“How I wished to have another chance…” Stephen silently echoed these words as he unconsciously dropped a red rose. Everybody went home, he was the only man left in the promenade and he could feel the cold, shivering murmur of wind touching his face that is slightly moistened by his own tears. Everything’s unclear for him, even his mind. He’s still thinking about Cyrene, the only woman he kept inside his heart and his life’s best, amazing part…
“I still remember,” Stephen said to himself, “the time when I first met her. We’re both freshmen. She’s the one who primarily made a short conversation with me, asking my name. I was about to talk when her friends grabbed her towards the cafeteria so I became speechless. Anyway, I was absent during our orientation that’s why we do not know each other. After class, I saw her sitting alone in a bench beside the fountain. I stood in front of her to introduce myself and that time, no one dared to ruin our moment together. She smiled then finally said her name, Cyrene. Oh! Cyrene, do you know that it was also the first time I felt the fastest beat of my heart? Absolutely not, because I didn’t fulfill the chance to tell you that. Fear is my worst enemy. When I became your friend, I feel great, but not great enough to discover those men who were greater than myself. You have many suitors, but it’s not this fact that has transformed you into a unique girl—Your eyes have the color of pure ivory and shining, black pearl that whenever I look at them, I see a golden stairway down to your pure and innocent heart that truly reflects the simplicity of your soul. You’re not pretty, Cyrene, you are really beautiful… And I have been admiring your elegant presence until now even though it hurts me. Hmmm, how was your life with Nico? During our JS Prom last year, he volunteered to be your first and last dance. You encountered forty-nine dances with different music. Honestly, I planted seeds of jealousy to those forty-eight men including Nico. They were so lucky to hold your hands and to look directly in your eyes. You portrayed the best smile in your last dance while I was crying silently in a dark corner, wishing for another chance… I am an introvert man. But what is the difference between a man who can talk freely and a man who hides every emotion inside his heart desperately? Nothing! Their goal is just the same; to express their feelings. Well, Nico was one of your nineteen suitors and he’s the handsomest; the richest; the unbeatable. I never compared myself to him, I just wanted to be his twin brother so that I can have an option to replace him and finally, an opportunity to be with you even at once. Unfortunately, you are an impossible dream or let me say, an unreachable star that cannot be fulfilled in the future time…cannot be reached up in the sky… If only I could introduce myself again to you, I would then say: “My name is Francis Stephen Ruiz—your lover, your twentieth suitor, and your future husband…” but the past can not be returned back; it will only serve as an appreciable or undesirable memory that may lead us to severe frigidity…” Stephen went in the garden and plucked the largest, red rose then he continued, “Cyrene, I will use may bare hands to remove all these thorns so that when I give this rose to you, you will not get wounded anymore. The flow of my blood caused by the wounds will stay in this rose and once you hold it, my love for you will also flow through your veins and will remain there forever…”
The music for the last dance already stopped. Stephen noticed Cyrene together with Nico and it seemed like they’re leaving the promenade hurriedly. Again, he missed the chance to dance with Cyrene. Stephen was too shy to accomplish that kind of action with unexplained reasons. Remembering all his frustrations, Stephen dropped the rose unknowingly. He burst into tears but he still maintained the sense of being an educated gentleman. He would run away from his failure-filled nightmare when suddenly, someone embraced his arms and whispered, “Stephen, please do not leave now…” “Cyrene, what are you doing here? I thought you’ve already went home with your boyfriend, Nico.” Stephen said promptly as if he did not cry. Cyrene immediately replied, “Stephen, Nico is not my boyfriend, and he will never be… I don’t like him. I leaved him alone in the sidewalk a while ago to come back here. I know we’re friends but since the first time we met, everything in my dull-colored life had changed. I just want you to know that I have this certain feeling of undefined love for you…and I cannot control it anymore… I did not tell you about it earlier because I am afraid that I might lose a very special person like you. I’m sorry if…” Cyrene was not yet finished talking when Stephen tapped her lips gently and said, “You do not need to elucidate it further. I can see it all in your eyes. I love you Cyrene, and I will never get tired of stating those words even after the end of the world…Now, can we perform our last dance, my wonderful and most-admired princess?” Stephen slowly picked the red rose without thorns and handed it to Cyrene and led her beside the fountain. There, they danced freely; lively even with no music at all under the luminous light of the heart-shaped moon sculpted for destined lovers like them… And no one can prevent them, even the cold wind. They only feel continuously the presence of each other with a blend of romance and a little cup of love poured like fresh, sparkling water into their hearts…
“Nobody has the power to make things perfect, but everyone is given countless chances to make things right…” Yes, even in the midst of frustration and loneliness, there will always come a time that you’ll eventually have a chance to get out of these illnesses and experience at once the gift of passionate happiness… And one of the most-awaited opportunities in life is this once in a lifetime chance to feel the romance of JS Prom…
Elline Mae Francisco
