A World Beyond Ours

t w o

louise claire vernon

"Kuya, dito na po," sabi ko sa driver.

"Sure ka, miss? Nasa kalagitnaan tayo ng--"

"I'm sure," pagputol ko sa kanya kasabay abot ng bayad at lumabas ng taxi.

I'm in the forest-like part of the city kung saan alam kong may cliff at the end. This is well-known spot for mountain-climbers, sa pagkakaalam ko.

Pinasok ko na ang gubat at sinundan ang trail na mukhang natapaktapakan na ng maraming tao; mountain-climbers, I hope.

I remember when I was a kid, after ng divorce ng parents ko, lola told me na ang mga gubat ay may mga makakapangyarihang nilalang na nagtatago doon. Sabi pa niya, there's magic in them. As I'm walking in the depths of this forest, parang hindi naman totoo.

I guess, nagsinungaling si lola.

The light above the trees is getting darker, and darker, as if it's reflecting my feelings. The deeper I get, the harder I can see the trail. Then, I see a light at the end of the forest.

Pagkaabot ko doon, the breeze hits my face. Atleast twenty feet ahead of me is the cliff. I breathe it all in. Finally, my life will end. Finally, my miserable life will get what it deserves; death. I am not needed in this world anyway.

I walk to the edge of the cliff, and look down. This is atleast a hundred feet cliff. And this is where I die.

Then, I heard it. I heard a faint whisper of what I thought was my name. 'It's just the wind,' I tell myself.

"Louise," I heard it again, but this time a little clearer. What the hell?

"Who's there?!" I called out. Nobody answered. Hangin lang 'yan. Nobody's here for me. Nobody ever was.

When I was 8 years old, I got bullied. Wala daw kasi akong parents dahil hindi nila ako mahal. I punched the guy in the face, and told him na mahal nila ako.

I kept on fighting them, and telling them na meron akong parents na mahal ako. I got sent to the principal's office because of it, at pinatawag ang parents ko.

Walang dumating.

From that day on, I accepted na wala na talaga akong parents. That their role in my life is to just make and give birth to a useless child.

Maybe, iniwan nga nila ako dahil 'di nila ako mahal.

I looked down once again to look at my end. I hope lola finds my letter. She's very oblivious pa naman. I hope she'll find happiness in her life without me.

Naalala ko yung sulat sa counter, all of a sudden. I pulled it out of my back pocket and unfolded it.

'To my dearest,' it states. 'Once, there was a girl who captured his eye; a girl that held his heart for a moment in time, only for him to find it broken.'

What is this?

'He still loved her, with all the pieces of his broken heart can give, but no matter how tight one's hold can be, destiny's plans will always succeed. And, you slipped away from me.'

This is not lola's. This is not hers. She has no love interest! Lolo died when my mother was still young. Who own's this, then--?

A strong wind blew, and the letter slipped out of my hands before I had the chance to read the writer's name. I tried to catch it, but before I knew it, I fell to my end.