Fictional (making some slight changes)

After Ending: Chapter 8

After Ending: Chapter 8

I was dumbfounded... I heard tita say something to me—'stay' lang ang naintindihan ko.. Nakatitig lang ako dun sa picture nya na nakangiti sa LED screen...

Never in my life I've dreamt of my friend dead..

" Yumi.." napatingin ako kay tita at hinayaan ang luha sa mga mata, " Tita..." she smiled at me sadly and opened her arm to me.. Tumulo na ng sunod-sunod ang mga luha ko at yinakap sya ng mahigpit, " Tita!" iyak ko sakanya.

Hinimas ng nya likod ko, " It's okay.. You'll be okay, sweetie.. I'm here... Just cry.."

" Tita..." iyak ko na parang bata sa kanya..

For the first time, I felt like I could be as vulnerable as a child and just cry to her mom.. For the first time, I felt like I had a mother..

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Umiiyak lang ako habang nakaupo sa bench sa labas ng mall... Kanina pa ako pinapatahan ni tita pero hindi ko talaga kaya tumigil sa pagiyak lalo na nung nabasa ko yung libro nya..

It was a one-short compilation of some authors including Celine..

She wrote a story about a girl, who lost the meaning of 'living'... Until one day, she was visited by a girl and 'showed' her the meaning of life.. She didn't understood it because it turns out she was dead inside.. So the girl wrote her a book bending everything happened to her life giving her what ifs.. What if she did this rather than this.. But, they both ended up in the part where she's troubled and dead inside.. But the girl smiled at her and started writing a continuation... The girl who helped her was named Sky—because it was the name she heard someone calling her..

In the end, Sky wrote that she won't be remembered... But if the girl did remember her—how Sky helped a girl named Cesilia—she will know that, that is the end..

That her inside will match her outside.. that she will die, because in the end what they just really wanted was to make Ces know the feeling to be alive again...

Reading the book made me remember those memories who we thought was not written... Those time when Mico was chasing me around, I was helping her... The Last Page of the Book, Meacela saying I helped everyone, Tita saying those years were not yet written.. but what we don't know was it was all written down..

It was written down but the book and memories isn't with me because I was not the main character—I was a supporting character.. It was written but it was with them that's why we thought it wasn't yet starting.. It was because I crossed over, that's why Mico can't find me...

I covered my face while crying but then I felt a stick hit my leg kaya napatingin ako sa harap ko... I thought I was dreaming but I wasn't. Kumunot ang noo ko, " Hi. Will you be my friend, again?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at hindi nakasalita, " Can't you remember me? Or you just don't want to be my friend again—" hindi ko na sya pinatapos at sinunggaban na agad ng yakap, " Cela... Meacela..."

Umiyak din sya, binitawan yung stick at niyakap ako, " I missed you, Yumi..."

" I miss you too.." iyak ko sakanya.. I looked at her face still crying, " Anong nangyare?"

She smiled sadly, " Ito ako ate... Hindi ako yung Meacela na katulad ng nasa libro... Realidad na ito, I'm not perfect because I'm not a fictional character anymore.. Because in reality, everything is messed up. No one wanted to hear me."

" Cela..."

Tumawa sya ng mapait, " Hindi manlang naawa sa bulag.." bumugso ang luha ko at niyakap ulit sya, " Ate... Ate, no one have been nice to me like you did.. Hinintay kita, hinintay kong makita ulit kita. Kasi namimiss ko na yung nagiisang taong naging kaibigan ko..."

I closed my eyes while hugging her tighter when I opened my eyes I saw tita from afar smiling at me tapos itinuro nya yung impala.. Maghihintay nalang raw sya doon..

" Ate?" binitawan ko sya at tiningnan ang muka nya tapos inayos yung mga buhok na nakadikit sa muka nya, " Upo tayo?"

" Okay po.." Ginabayan ko sya sa pag-upo at umupo na rin sa tabi nya, " Ate?"

" How did you came this far?" naiiyak kong tanong sakanya but instead she smiled genuinely looking straight ahead, " Because you told me to.."

" I can't remember.."

Iginalaw nya ang kamay nya hinahanap kung nasaan ako, kinuha ko ang kamay nya at iniharap sakin... Ngumiti sya sakin, " Matatandaan mo rin.."

" Cela.."

Ngumiti sya at nagsimulang magkaroon ng tubig ang mga mata nya, " Ate, gusto ko sanang magpasalamat sa—"

Umiling ako, " No.. I chose to be your friend... No need to thank me."

Ngumiti sya at nagsimula tumulo ang luha nya, " I remember the time I met you. The very first time; you met me like this—blind. I can still remember what you told me when we were walking tapos dinidescribe mo yung mga dinadaanan natin para kunyare nakakakita ako.. Umiyak ako nun, sabi ko ang malas-malas ko tapas sabi mo hindi ako malas."

" Pinaupo mo ako noon tapos may sinabi ka sakin, 'If a writer wrote a story where the character is blind, will that mean she's unfortunate and the writer is merciless?' bago pa ako makasagot ng 'Oo' ay nagsalita ka na agad, ' No. Do you know why? Because he—the author—gave the character a chance to see, but that doesn't mean he gave her a pair of eyes to see for herself.. One person gave her a book, that person written it in Braille so she can read it. Reading the story gave her another life, like she wasn't blind. She experienced everything a blind person can't do because that person continued giving her books...' tinanong mo ako kung unfair ba yung writer dun sa character, sabi ko 'Hindi.' Alam kong ngumiti ka nun tapos sabi mo, 'Now do you think Life was unfair to you?' Dun ko narealize yung gusto mong iparating.."

" That God isn't unfair to you?" tumango sya sakin, " Umiiyak ako nun tapos pinahidan mo yung mga luha sa mata ko, pagmulat ko nakakita ako ng liwanag tapos narinig ko ang boses mo, ' You are special Meacela... You know why? Because to have me to see..' nawala yung ilaw at nag-adjust na ang mga mata ko—nasa taas tayo ng isang bundok.. Ang hangin tapas ang ganda ng nasa baba.. Sabi mo sakin, ' The world is a great place to see but God gave you a chance to see more than what other people see. He gave you a chance to look into people's hearts and souls rather than their bodies and faces... But now is the chance for you to see the world.' Umiyak ako sa nakikita ko, ang ganda-ganda.. The world is indeed beautiful."

Nakangiti sya habang ipinagpatuloy ang pagkukwento, " Narinig ko ulit yung boses mo, sabi mo tumingin ako sa kanan ko. Sinunod kita at nakita ang isang babae sa tabi ko. Tinanong mo ako kung maganda ba yung babae... Then you said it is me I am look at, you said you want me to see how beautiful I am for me to stop thinking how ugly and unfortunate I am.."

" I did that?" tumango si Cela, " Yes... You said that. When I woke up after that—when I woke up in my reality—ang unang-una kong ginawa ay ngumiti.. Kasi kahit bulag ako alam ko na kung gano ako kaswerte. Kasi merong ikaw sa buhay ko.. Meron akong kaibigan tulad mo."

Tahimik akong umiyak at tumungo pero napatingin ako sakanya nang hinawakan nya ang muka ko, " You just don't know but you are a very very kind person. All you did was to help. Yun nga lang, ang nahirapan ay si Mico.."

" Mea—"

" City." Kumunot ang noo ko, " Ha?"

" City ang pangalan ko... It's my real name.."