Before Descended Afternoons

02

Second

Second chances are rarely what they seem. They’re offered with the illusion that you can relive the same experience, somehow free of the pain or mistakes that tarnished it the first time. It’s like watching a familiar show, but expecting a different outcome. You hope, against all logic, that something will change—that this time, the ending might satisfy you.

But there’s no thrill in rewatching something you’ve already seen. Every scene, every moment, will hit you differently—not because it’s new, but because you’ve changed. You’ve already lived it, and the ending still haunts you, whether it was better or worse than expected.

The only value in a second chance is the clarity it brings. The subtle things you missed before start to stand out. The overlooked details, the neglected moments—they come into focus, teaching you what you were blind to the first time around.

Suddenly, I felt a force pulling me up, breaking through my daze. The deafening noise in my ears vanished, replaced by the cold mist of the air. I could feel fingers grazing my face, hands shaking me, trying to rouse me. My mind was fully awake, but my body—my body refused to respond. It was as if I was suspended between two worlds, caught between the weight of what I’d seen and the emptiness of what I could not control.

"Baliw ka ba?! Ba't ka naglalangoy sa gabi? Di mo ba alam na delikado?!"

I can hear someone shouting but it was muffled. It was even almost hard for me to understand the words I'm hearing.

Everything went black again. Hindi ko alam kung gaano katagal pero naramdaman ko na lang na may dumampi sa labi ko at nakaramdam ako ng hangin na pumapasok sa bibig ko. I can feel someone pushing on my chest.

Napaubo ako dahil roon kasabay ng pagmulat ng mga mata ko. Bumungad sakin ang madilim na kalangitan.

I am dizzy. My throat hurt so much that it made me cough many times while my chest was heaving as I tried to gasp for air, my heartbeat was rapid and pounding erratically.

Napahawak ako sa dibdib at pinilit na huminga. I tried taking long breaths. I hit my chest with my fist when it doesn't seem to work. Napapikit ako. Pinukpok ko yon nang pinukpok hanggang sa may humawak sa mga kamay ko na pumigil sa'kin.

Those hands gripped me firmly, pulling me from the edge, and before I realized it, I was wrapped in an embrace. I could feel the steady rise and fall of their chest, their slow, deep breaths grounding me in a way I hadn’t expected. Strangely, I began to mimic their breathing, almost instinctively, as if my body knew it needed to be soothed.

With each breath, my frantic heartbeat started to slow. The air filling my lungs felt different—fuller, realer—like I was experiencing it for the first time.

I had been so close to the end. I had nearly surrendered, convinced that drowning would be my escape. Yet here I was, alive, held by someone who, in that moment, stopped me from crossing that final line.

"Siraulo."

Napahiga ako sa mabato na buhangin, nawalan na ng lakas. I turned my head to that voice and saw this unknown guy beside me, his arms pressed on the ground for support habang hinihingal pa siya dahil sa nangyari. His clothes are all wet and as damp as me. His hair's dripping and scattered on his forehead.

I don't know him. And I cannot find the strength to remember where I heard his voice.

I didn't say anything back to him. Nahihilo pa ako at wala akong lakas para sagutin siya. Tumihaya ako, hindi inalintana ang mabatong buhangin na hinihigaan ko.

My gaze remained fixed on the dark sky before me, my mind utterly blank. I stared into the void, feeling disconnected from everything. It was as though time had blurred, moments slipping past too quickly to grasp. One second, I was above water, and the next, I was sinking into the depths. It felt strangely familiar, like a memory resurfacing from the distant past, as though it had been waiting all this time to haunt me again.