diminutives

the proposal

four years has passed...

"careful cha-cha here let me help you with the flowers" siegfried took the bouquet of paper sunflowers his sister and him made for their grandparents

ang sweet talaga ng panganay natin. manang-mana sayo

richard pulled his wife closer and kissed the side of her head

pinalaki kasi ng nanay nila sa pagmamahal he whispered

until now, after almost six years of marriage, her husband still makes her heart skip

iihhh... ayan ka na naman. pinapakilig mo na naman ako. i love you richard

and i love you mrs. faulkerson

"dad can you please hand over the picnic blanket. baka po kasi madumihan ang dress ni cha-cha"

he smiled at his son and handed him the blanket. siegfried placed the blanket and asked his sister to sit.

"happy birthday lolo carlito" charmaine alicia mendoza-faulkerson greeted "and hello po lolo ricardo and lola rosenia and lola mary" she continued greeting her other grandparents

"happy birthday po lolo" siggy greeted "hello din po lolo ric and lolas rosie and mary"

their little family went to visit the resting place of their parents. after he kept his promise to maine's father of asking her forgiveness, he also requested for the remains of her mother, mary to be placed in the family mausoleum

richard's mom died after he graduated college from heart attack and his dad followed eight months after from stroke. as per richard, they might not have met each other here on earth but for sure they are well-acquainted to wherever they may be

mag-pray muna tayo mga anak maine asked their two ball of sunshine

"kuya ikaw maglead" cha-cha requested

"mom?" siggy looked at his mom for permission

she smiled at their eldest then nodded

"dear Papa Jesus, thank u po for surrounding our family with Your Grace and blessings. thank you for always keeping daddy strong to protect mommy, cha-cha and me. thank you for making mommy shower us with so much love and taking care of us. thank you for our baby cha-cha who always kept us smiling. please send our love and kisses to our grandlolos and grandlolas. please also give the flowers my sister made for lolo carlito's birthday. in the na—"

siggy felt his sister tug his sleeve

"kuya, may sasabihin po si cha-cha"

siggy bent over and smiled at his sister

"ano po yun baby?"

"thank you po Papa Jesus for giving me a brave and loving kuya who always help daddy protect mommy and me and for always lending mommy a hand in the kitchen and taking care of me po"

siggy smiled at his sister

maine can't help the tears that fell from her cheeks

richard moved to tease his wife

akala ko ba hindi ka na iiyak?

she elbowed her husband lightly

bakit ba kasi nagmana sayo yang dalawang bulinggit na yan sa ka-sweetan

he chuckled then hugged his wife

the two little peanuts ended their prayer and started playing. after more than an hour of staying