Featured song: You Said You'd Grow Old With Me
Michael Schulte
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《PAST LIFE》
November 199X
Monday | 11:06 am
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"Can you smile again, for me."
Sinunod ni Annys ang sinabi ni Lorenzo, letting a soft smile form on her lips. Tahimik siyang pinagmasdan nito. Eyes focused, almost too intent, as his hand moved across the paper, sketching her face.
Bahagya siyang natawa.
Annys dropped her smile when she noticed he wasn't looking anymore, but just as quickly, bumalik ang tingin ni Lorenzo sa kanya, so she smiled again.
Napatawa na naman si Lorenzo.
"Tapos na ko mag-drawing kanina pa," he said casually. "Nagkukulay na lang ako."
Her brows furrowed.
"E bakit mo pa ako pinangiti kung tapos ka na pala?" she asked, confused. She thought he was still trying to capture her expression.
"Nothing," he said, not even looking at her. "I just wanna see your smile."
Something warm bloomed in her chest. A smile slipped out again, uninvited this time.
"Bilisan mo nga dyan. Pag 'yan hindi maganda, humanda ka sakin," she snapped, though there was no real threat in her voice.
He only laughed. As always.
"Bakit mo ba kasi ako dini-drawing?" she continued. "Hindi ko nga alam kung marunong ka ba talaga."
He paused. Then took a deep breath.
"Do you still remember... when we were still a kid?"
Her brows lifted.
"Nung palagi kayong pumupunta ni Tito Diego sa bahay ampunan?"
A faint shift in the air.
That place.
That time.
Doon nagsimula ang lahat.
Lumaki si Lorenzo sa bahay ampunan, walang magulang, walang sariling pamilya. At doon din sila nagkakilala. Bata pa lang sila noon, but something about it always felt... deeper than a simple childhood memory.
"I remember," she said slowly. "And what about it?"
A small smile appeared on his lips, but there was something else beneath it. Something distant.
"Nung mga bata pa tayo," he continued, "sinabi mo sakin... papakasalan mo kung sino yung lalaking makakapag-drawing sayo."
Her eyes widened slightly.
She almost forgot that.
"Hindi mo kasi kayang mag-drawing noon," he added softly. "And you said... you'd be happy if someone could draw you so well."
A quiet pause. Then his voice lowered.
"Before my mom died... she told me to marry a girl I love more than I loved her."
BINABASA MO ANG
The Life That Echoes
RomanceSome love don't end. They linger-soft, distant, and aching-like echoes that refuse to fade. Lorenzo once had a love that felt like forever. Annys was his home, his future, his everything-until death took her too soon, leaving behind a silence he nev...
