"Ciao! El Dorado Airlines welcomes you to Amerigo Vespucci Airport . . . Please remain seated until the plane is parked at the gate . . ."
It's unbelievable how life can change in hours. Kagabi ay natutulog akong puno ng pangamba sa maaaring mangyari sa akin dito. Akala ko ay aatras ako sa mismong araw ng flight but I'm already here. Sa loob ng kulang dalawampu't dalawang oras, narito na ako sa destinasyon.
I'm still scared and clueless about what's waiting for me here. But this is it. I'm out for a new life—a vaguely different life.
"We can leave the airplane, Maurice. Shall we go?"
Buong flight akong kinakamusta ni Tiya. Marahil halata sa hitsura ko ang pag-aalinlangan. No matter how long the time they give me, I will never be a hundred percent ready. So I had to decide afraid.
Regardless, I'm thankful for Tiya Maritta. It's less of a burden to think that I won't be alone in this journey. Hindi ako mangangapa dahil alam kong nakaalalay lang siya.
"Be careful." Inalalayan niya ako sa pagbaba mula sa eroplano. Mas matangkad ako sa kaniya pero kung ituring niya ako'y tila isa akong mumunting kuting.
Binati ako ng malamig na ihip ng hangin. Kakaiba ang simoy ng Italya, nakakapanibago. Bakit pakiramdam ko ay naliligaw ako?
"We'll get our luggage then we can leave for lunch. Can you wait a little longer?"
"I'm fine, Tiya." I smiled at the worried aunt. "I ate the bread on the plane earlier so I'm still full." For how long the flight was, it's a lie.
"That's good."
Nasa paliparan pa lang ay hindi ko na maipirmi ang mga mata sa paggagala sa paligid. For some reason, I feel like crying.
Maliit lang ang kinalakihan kong mundo. Sa bahay, paaralan, aklatan, at ospital halos umikot ang nakaraang dalawampu't pitong taon ko. Naroon nga ako sa mga lugar na nabanggit. But I can't seem to fit in. I would always be outshined by other people—like a side character waiting for the right scene to utter a single line.
It is different now. I feel like a newly carved jigsaw piece and I'm lost in the middle of the gigantic puzzle. What I need to do is to find the place where I will fit in. What's comforting about this feeling is that . . . No matter how far I might be from the right place, there's a certainty that I belong somewhere here. I'm not searching for anything.
"This is Florence," said, Tiya. "My home."
Hindi ako nakuntento sa kung ano ang nakikita ko sa kabila ng saradong bintana kaya binuksan ko 'yon. It's beautiful how the view came into colors when the glass glided down.
"Florence is the birthplace of Renaissance, Maurice. It's the center of art, culture, and scholarship. You know Dante Alighieri?"
Napatingin ako sa kaniya. "The Divine Comedy," I uttered. "Purgatorio, Paradiso, Inferno."
Tumango si Tiya. "Mukhang maaalam ka sa literatura. Magugustuhan mong pumasyal sa nga library rito."
Mukhang alam ko na ang una kong gagawin dito, I thought.
"Dante Alighieri is one of the greatest scholars here." She smiled. "If you love his works, I know places you would love to visit."
"I've known him because of the nine circles of hell. Could this place be his inspiration?" I joked—darkly.
"Florence won't even give you one circle, Maurice. This place is a paradise." Tinapik niya ang balikat ko.
I stared at Tiya, hoping that I'd be able to absorb the spirit she has . . . I wish I had that.
BINABASA MO ANG
The Heaven's Wildcard
Romance[SLOW EDIT] For most people, hell is just a concept or a place where the evils fall into after death. But for the registered nurse, Maurice Severina de Morga, it is her reality, her life. Her first cry was on her mother's death, died on a hospital b...
