Sinking Deep (GL)

CHAPTER 54

SINKING DEEP
(Hiraeth)

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Watching the woman before me, my insides shattered into pieces when I realized she was looking in my direction, yet she didn't seem to see me.

"Manang Cecil?" she inquired, her voice echoing through the air.

My heart plummeted, understanding that she couldn't perceive, she was oblivious to my presence. "Rhea," I whispered.

Upon hearing my trembling voice, she halted, swiftly turning to face me completely.

"Jael?" she questioned, her voice faltering, mirroring the tumultuous emotions I was experiencing.

I shut my eyes as my tears streamed down like a river, filled with pain and longing for the home I had sought for so long.

Gradually, I began to move forward, my gaze fixed on the woman before me. Although I was several meters away, I could already sense her presence. She opened her arms slowly, calling out my name, a gesture meant just for me.

Ang aking mabagal na hakbang ay tila nagiging takbo, patakbo papunta sa kanya.

I experienced a wave of intense emotions at that very instant as our bodies pressed together in a passionate embrace appeared to be suspended in a world where only us existed and time had stopped. I knelt down and clung to her like she was my lifeline, my arms encircling her waist. Her tears and mine combined to form a river of shared sorrow and relief as they cascaded down my face.

I mumbled, "I'm home," my voice cracking under the strain of my feelings.

She gripped me equally hard while making delicate patterns with her fingers on my back, "I waited. Jael, I waited..”

I completely broke down as the comforting balm of her words swept over me. My tears were a mixture of happiness and sorrow, the result of years of longing and hopelessness. Her touch rooted me in the reality of her presence as she held my face in her palms.

Dahan-dahan akong tumingala sa kanya habang patuloy pa rin sa pag-iyak. Maingat akong tumayo at pinagmasdan ang mukha niya, "I'm here now," I said, her voice filled with tenderness. "We're together, and nothing will ever tear us apart again."

"Tatanggapin mo pa ba ako?” her voice laced with emotions, still crying.

"Rhea, I've longed for my memories to return because I felt incomplete, like I was shattered into pieces and you were a missing part," I sobbed, my fingers delicately tracing her face. "When I shattered, a piece of me was left behind, and that piece is you. You've haunted my thoughts for years, a longing I couldn't ignore, the fragment I need to feel whole again."

My gaze bore into hers, tears streaming down her face, although she hid her eyes behind sunglasses. "What do you mean by accepting you, Rhea? My love for you is so profound that I'd willingly endure pain and suffering just to have you, again."

She lowered her head, her hand finding mine. "Will you still love me even if I can't see your smile, your face, your body, all of you?"

Her voice cracked as she continued, "W..will you still love me even though I'm b-blind?"

“Blind?” my heart stopped.

Bakit? Bakit siya nabulag?

The weight of the moment was carried by the wind as it whispered through the rustling leaves. Her words hung in the air like a frail thread almost about to break as I stood there, facing the lady I loved. She added, her voice a mixture of fragility and acceptance, "I'm blind, Jael."

Then, a realization that was as icy and cutting as a sword hit me. I recalled all the times she avoided my eyes, looking off into the distance. She was fighting the gloom in silence, not acting distant, a weight of remorse crept up onto my chest and choked me.