My Gift

TOTGA

In Another Life... I would be your girl

Damay damay na!

Sakueeeeet!

"Are you okay?" The wife asked the other when she saw her spouse stare into nothingness for quite some time and tears trickled on her face.

Weird. She's not crying though. She's just tearing up.

Then a hand went to the chest and rub it and clutch on it like...

"Are you hurting? Don't tell me you've gotten a heart disease love, because I am not going to let that happen." She tapped her so the other snapped out of it. "Do I have to make an appointment to the doctor? Does your chest hurt that much?"

"Uh... n-no... I just..." she paused. Then like a whisper. "I don't know."

"You've been zoning out these past few days now, baby. And you've been clutching on your chest more lately. Just a heads up. If you're going to be sick I'm going to kill you because you promised that we'll take care of our kids together." She couldn't hide the fear in her voice no matter how much she tried to mask it as a threat

Pair of eyes blinked and eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you saying? I'm not going to leave you, weirdo. I just---I uh... felt something..." the other explained.

Confusion etched the wife's face. "Just like how you seems to be having nightmares lately too? You don't know?"

"Love... I---Di ko din ma-explain. I just--something deep inside me feels this huge surge of... grief and dread and... sorrow---regrets... Basta. I can't explain."

Now worry painted the wife's face as she touched the other's cheeks. "Do you want some warm milk? It will help you to calm down."

The other didn't even got to answer when the wife already bolted up and out of their bedroom.

12:48 am

Alyssa woke up, all sweaty and actually crying from sleep. It's a dream... but... its so real.

"Uhm... baby? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Dennise hovered over her wife in a second.

"D-dream lang, baby---argh... UGHHHH!"

Alyssa held on her temple as she squeeze her eyes shut. More tears came and now she's sobbing.

"Baby... love... LY! ALYSSA!"

Alyssa willed her eyes open then turned to face her wife.

She looks so lost and hurt but she turned to Dennise and search for her face. Dennise on the other hand switched the lights on and hold her wife's hand.

"Ly... Ly... calm down. Tell me about your dream... its okay... I'm here..."

Hurt laced Alyssa's voice, "But you weren't.... here... there... i don't... ugh!"

Dennise hesitantly peeled herself off her wife to get a glass of water very very quickly and when she did, Alyssa downed the whole glass in no time.

She also wipe her wife's forehead and eyes. "Tell me, my love... ano yung napanaginipan mo?"

"Its not just a simple dream, Den. Its like... I've experienced it. Sometime... somewhere out there, you--the Dennise there's..." she stopped to sob yet again. Just the thought of it breaks her heart into pieces. "Love, it's so bad..."

She hug her wife's head and kiss it. "Let me help, Ly. Tell me about it. Please?"

Alyssa gulped. "You---the Dennise there was... going to marry LA. You are going to marry him and you had an announcement held at my house with Gretchen, Ella, Bea, Ate Charo, Synjin... and you are so happy to announce you are engaged and I... Den, I told you I love you and I asked to to answer me honestly---to kill that little light of hope I had and you said you don't love me that way and you love him so much and--"

"Ly... its just a dream. Here we are, happily married. We have four kids, Ly. You dont have to worry."

"But its not just a dream, Den! I can feel it! Somewhere out there, I didn't have the courage to be myself! I wasn't able to knock some sense into myself and finally tell you I love you before it was too late! Somewhere out there, you were ready to settle down with him! Marry him, live together with him, have babies with him... grow old with him... and I can't a thing because I know that's what you want! And you were... gosh Dennise, you are so happy with him and I'm with that asshole Ravena still and... I was happy for you... that's what hurts the most... because I know that's what you want and that's what will make you happy..." Alyssa paused to cry again.

Dennise couldn't answer. Because really. That's what really happened--here... in this... universe? Timeline?

She loved La so much that she chose to hurt her besh... more than besh friend and accept his proposal only to quit in private because she has a promise to fulfill yet.

What Ly dreamed about really happened except for her readiness because what happened... here was not really that.

"Den, I can't, even for one second think of you marrying him. I can't think of a life without you with me, Den... I---"

Dennise put a hand on her wife's face.

"Am I---Is the Dennise there happy?"

Alyssa nodded.

"Is Alyssa there truly, genuinely happy for me--for Dennise there?"

Ly started sniffing again. "Yes... because I know you are. And I know La's gonna love you and treat you like a queen that you are there... and I'm really happy because that coward of an Alyssa there wouldn't be able to fight for you the way he did there... I'm so sorry..."

"Why are you sorry, my love?"

Gulp, "Because I feel this way when you have all the happiness the na  your love has to offer... I'm... I just can't imagine not being with you for a second its painfully killing me inside, Den."

With tears in her eyes, Dennise face her wife and say truthfully.

"If she--the Dennise there was happy like you told me, can you... feel happy for her too? Just like what the Alyssa there does for her Dennise there?"

Alyssa nodded her head while in between her wife's hands.

"Ly, you know that really happened, right? Here? Its just that our timing wasn't right and i wasn't ready. Until I hurt you so bad but then things fall into their righful places and we found ourselves falling into each other?" Again, Alyssa nods, "Alyssa, I don't say that I wish for Dennise and Alyssa in that timeline or parallel universe to happen. I hurt you, I hurt La, he hurt me, you hurt him and me, and then he hurt you too... I don't wish for that to happen okay. And although I know Alyssa there wouldn't have the chance to be with the wife as best as me but she knows she'll be okay, right?"

Ly scoffed then giggled. "Yabang."

"Try honest. Pero, Ly... please? Let's just be... happy for them? For her? And I know Alyssa there is. So be happy na din ha. Because maybe that's what's meant to happen in that parallel universe. For them to realize a thing or two about regrets and selfless love without being together."

Alyssa wiped her face but still sniffing and hiccuping.

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah."

"Den?"

"Hm?"

Alyssa moved to peck her wife's lips then say, "I---never felt so lucky that we got the chance to... still have a chance to experience this."

Dennise smiled at her wife proudly.

"Although I kinda feel bad still for that Dennise out there not to experience the way THE Alyssa Valdez as a wife."

"You're so full of yourself sometimes, Ly."

"Says you."

"I love you, Ly"

"I love you too, My Dennise... in every timeline, in every parallel universe, I love you so fucking much."