For Your Eyes Only

S i x t y - f o u r

"It's a story about the princess that I fell in love with. It was a long time ago, before you were even born." I paused trying to figure her reactions out. All that came out to me was her curiosity and her debating thoughts that's easily making her face change colors. It's her weakness, she might not want to talk to me right now but her curiosity always gets the best of her. That's why we came here in the first place.

"Do you know who that princess is?" I asked, maybe trying to see if she was really listening to me.

"Dr. Swift?" Alison asked, basically staring at my hands in the hopes that I'll open the photo albums soon.

I nodded with a smile, "Yes, she's Taylor Alison Swift."

Alison lifted her head and looked up to me. Her face is perplexed and boggled with questions. Her eyes alone told me a lot of things, "We have the same name?"

I was surprised she didn't know that little detail. Maybe Taylor kept it for herself when they were together but what stunned me was the fact that Louis didn't tell her that. "I thought you knew. . . well, yes, I got your name from hers."

"Whoa."

That was the only response I got. I opened the photo album. Alison leaned in and scooted closer to take a good view of the album. I took out one photo of Taylor that was taken before we dated. It's back when her hair was curly, and Louis was the one to take it so it's kinda messy.

"Taylor Alison Swift, I was seventeen when I met her and did everything I could just so I could get her to be mine. You know what, Alison? I did, I was successful. It was like a fairytale, the hopeless boy ended up with the princess against all odds. I thought it was a happily ever after for us, I thought it was forever. But apparently the people around us didn't think so."

I took a deep breath and took out one photo wherein both of us were sleeping, again, it was Louis who captured this photo and he caught the moment pretty well. I smiled and showed it to Alison, "See? It wasn't hard to fall for her, most of the ones I knew told me that it's a bad idea and I shouldn't because I'll end up getting my heart broken. We'll be apart after some time, why bother? But daddy was stubborn, princess. I actually didn't mind getting my heart broken if it was the Red Princess who'll do it." I continued with my storytelling, almost confessing everything to my daughter. She might not understand everything but she'll get it, I know she will.

Her face was still asking a lot of questions but only one came out for the moment, "What happened?"

"She uh. . .  we--" I didn't know how to answer as I can't really bear it to myself to remember everything back then. Little did I know, I was quickly flipping through the pages of the album. . . even though I've only got split seconds to see those pictures, everything came back to me. I didn't mean it.

I stopped myself and laid my hand flat on a certain part. I stared at it for a couple of seconds and pulled out one particular picture. . . the one that I took the night I gave her that necklace. It's the one in the abandoned airport.

I gave it to Alison. "I don't really know what happened, Alison. I just-- one moment she was there and then we made all of the wrong choices. See this? This is the night when I gave her my favorite necklace."

"The paper airplane necklace, daddy?" She asked.

"Yes, that one. I gave her mine and then I bought a new one so we could be pairs."

Her eyed sparkled like I told her every secret I had in the world. "That's why you've been looking for the other pair for so long? You've been looking for her?" She asked and grabbed the other photo album, she flipped through the pages very slowly as if she's trying to keep track of everything.