The Fifth Star Of Ophiuchus (COMPLETED)

Chapter 7

"Wow. You really haven't aged at all. Yun ka pa rin. Kung paano kita naalala noon. Eksakto eh. Ang gwapo." Maine gushed as she sat on a stool by the kitchen counter and watched Richard cook breakfast for them the next morning.

"It's a Zeihronian thing. When we reach a certain age which is the equivalent of 24 Earth years, bumabagal ang pagtanda namin physically but that only happens in our own planet, the chemistry in our atmosphere reacts to our bodies' pH levels in a certain way that decelerates physiological aging. Here on Earth, I'll be old and wrinkly with time too." He smiled.

"Interesting. Ang galing naman. Batang bata ka pa din. Samantalang ako..."

"Ikaw?" He looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Ano?"

"Ako. Tumanda na. Papasa na akong Tita mo." She laughed.

"Are you kidding?" He said as he laid the plate on the counter in front of her then spun her stool around so she can face him.

He stared at her and caressed her cheek. "You are even more beautiful than I remember. Yang mga mata mo, ang kutis mo, ang ngiti mo, mga labi, the few pounds you gained even made you look hotter. Walang pinagbago ang ganda mo at lalong hindi nagbago ang pagtingin ko sa'yo. Mahal na mahal kita at..."

"At?"

He slipped his hands around her waist and locked them on the small of her back. He leaned closer until their lips almost touched and whispered on her lips. "Init na init pa rin ako sa'yo."

She giggled. "Ikaw talaga. Ang harot mo pa rin."

"Ayaw mo?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who says I'm complaining?" She smirked then closed the gap between their lips and kissed him passionately.

//

Celestine sat across from them on the breakfast table, her eyebrows furrowed, her tiny face clamped between her hands as she moved her stare from Maine to Richard over and over, trying as much as she can to process what they just told her.

"She kind of looks just like you when she does that." Richard whispered to his wife. She nudged his side with an elbow to make him stop.

"Sey-sey, it's okay. You can ask us anything." Maine addressed their daughter with a smile.

"So... I'm like Cinderella who has a stepmom and a real mom only Daddy is not evil, I do not have wicked step sisters and Papa is not dead?" The little girl said.

Richard chuckled and nodded his head. "Smart. Yup, definitely like her mother." He thought.

"Yes. That's pretty much how it is, baby girl." He said out loud.

"If you weren't dead, then where were you?"

Maine held Richard's hand who sighed before he answered.

"I was... I was taken far far away from here. Hindi pwedeng bumalik, hindi pwedeng tumawag or sumulat. I was not dead but I died every day from longing for you and your Mama." Richard's voice broke as his eyes brimmed with tears.

Celestine gingerly got down from her chair and walked over to Richard. She touched his arm and called him. "Papa?"

Richard sobbed and nodded his head. "That's right. I'm your Papa. I'm... I'm your Papa."

Their little girl wiped his tears with the back of her hand. "Don't cry, Papa. You're home now. You're with us."

With this, Richard broke down and lifted his daughter to sit on his lap. "Yes. I'm home now. And I will never leave you. Not again." He said in between sobs as he snugly held his little girl in his arms.