Bloodrose Moon

Twenty Eighth Moon

"What?" Lumunok ako. "that's impossible! My first love left me..."

Tanner was right. My first love left me years ago without saying goodbye and he was the reason why I grew colder, the reason why I hated relationships and commitment.

"Your first love was your neighbor, right? That was Gabe."

My first love's name was Juan, not Gabe or Gabriel. But I never knew his last name, kahit ang mukha ng kanyang pamilya, hindi ko alam. Siya lang yung kilala ko at parati kaming naglalaro sa kagubatan. Eventually, I fell in love with him but I was too young back then. Too naive. When he left, that broke me. Hindi man lang nagpaalam.

At ngayong nakabalik na siya, hindi man lang niya ako hinanap? Kinalimutan niya ba ako?

"But that was years ago...and they left. Sila pa rin pala ang may-ari ng bahay na yun?"

He nodded. "His Aunt lives there now."

I frowned at him. "Pano mo nalaman ang tungkol kay Gabe? Na nandito siya? Na magkaibigan kami?"

"I'm a Hunter Wolf, right? Kaya matalas ang pang-amoy ko at nung nasa downtown ako, I smelt his familiar scent. I followed him and voila, he's back." He sighed.

"And then, you saw me with him?"

"Once," He answered. "hindi ko inakalang aabot dito ang pagkakaibigan niyo at pinasakay mo pa sa sasakyan ko."

"Sigurado ka ba talagang...siya nga yung first love ko?"

He nodded. "Juan Gabriel Flores."

And that hit me. Siya nga. Juan. Siya nga si Juan, but he's using Gabriel now. What happened when he left? Umuwi ba siya sa Pilipinas? Kinalimutan ako?

"He had a car accident years ago in Manila," Biglang sabi ni Tanner na ikinagulat ko. "he lost his old memories, including you and some of his life here in Alaska. The only thing that he can remember from Alaska was his Mother's death. He came back here to visit his Aunt and to seek for answers."

"Pano mo nalaman ang lahat nang ito?"

"Pinasundan ni Nol ang mga Flores sa kanyang mga tauhan sa Pilipinas. Sinigurado namin na lagi kaming updated tungkol sa kanila and that they were nowhere near you." Sabi niya.

Napailing ako habang nakayuko. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? When I turned 18!" Tumingin ako sa kanya, tumulo ulit ang mga luha ko. "maiintindihan ko na yun!"

"I wanted to, Vanessa, believe me! Kahit si Nol, gusto niyang sabihin sayo," He swallowed. "but Alpha Evan told us not to, especially that you're Warrior Wolf and one of the strongest. Hindi namin alam kung anong magawa mo kung nalaman mo ang totoo."

"You're scared that I might kill a human? You're scared that I might disobey our sacred law?" Tumawa ako ng peke. "I swore to protect humans when I turned 18, Tanner. I could never..."

I can. I want to. For my Mother. But I shouldn't, especially not to Gabe. It wasn't his fault, hindi niya rin ito ginusto. He's my friend and he was my first love.

"I...this is too..." I choked.

Lumapit sakin si Tanner at pinasandal ang ulo ko sa kanyang balikat at hinagod ang likuran ko. I closed my eyes tightly and cried.

"Ssh. Calm down, V. Alam kong mashado itong marami para tanggapin at iprocess, just take it slow, okay?" He said softly. "and I'm sorry for hiding this for years..."

Tumango ako habang nakapikit pa rin. Niyakap ko ng mahigpit nang patagilid si Tanner at huminga ng malalim.

"Thank you, Tanner..."