Remember (MaiDen Fanfiction) | Wattys 2019 Winner

Chapter XXIX

Life is unfair. She didn't even had enough time to digest about his accident and about his being critical then something happened again. She can't even accept the truth until she's in front of his casket.

Hiniling niya na sana panaginip na lamang ang lahat. Na sana hindi totoo ang nangyayari ngayon sa harap niya. Ngunit kahit kanino pa man siya humiling, hindi naman iyon matutupad. Everything that's happening around was the truth that she needs to accept. Kahit pa nga sobra-sobra iyong masakit.

Sumakit ang puso niya kasunod ng pagtulo ng mga luha. This is not what she's expecting. Akala niya magiging maayos pa ang lahat pagkauwi niya. Akala niya makakasama pa niya nang matagal ang binata ngunit hindi iyon nangyari.

He left the moment she step a foot in the hospital. Ang pagpapakita nito sa kanya sa hospital at sa panaginip ay ang pagpapaalam na rin nito. Ni hindi niya matanggap iyon. Because she knew RJ can do better than that. Hindi naman kasi ito madaling sumuko. Hindi ito agad magpapatalo.

He's a fighter. Nalampasan nito noon ang sakit. Bakit hindi nito nalampasan ang aksidente?

She can't look at him. Ni hindi niyang magawang lapitan man lang ito. Nanatili siyang nakatayo sa malayo at tanging nakatingin sa litrato nitong nakangiti at tila nakatingin sa kanya pabalik.

"Meng..." Paolo called her.

Umiling siya rito nang imuwestra nitong lumapit siya. Kausap nito ngayon si Tito Ricky, ang Daddy ni RJ.

Tito Ricky looked at her with eyes full of hurt that reflects her own pain. Ito na ang lumapit sa kanya at naunang yumakap.

The old man was silently crying as she was too. Ngayon na lang ulit niya ito nakita matapos ang nangyari sa kanila noon ni Richard. She can remember him as jolly as his sons. Ngunit ibang-iba iyon sa nakikita niya ngayon.

Tito Ricky was as vulnerable as she is at the moment. He had lost Richard before, and now he lost RJ the same way he lost Richard. It might be twice or thrice the pain that she's feeling at the moment.

"Condolence, Tito." She said with full sincerity.

Kumalas ito sa yakap at tumango sa kanya. "I know that he's happy when he left us, hija. He was in coma but when I told him that you'll come home, he opened his eyes for a few seconds."

She felt a stab on her chest upon hearing that. He really was waiting for her. Iyon lang ata ang hinintay nito.

"Then I saw a tear fell down the side of his face before he closed his eyes. Hindi na natigil yung pagluha niya. I told him to hold on a little bit because you're coming to see him but he had another seizure that lead to him being brain dead. That's when Jake told me that your plane already arrived. I was asking him to wait for you, hija. Pero siguro noong nalaman niya na nandito ka na sa bansa at umuwi ka para sa kanya, nakuntento na siya doon." The old man wiped his tears. "When Jake left the room because you're near the hospital, I saw RJ moved his finger. A few minutes after, he had a flat line. That's when I realized that maybe you're already in the hospital. I saw him smile before he took his last breath, hija. He was happy because you came back for him."

She gasped for air because it was already hard for her to breathe. Nagbabara na ang lalamunan niya sa pagpipigil ng iyak. She wanted to be brave but she failed. Dahil unti-unting kumawala ang mga luha niya.

It was painful to hear everything that Tito Ricky was saying. Ang hirap at ang sakit tanggapin ng mga iyon. If she was a little bit earlier, siguro ay naabutan pa niya ang binata. Siguro ay nakita man lang niya na humihinga pa ito. Siguro hindi ganito kasakit ang lahat. Siguro kung hindi siya umalis noon ay hindi naman mangyayari ang lahat. It was her fault.