I'll Hold On To You

Reason

No matter what day it is, I will never ever forget your words... – Togetsukyou ~ Kimi Omou (Togetsu-kyō ~ Think Of You), Kuraki Mai

xxxxxx

[Relaina]

"They're not merely stones, okay? Tingnan mo kasi nang mabuti."

I sighed and did what he said. Tiningnan ko nga nang mabuti... until my eyes widened at what I saw. "Is this a joke? Paanong nagkorteng tao ang mga batong iyan?"

What I saw were two human-shaped stones – or specifically, boulders – that appeared to be holding each other's hands while facing each other. A braided rope bound them in a form of what appeared to be a figure 8.

"Iyon ba ang example ng sacred rope na sinasabi mo?" I asked before facing Brent. Tumango ito. "Paano nagkaroon ng ganyan diyan?"

"It was their parents who put it there after the couple were killed by the earthquake that ultimately sank the two islands. Namatay daw kasi silang dalawa na hindi binibitawan ang kamay ng isa't isa. They said that even in death, they refused to be separated. The parents knew the promise that the lovers had uttered and left to this tree – " Brent paused and looked at the tree before facing me. " – kaya ginawa nila ang estatwa ng magkasintahan na nakaharap mismo sa pagsikat ng araw at nasa pagitan ng puno at ng dating lokasyon ng dalawang isla. Iyong hindi nila pagbitaw sa isa't isa at ang paglalagay nila ng figure 8 na sacred rope ang nagpasimula sa 'Infinite Love' legend. Pero mas kilala ang legend na iyon as "The Legend Of The Promise Tree" dahil sa puno kung saan nila sinambit ang pangakong magsasama at iibigin ang isa't isa nang higit pa sa walang hanggan."

Ang drama lang, ah. Ang cheesy pa. But hey, I had nothing against the legend. It was quite beautiful and romantic, to be honest. Kaya pati ako, napatingin na rin sa giant Promise Tree.

Hanggang sa napaisip ako.

Ano'ng rason at sinasabi sa akin iyon ni Brent? Was the legend that important for me to know?

"Relaina, was there even a time in your life that you believed in eternal love?" bigla ay seryosong tanong sa akin ng mokong. And I had to admit, ikinagulat ko iyon, pero hindi ko na lang ipinahalata.

Ayokong isipin nito na iniisip kong nagbibiro lang ito. Because to be honest, kahit gusto kong papaniwalain ang sarili ko na biro lang iyon, somewhere in my heart, I knew it wasn't like that at all.

Was I seeing another side of Brent because of this legend?

"I admit that I was having a hard time believing it actually existed before. Pero hindi ko ide-deny na minsan sa buhay ko, hiniling kong makaranas ng ganoon." I sighed after saying that. "But after what happened with Oliver, hindi ko na alam kung ano pa nga ba ang dapat kong paniwalaan."

Teka nga lang...

Bakit nga ba nagtatanong ang mokong na 'to ng mga ganitong klaseng tanong sa akin? Ano'ng meron? Epekto ba 'to ng ice cream na nilantakan namin kanina?

Then I heard him laugh. Ano nama'ng nakakatawa? "Hoy! Dahan-dahan lang ng tawa. May bukas pa."

"You're saying those words as if I'm going to die the next day." He struggled to stop laughing but finally succeeded after saying that. "I just laughed because your words made me think of something."

"Ano'ng ibig mong sabihin?" kunot-noong tanong ko rito.

Gosh! Wala na ba talagang sandali na hindi kukunot ang noo ko dahil sa mga pinagsasasabi ng lalaking 'to? Aba'y dadami ang wrinkles ko nito nang wala sa oras, ah.

Waah! Ayoko pang magmukhang matanda dahil doon.

But anyway...

He faced me with another serious look na hindi pa man din ako sanay na makita mula kay Brent. Seriously, ano ba talaga ang nangyayari sa lalaking 'to? Naguguluhan na talaga ako, to be honest.