo lang din ng branch ng company dun nung mamatay si grandma, kaya hindi ko po maiwanan, okay naman po yung operations doon, kaya umuwi na po ako dito"

"O siya sige hindi na kita aabalahin pa magpahinga ka na sa taas, inayos na yung mga gamit mo doon, may mga kailangan pa akong e check na mga gawain dito sa bahay" sabi niya at tumalikod na

"Salamat po nay" she just waved her hand, I looked at the whole house, it's bigger now, huge space, with a chandelier above me. It's still unbelievable that the house is this huge. I went up to my room on the 2nd floor, pag bukas ko ng pinto wala ngang pinabago sa kwarto ko it's still the same lavender wall, my queen sized bed, my desk, I explored my room, walang nagbago, I left home right after my college graduation, I graduated at Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan, Bachelor of Science in Business Management as a Summa Cum Laude. Summa Cum Laude pero pinagpalit pa din.

Yes. I have it all, beauty, brains, and wealth pero ayun pinagpalit. I smiled bitterly as I reminisced the pain of the past.