Touch of Time

Chapter 31: Farewell

Grief is on the air.  The sound of wailing is very clear and contagious. Everyone in the cemetery is mourning of the incident that just recently happened. The grave digger is starting to fill dirt on the coffin.  Every shovel of soil being dumped on it brings an increasing heartache to the family. Mrs. Dulce is leaning towards Manko.  Her eyes were very puffy already due to days of crying and exhaustion.  Andro's siblings are looking helpless and what they can only do is just stare and sob silently on their own.

Ersha as well as Mario are looking on the pit dug by the grave digger.  Other members of the revolutionary group were also present.  Mario has exposed her real identity to the public already and she stands besides Ersha to comfort her for she is still crying so hard.

It is still very lucid in her memory that moment when she saw Andro's expression change.  His sweet smile that turned slowly into a grimace brought her a feeling that  something is wrong.  It was then they realized that Andro was stabbed so she ran immediately towards him.  He is still conscious at that time but he is bleeding fast.  Ersha yelled loud for help and she tore a part of her skirt to use as compress on Andro's wound.  She cried heavily, feeling  defenseless but Andro only responded her with a smile and then hold her hand.  Ersha held him tightly also and telling him to hold on.  Andro is starting to turn pale and before he lost consciousness, he asked Ersha to listen to him which she instantly followed.  Ersha brings her right ear near Andro's mouth and then he whispered something to her.  The words still vibrate inside Ersha's ears when he said that words, "I love you and I will find you."  Then, his grip left Ersha's hand which made her to cry harder until she came short of breath and collapse also.

Andro's sudden death has been difficult to the Bandres family. His parents couldn't afford looking into their eldest son who left them first.  Their fear of having him being dead because of joining the revolutionaries had already come to life and there's nothing they can do about it.  Andro is very passionate about his rights and freedom of the country.  What's left only to them is his memories of love and time spent together.  Another thing that makes the family feel more heartache is Ersha's returning to her real time.  They already knew where Ersha came from and it is also today that she will bid them farewell.

The gravedigger is almost finished and the tomb has come to close.  Some were still wailing while some were going back into their own homes.  Ersha approached Mr. and Mrs. Bandres to have a short talk with them.  The children especially the little girls were starting to cry more and keeps telling Ersha to stay but Mrs. Dulce consoled them, telling that Ersha needs to go for her parents will also miss her.  To comfort the kids, Ersha gave each of them a necklace ornament with a small locket on it.  She made it while staying with the family in order to surprise the girls.  It is hand woven and made from colorful threads.  Then, she gave her another object which is the most priceless of all, it is her picture which she should have given to Andro.  She got her picture from her wallet after she briefly went back in time.

"Ersha, we need to go now.  The time is nearly up", said the sorcerer.

Ersha bid her last farewell to the family as well to Mario.  As the vortex starts to open, the girls cried loud.  Then, Ersha waved at them.  The sorcerer went inside first and then follows Ersha.  In a brief moments, the great light vanished.