Ang Kalahati Kong Nawala

24. Epilogue

Epilogue.

Fritz has sent a photo.

Together with their parents,

Ezra Jerome

And

Alexandria Janice

Requests the presence of your company at theiw

Wedding Ceremony

December 27, Year of Our Lord Nine o' Clock

Two- Thousand and Twenty-Six In the Morning

SANTISIMO ROSARIO PARISH
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS, SAMPALOC, MANILA

Reception will be held at:

IBARRA'S GARDEN

He sent me this for you, baka you can make it? Reunion na rin sana, with our barkada.

I hesitated before I typed my answer.

Finally, I settled with one.

Can't, eh. I'm out of the country na :( but regards nalang to him ah. Miss u guys.

Hindi ko na inantay ang answer ni Fritz... Mindy is keeping me so preoccupied right now. Today, her new favorite target is my glasses. No matter how much toys you buy to your kids, talagang maghahanap sila ng gusto nilang laruin.

"This!!!" she screamed delightfully as she tried to yank my glasses away. I laughed.

"No, Mindy! This is mommy's glasses, eh. You can't play with those." She laughed and ran away, joining her big brother downstairs to his dad's study. They always like it there. Ash in particular- he likes playing with his daddy's rulers and protractors. I guess we're gonna have another architect in the family. I used to worry na baka masugatan siya, but I know Tina's downstairs. She's the best nanny in Canada; if she sticks around for another year, I'll give her a raise.

Someone came up the stairs, slowly. Si dad siguro.

"Sweetie?" he called. The years have been kind to dad: even though he's in his senior years, he can pass as a 40-something. His eyes are just like mine- brown, bright. May pinagmanahan ako, I don't doubt na siya yun.

"Everything ok, dad?" I asked. "How's mama?"

"Yeah, yeah. Your mom's asleep. I'm just checking on you. You've been a little quiet all morning..."

I smiled. I can hardly believe he left our family years and years ago. He's proven time and time again kay mama, at sa akin, na he won't turn our back to us anymore. He never did. "It's okay, dad. Ano lang... it's just... do you remember that boy I was close to in high school?"

He scratched his head. "You mean, back in the Philippines? Yeah. EJ, was it?"

I nodded. "He's getting married."

"Oh... good for him." He doesn't seem to know what to say. When I was a teenager, I told him the story a hundred times. I only laughed at him.

"It's okay, dad. It was a long time ago, we had closure. I'm just glad he finally found happiness."

And the thing is, I really am. I couldn't think of any more person who deserves to be happy with someone else.

As for me... I used to think he'll be my happiness. But now, turns out, my heart belongs to a certain dorky new architect I met while studying at a cafe, one rainy afternoon four years ago.

Which speaking of, is waiting for me outside the house. He saw me looking at him, and he blew me a kiss. Hah, he never got tired of doing that. I gestured him to come inside.

EJ and I met at the right time. I needed a friend, but I also needed a knight: someone that can protect me, even though I was too stubborn to admit help. He made high school enjoyable. He got me out of my shell and made me trust people. I loved him.

And now, he's getting married. I wonder if I'll regret this, but the thought passed over me as quickly as it came. No, I'm sure I won't. The only regret I have was how I ended things years ago. It wasn't right, the way I ended things with EJ back then. I guess bata pa ako mag-isip nun. But I learned from it. I learned na hindi mo dapat kinikeep sa sarili mo ang problema mo, and that you shouldn't make some kinds of big decisions all on yourself. So I became a better person. I wanted to be like EJ- strong, reliable, a real stand-up guy.

We didn't work out in the end, but even though we're a world apart, even though I broke his heart, he's still influencing my life. If it wasn't for him, I probably would be too shy to ask my this cute guy what sort of laptop he's using, just for small talk while waiting for the rain to pass- and I probably wouldn't have the patience to keep the ball rolling. He wouldn't get my number, he wouldn't ask me out on a date days later... and I probably wouldn't have a future husband. My two precious things in the whole world- Mindy and Ash- they wouldn't be here.

So I guess... salamat sa lahat, EJ. Sana maging masaya ka na. You deserve it.

Nawala ang kalahati mo, pero may ibang bumuo sa'yo.