Those Memories

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Present Day

The color of the sea as the sun sets made him nostalgic.

'Her favorite scene', said the voice at the back of his mind.

He closed his eyes, felt the breeze and calmed his heart. The sound of the waves got louder as he walked through the sand. He continued walking until his feet touched the water. He opened his eyes and saw the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on, the love of his life: smiling, full of life. She touched his face, making him close his eyes again. They stood there until the sun had been completely engulfed by the horizon. They always do the same thing every day of the summer, not feeling tired from that routine at all.

He opened his eyes one more time and saw that she was not there with him anymore. He looked at the dark sky above and murmured, 'Umalis ka na naman ng walang paalam', while embracing tight the little rectangular thing he had been holding since he got out of that 2-story house at the top of the hill.

It is a big blue and white mansion with large wooden double doors. It has five bedrooms, two on the ground floor and three on the second floor. It also has an entertainment room, a playroom, a collection room, and a kitchen. The collection room had been cleared out and converted into another bedroom for the duration of the family's stay. The collections were temporarily transferred to the attic.

The house was built 50 years ago and is now being used as a vacation house where the whole family spends the summer vacation each year. As for the rest of the year, it is well taken care of by the family's caretaker.

He smiled and turned his back from the sea and started walking to the shore. He made his way to the path leading back to the big house above. Two silhouettes were waiting for him side-by-side at the top of the 24-stepped cobblestone staircase. A man and a woman.

"Kanina ka pa namin hinihintay sa loob," said Lucy, the woman standing on the left.

Leo, the one on the right, held his hand as he climbed up the last step. Then the three of them headed to the entrance of the mansion where the rest of the family awaits them.

Three kids met them as they threw open the door.

"It's storytime! It's storytime!" they said happily while clapping their hands.

Five other kids playing tag stopped and came to the entrance after hearing their cousins' voices. Three more kids got out of the playroom on the second floor and hurried down the stairs to join them.

"Let's eat dinner first before we listen to the story, okay?" said the eldest one of the five women who came out of the kitchen, Leo's wife.

"Okay!" said all the children in unison.

Five men entered the doors carrying grocery bags. One of them is Lucy's husband, Nico. He is Leo's best friend since high school and now his brother-in-law.

"Dalhin niyo na ang mga 'to doon sa kusina," he said to the others with him. The four younger men with him then headed to the kitchen.

"Ang dami niyo namang binili. Baka 'di natin maubos lahat ng mga 'yan bukas," said Lucy to his husband.

"Sa dami ba naman natin dito siguradong ubos 'yan. At saka huling araw na natin dito bukas," he replied. "'Di ba Leo?"

Leo nodded. Then he turned to his father. "Pa, maupo ka na lang muna dito sa sala habang naghahanda kami ng hapunan."

"Aakyat na muna ako sa taas at magpapalit lang ako ng damit. Sige na, pumunta na kayo doon sa kusina," he replied.

His son look a lot like him when he was still younger. His daughter, on the other hand, resembles her mom a lot.

"Sige Pa. Tawagin ka na lang namin 'pag handa na ang pagkain," Lucy said.

He climbed up the stairs and walked towards the farthest room to the right, the master's bedroom.

The cold breeze hit his face as he pushed open the door. The sliding windows beside the king-sized bed were left unclosed.

The room is the biggest bedroom in the house. To the right from the door was a large wooden closet engraved with simple leaf designs. He had it refurbished recently since it was aged as old as the house. He can't bear replacing it even though his children would tell him that he should buy himself a new one. He opened it and pulled out a white shirt with a cat paw print on it. Leo and Lucy bought it for him on his 84th birthday last year.

After changing his clothes, he scanned the room. He sat on the bed close to the closet. Beside it was a small table with a night lamp, a flower vase containing the sunflowers he made his great-grandchildren pick for him earlier in the day, a pair of reading glasses, a picture frame and the little thing he had been holding the whole afternoon at the beach — a diary.

He picked up the frame, looked at it closely, examining every detail contained in the photo. It shows a family of four, taken 50 years ago, smiling brightly as the camera flashed before their eyes. That day was the twins' senior high school graduation ceremony. Yes, he remembered it clearly. The happy singing, the laughter, and the tight hugs he received from his two loving children while they were on their way home. And that hateful sound, yes, he remembered it clearly, too.

He got up from the bed and walked towards the bookshelf on the left side of the room. It was attached to the wall and contained various books, mostly fictional. A small smile appeared on his lips, as he remembered her reading those books on that spot he used to see her almost every day in the past.

He put the frame back on the table and picked up the diary. He ran his fingers through its cover. It was a normal size, pink-covered notebook with colorful beads glued on all sides. It has the word "Diary" written in front of it. Below it are Japanese characters: "カッリー".

He opened it and scanned the entries that were written 5 decades ago. He wore his reading glasses and started reading the first entry. 

He was sitting on his bed for about 10 minutes when he heard someone knock followed by the squeaking sound of the door as it opens.

"Lo? Tara na po. Kakain na," It was Jason, Leo's eldest son. His daughter, Annabeth, was with him.

"Come on, Lolo. Let's eat," the child said while wearing a big smile on her face.

He stopped reading and removed his glasses. He then put it aside together with the diary. Then he joined his grandson and great-granddaughter outside.