I travel everyday. I ride the bus to work... and I ride the jeep back home. Everyday, I see people... people that are strangers to me --- and I to them. Everyday, I see stories... stories that are pictured in each faces that I meet --- faces that remind me of my own story, my own life, my own future, and my own death...
This is my story... This is ME.
I'm, 30, and I can proudly say that I am now a successfull man. I'm not yet married but I'm planning to, especially now that the woman I love has already come home... to me. She's a woman three years younger than me. I met her two years ago in the same jeep that I ride back home everyday.
That dark, rainy night, she was unexpectedly noticeable and very much apart from the other jeepney-riders that I encounter. Why? Because aside from the fact that there are only five of us in that jeep, she was crying. Her sobs vaguely reached my ears despite the loud noise from the strong downpour of rain. Her stylish hair was soaked with rain-water, and her rose-red evening dress was draping like a heavy curtain on her downtrodden shoulders and frail body. She wasn't wearing any shoe making it the colder for her. At that moment I felt the unfamiliar urge to hold her close to my warm body... It was all so strange to me... I never felt that feeling in my lifetime... never... until that moment... to a totally strange woman --- making the instant the stranger...
I didn't know how long I was looking at her, but somehow she felt me. Up to this day, I'm still not sure how Sara, the crying woman, ended up loving me... she hated me the first time she turned her tearful, round eyes at me. I could still remember how the sad expression in her eyes slowly turned into absolute hatred when she caught me staring at her. I know I should have shifted my eyes to something or someone else but for some reason, I smiled... making her angrier at me. I can't blame her for what she did later on. After all, she had her reason...
For as long as I sat there smiling at the beautifully angry woman across the jeep --- I don't know. I just recall being nudged by someone, and absentmindedly paying my fare for the whole trip. When we reached our destination, I was anxious to get off the jeep for I never want to leave Sara all alone on her present situation. So, I decided to stay for awhile until Sara gets off the jeep. When she did get off, I followed suit but was taken aback by what she did. It's a little awkward to say this but yes I did spend an evening in a prison cell...
What did she do? Well, she only told the police that I was stalking her and that I almost raped her. Ha! Ha! What a thing to laugh at. But what can I do? Even if I tell them that I am not doing such crazy thing, they wouldn't believe me. Why would they if Sara looks more convincing than me?
By the time I got out of jail, I was feeling so dirty and sticky. To top it all, I was worried that I won't get a chance to see her again. I was wrong --- dead wrong.
She looked so different from the woman I saw on the jeep. Her hair, now dried (of course), hung loose about her shoulders; her face had no sign of adornment -- well, maybe a little; she was wearing a dark grey suit; and she was already smiling --- a smile that brightened the dark sky above us.
I stopped in front of her but said nothing. We just looked at each other, waiting for the one to speak first. When, finally, my lips twitched into a smile, she had the courage to talk. She told me she's sorry for what she did. I smiled even wider, and asked her how she is. Her smile also broadened and answered that she's fine, just a little worried about... me. My heart missed a beat. I said, I'm fine at least now, I know what it's like to be in prison. I heard a very beautiful music when she laughed...
I loved her since that day. I love her still and will always love her till the day I breathe my last breath. I know, in my heart, that she loved me, too. She just had to attend to some business matters in Mindanao so she went away. I never wanted her to go. I was scared. I told her I was scared. But she refused to listen to me... and now she's back, and I know everything's going to be alright. She's here --- for good. She won't leave me anymore.
Did we get married? Absolutely... but...
That day was supposed to be the happiest day of my life --- our lives. It was, after all, our wedding day. As I stood there with the wedding suit that Sara personally chose, I looked around and saw people... crying. Then I turned to the most precious woman beside me... she wasn't looking back. As my eyes roamed her face, searching for any reaction from her, a single tear fell from eye. I am crying. I tried to smile. Sara wouldn't want me crying on our wedding day. She would be very worried. I know she will be... even if she's not looking at all... even if she will not look at me anymore.
It's raining hard... just like the day I first saw my wife. In time, I know it will stop... just like the pain and sorrow I am feeling now. Sara will make it stop. I know she will... even if...
