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《Present Life》
August 19, 2022
Tuesday | 1:17AM
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"You don't get to decide what someone's truth is." nanginginig ngunit mariing sambit ni Laureen.
Nanatiling tahimik si Raphael.
"You kept talking like you owned her pain," Laureen continued. "Like you knew everything she felt. Pero wala ka naman doon, hindi ba?"
Napasinghap nang mahina si Cleo sa likod.
"Hindi ikaw ang nasa hospital habang lumalaban siya." matigas na sambit ni Laureen habang hindi binabawi ang titig niya. "Hindi ikaw ang kasama niya habang natatakot siya. Hindi ikaw ang minahal niya."
That hit something.
Kitang gumalaw ang panga ni Raphael.
"And you don't get to stand there," she added, voice breaking harder now, "and act like you know her better than the people who stayed."
Tahimik si Lorenzo habang nakatitig lang kay Laureen. Parang hindi siya makahinga.
Because somehow... it felt like Annys was standing there all over again.
The same fire.
The same protectiveness.
The same way of loving someone so fiercely even while hurting.
Raphael slowly laughed. But this time, there's no amusement.
Only bitterness.
"You really sound like her," he muttered.
Nanikip lalo ang dibdib ni Laureen. "Stop saying that."
"Why?" marahan niyang tanong. "Because it scares you?" Bahagya siyang lumapit. "Or because somewhere inside you... you know I'm right?"
"Raphael." Mariing sambit ni Lorenzo bilang babala.
Pero hindi gumalaw si Raphael. For the first time that night, wala na ang mapanuksong ngiti sa mukha niya.
"Ano ba kasing ginagawa niyo rito?" bakas na ang inis sa tono niya. "Ano sakin niyo na naman isisisi lahat tulad ng ginawa ng Yeoj na 'yon?" mariing tanong niya.
"You think I wanted her dead?" he suddenly asked then looked at Lorenzo.
Napatigil silang lahat. Even Lorenzo's brows furrowed slightly.
Raphael laughed weakly, shaking his head.
"Damn..." bulong niya. "Gan'on na ba talaga tingin niyo sakin?"
Tahimik ang buong warehouse. Tanging ulan lang sa bubong ang maririnig.
"I met Annys before all of you became complete," he said softly and looked at Lorenzo. "Before the band. Before the stupid fights. Before you."
Alalang alala pa niya nang unang araw na dumalaw si Annys at Tito Diego sa bahay-ampunan. Wala pa si Lorenzo noon, dahil nauna syang iwan ng magulan niya bago mamatayan ng magulang si Lorenzo.
"She was loud." A faint chuckle escaped him. "Annoyingly loud." He looked down briefly. "Pero kapag ngumiti siya..." napailing siya nang mahina. "...parang gusto mong maniwala na may mabuti pang natitira sa mundo."
Hindi makapagsalita si Lorenzo.
Because this was the first time, the first time Raphael was speaking without anger.
Without mockery. Just truth.
"I loved her first."
That landed heavily in the air.
BINABASA MO ANG
The Life That Echoes
FantasíaSome love don't end. They linger-soft, distant, and aching like echoes that refuse to fade. Lorenzo once had a love that felt like forever. Annys was his home, his future, his everything. Until death took her too soon, leaving behind a silence he n...
