Sa nakita kong pagmulat ng mga mata ni Rina, nakita ko sa mukha niya ang takot… ang pag-aalala… ang pagmamahal…
I was looking at her the same way. But mine was filled with desperation, as well.
Napangiti siya kahit mahirap, kahit masakit. Pero alam ko ang nasa isip niya.
Na tama lang ito. Na ito na rin siguro ang kapalaran niya. Dapat nga noon pa. Kaya lang, may mga taong handang ibuwis ang mga buhay nila para sa kaligtasan niya. Sinabi niya sa sarili na ayaw na niyang may mawala pang importanteng tao sa buhay niya.
She’d dealt with too much deaths for one lifetime. She made a promise the night she lost those important people that she doesn’t want to deal with another death. Now she was thinking, this could be the fulfillment of that promise.
Pero hindi ko hahayaang mangyari iyon. Never.
“Rina, just hold on, okay? Kayanin mo 'to, please!” I exclaimed in desperation.
She let out a bitter smile—one that was laced with pain she surely kept for a long time. “I’m sorry, Dylan… Nadamay ka pa sa gulo ng buhay ko… ng pamilya ko…” Halata ang hirap niyang magsalita
She tried to breathe in but it ended up too painful for her. Mukhang hindi isang simpleng sugat sa likod ang nakuha niya. I could feel the warm blood from her back as I held her as careful as I could. I can’t lose her like this.
Not this way.
“Wala kang dapat ihingi ng sorry sa akin, okay? Nangako ako sa 'yo, 'di ba? Kahit ano’ng mangyari, hindi na ako mawawala sa tabi mo, sa buhay mo. Ganoon din ang ipinangako mo sa akin. Kaya kayanin mo 'to. Para sa ipinangako mong iyon…” Iyon lang ang pakiusap ko sa kanya—sa babaeng mahal ko na sumalo ng atake para sa akin.
“I’m sorry… that I could only fight like this…” halos pabulong niyang sabi.
“Huwag mo nang alalahanin 'yon, okay? We’ll do something to end this for you. Just hold on, okay? Please…” Hindi ko na napigilan ang pagbalong ng luhang kanina ko pa pinipigilan.
I cradled her body, placing her head near my chest where she could hear my heart—the one that was only beating for her. Rina's breath started to become uneven and ragged, shattering my heart even more. Napaiyak lang ako sa isiping ganito ang mahal ko, still holding on despite the pain from her wound slowly taking out her strength and her will to live.
“I’m glad… that it’s just me… who ended up like this…” Ngumiti siya kahit hirap. “I’ll be fine, Dylan. I promise…” She struggled to lean up—and I bent down further, trying to close the distance. I felt Rina breathe an "I love you…" upon my lips rather than heard it, and I closed my eyes, closing in our distance—
But before I could feel our lips brushed, the body I held went completely limp. Her hand that touched mine fell to the ground.
