by: King Ceasar Reclusado
Mia switched on the light and looked at her alarmclock on the table beside her bed. It is already half past eleven and she still couldn't sleep. She keeps on thinking of her boyfriend- or her exboyfriend I should say, Christian. They just broke up this afternoon and she still couldn't believe it happened.
She still remembers when Christian was courting her. Roses, chocolates and sweet serenade were the best things that remained in her mind. The times when Christian sends her lovable messages never faded in her thoughts. The moment when she said “,YES” was never removed from her intellect.
Yet, fate is cruel. After five years of sharing happiness and agonies, they broke up all of a sudden and what makes it more painful is that it is caused by a simple misunderstanding.
Staring at the blank ceiling is what Mia can do for now. Bringing back the memories of their attraction is like torturing her from the inside. She cannot stop the tears from rolling down to her cheeks. She feels a lot of sorrow like all damn problems in the whole world were put on her shoulders. She misses Christian and she hopes he misses her too.
She looked at her watch again. It is exactly twelve midnight. It is February 18 and it was supposed to be their sixth anniversary. She closed her eyes, hoping that she will forget everything that happened in this sorrowful day. She fell asleep.
Morning came and she was astounded with the loud ring of her alarm clock. It is Saturday. She has no homeworks nor appointments for this weekend so she laid her body against the smooth bed and tried to sleep again. But the bright sun continuously rose from the east and its rays pass through her glass window directing toward her, like the sun itself willingly invites her to its direction.
She stood up and focused on the sun. She was stunned with its amazing view and she wants to see it closer. She went out of her room and stepped out of their house. What caught her attention first was the perplexing smell of the sea breeze that swept past her face. The good news is, the sun hasn't perfectly risen yet. The bad news is, she forgot to apply her UV protection lotion. She went to the seashore and sat under a coconut tree. From there, she saw the spectacular view of the sun slowly rising from the east, enlightening every corner of the whole place. It also illuminated her mind with the reality that she is officially single and she has nothing to do with it.
Time passed and she gazed at the scenic waves going back and fort from the seashore. Suddenly, her eyes widened when she saw a kid, building an enormous sandcastle. She went near the kid and greeted “,Hello.”
The kid continued what he was doing but he managed to reply ,''Hi.”
“You are, uh, good at building castles huh?”
“Well yeah. My brother taught me to do it,” the kid answered as he put a large cup of sand to his work.
“What is your name?” Mia asked.
“I am Ian.”
“Can I try and make a sandcastle beside yours?” Mia asked.
“Definitely,” Ian answered. “But be sure you will beat my design,”and he grinned at Mia.
Somehow, Mia managed to smile back and proceeded to her sandcastle. First, she filled a cup with sand and put it upside down. She slowly removed the cup but as she lifted it, the sand scattered.
“You need to control your hand,” Ian advised.
Mia did what he said but the sand dispersed immediately.
“Maybe you should add a little moisture,” Ian suggested.
She exactly did what Ian said. Atlast, the sand from the cup stood straightly. She watched it happily, feeling a little sense of achievement. But suddenly, a wave came and washed away her work. She raised an eyebrow and felt a surge of anger. Ian seemed to notice her.
“Do not be angry. Sandcastle is a simple thing but needs a lot of work. You need to be careful with every move you do. You need to protect it from any harm that it may encounter as it stands. Look what I did. I spent a lot of time in building this marvelous sandcastle. I even put large stones to block the waves from washing away my work. I also stayed here, where the wind comes from, to guard my castle from its tremendous blows.
Mia thought and she has the feeling that something is tickling her from the inside. She stared at Ian for a long moment. Finally, Ian spoke.
“Just like love. It is a feeling that needs to be intently preserved for it to last eternally. You need to defend it from the raging wave of perplexities and shield it from the blazing winds of dilemmas for it to go infinite. And look what happens when I touch it harshly,” Ian pushed the sandcastle and it instantly disseminated into sand.
“It goes back to a normal sand?” Mia guessed.
“Exactly! Which means,if something bad happened,the lovers go back to the place and situation where they started. But if the couple really cherish each other, there is always a chance to build their relationship again, and this time, a stronger and more passionate affection.
Mia gazed at Ian and thought of the words that came out of Ian's mouth. Then she made up a decision and hurriedly ran to their house. She got her bicycle and hastily drove to Christian's house.
After several minutes of fast cycling, she finally arrived at Christian's house and rang the doorbell. The gates opened and Christian was there, standing infront of her. She has many questions to ask but she herself was surprised to hear the words she blew.
“Are you mad at me?”
“I'm sorry ?!” Christian exclaimed.
“Oh come on! I should be the one to apologize. I mean, I am a fool and... whatever you want to call me... but...”
Before she continued, Christian softly spoke, “I love you.”
Her eyes widened and it took her a minute or so to think of the right thing to do and say. The next thing that happened, they were cuddling each other. “Happy 6th anniversary my love,” Mia said and shimmering tears fell from her eyes.
They both went to the beach and walked, hands together, along the seashore to celebrate their anniversary. There they found again Ian and the kid raced towards them.
“Hello dude.” Christian hailed.
Mia went perplexed and stared back and fort from Ian to Christian. “You know each other?” she bursted.
“He is my brother. The one who thought me to build sandcastles.” Ian explained.
“You never told me that you have a brother?” Mia asked Christian for an explanation.
“Well, he is actually my stepbrother. He just came home last week,” annonated Christian.
“You are ready to build castles, aren't you ?” Ian asked, looking straightly at the holding hands of the two.
They both agreed and together, the three of them built sandcastles the whole day.Christian and Mia are both elated with the fact that they are ready to build happy memories and unforgettable moments again as they walk hand in hand in the future life to come and are ready to defeat any obstacle that will come along their way.
