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《Present Life》
August 20, 2022
Sunday | 4:06pm
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"I'm sorry, Diego... I'm so sorry..."
Paulit-ulit lang iyong lumalabas sa labi ni Rebecca habang nanginginig ang mga balikat niya sa pag-iyak.
Mahigpit niyang hawak ang kamay ni Trace, parang natatakot siyang mawala ulit ito kapag binitiwan niya.
At si Trace... hindi siya makagalaw.
Because the way she looked at him, it wasn't for him.
It was for Diego.
Sa isip ni Rebecca, wala siya sa Oren bar.
Hindi siya matanda.
Hindi siya nasa wheelchair.
Hindi pa lumilipas ang ilang dekada.
Nasa gabing iyon parin siya.
Sa maliit nilang bahay.
Sa maulan na gabi.
Sa lalaking mahimbing na natutulog sa kama habang may amoy ng alak ang buong kwarto.
Rebecca slowly lifted her trembling hand and touched Trace's face.
"Hindi ko dapat ginawa 'yon..." she whispered painfully. "Hindi kita dapat iniwan mag-isa..."
Napapikit si Trace nang maramdaman ang malamig nitong palad sa pisngi niya.
And suddenly... parang may kung anong emosyon na hindi niya maipaliwanag ang biglang sumikip sa dibdib niya.
Not memories.
Not fully.
Just feelings.
Heavy.
Old.
Lonely.
"I tried to stay..." Rebecca cried softly. "God knows I tried..."
Her voice trembled harder.
"Pero natatakot ako..." napailing siya habang tuloy-tuloy ang luha. "Natatakot akong dumating 'yung araw na tititigan kita..." huminto ang boses niya. "...pero hindi na kita makilala."
Nanikip lalo ang dibdib ni Trace.
Because somehow... ramdam niya ang takot na iyon.
"I didn't want you to watch me disappear slowly," she whispered.
Napayuko si Trace.
At sa hindi niya maintindihang dahilan... parang gusto niyang umiyak para sa lalaking hindi naman talaga siya.
Rebecca stared at him with shattered eyes.
"You were a good man, Diego," she cried. "You were hurting... but you loved us so much."
Tahimik lang si Trace.
Hindi niya alam kung anong dapat sabihin.
Because what comfort can you offer to someone mourning a life that already ended decades ago?
"I kept thinking..." Rebecca laughed weakly through tears, "...maybe if I stayed longer, you would've hated me enough to let me go easier."
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...
