MGA PAKIWARI AT PAGMUMUNI-MUNI (An AlDub Collection of Poems and Short Stories)

Dusky Goodbye

For @isy1619

"You said goodbye, while I said hello."

//

"Ang daya daya mo, alam mo ba yun?" he whispered in the silence of the afternoon just as the sun was about to set.

He looked towards the horizon, noting the violet and pink hues of the setting sun, a melancholic backdrop against the oncoming dusk. The moon was about to rise against the dark blue of the night sky, the stars about to twinkle, welcoming the cold and the dark.

"Hindi mo man lang ako hinintay. Umalis ka na lang ng basta basta."

He went down on his knees, his palms grasping the dewy grass, almost to the point of pulling it. His breath suddenly hitched as a sob unknowingly escaped him, a lone tear cascading down his cheek.

"Paano na ako? Paano na kami? Ang daya daya mo talaga!"

He screamed into the oncoming night, the darkness slowly enveloping him, enveloping his soul.

And he gladly let it.

"Mahal naman kasi, eh," he wept brokenly as he reached towards the tombstone in front of him, tracing the embossed letters on it.

Nicomaine Dei M. Faulkerson
1995 - 2029
Beloved wife and mother

"Paano na ako," he cried, his voice guttural, tears falling down his cheeks unchecked. "Paano na si Athena at Siegfried? How am I to raise them without a mother? Without you?"

He continued to cry, to weep for his love lost, for his broken soul, to blame the universe for taking the one thing that was most important to him.

His wife. His life.

His Nicomaine.

"Kuya," his sister gingerly approached him, pushing a double stroller with two precious beings inside. "Tara na. Mahahamugan itong mga babies. They're newborns. Alam mong bawal yun for them."

He didn't move, didn't even acknowledge her. He simply stared in front of him, stared at his brokenness, stared at his pain, stared at his loss.

"Kuya, kelangan ka rin ng mga anak mo. Wala na si Ate... si Ate Ma..." she choked on her words, crying as well but she pushed on. "Wala na si Ate Maine but she left you with two of the most precious gifts she could ever give you. They need you, Kuya. They need their father, now of all times. You haven't even met them yet. It's been... a week now," she softly concluded.

He looked up and turned around, seeing his sister; his red, puffy eyes zoning on the stroller and what it carried.

Just then - he felt a gentle breeze caress his face. He closed his eyes and felt her in the air. He knew then that she never really left them.

He looked back towards the tombstone and gently caressed it. He smiled albeit in pain.

"You're right," he softly whispered. "Of course, mahal. Even in death..."

He shook his head and continued to smiled, even through the tears. "I'm saying goodbye for now, mahal. I'll see you soon. But now - I think I need to say hello to our twins."

He stood up and went to his sister and children. He looked inside the stroller and saw them sleeping peacefully. He couldn't help but smile even as a small sob escaped him.

They look just like a shared version of us.

He looked back one last time before moving forward to try and start anew.

//

A/N. I'm sorry. May pinagdadaanan lang.