Popcorn, Please...

The Photobombers

Author's Note: Please, again, THIS IS FICTION.

What If? A random person posted on their IG account and the photo went viral. Ano kaya ang nangyari?

—
"Love, ang ganda naman dito. 😍"

"Yes."

"Pero ang ginaw lang talaga."

"Come here. There, are you warm enough?"

"Yes. Thank you, RJ"

"Where do you wanna go after here in Iceland?"

"You said you have plans, where are we going next?"

"Italy or Maldives. Saan mo gusto?"

"Gusto kong bumalik sa Italy, Sa Lake Como and sa Switzerland din."

"Then, we will go there. We still have two more days here. So let's enjoy it. Shall we go now?"

"Just a few more minutes, love, gusto ko lang namnamin ang mga oras na to. Wala naman sigurong Pinoy dito no? hahaha. Moments like this are too precious, yong walang nakakakilala, yong we can act as a normal couples."

"Right. I love you so much, Maine."

"I love you more, RJ."

"I think I love you more, Maine."

"Contest ba to, RJ?"

"Nope, pero mas mahal kita."

"Mas mahal na mahal kita."

"Hmmm, ayaw patalo, pero I am just so happy that the person I love the most, loves me just as much!"

"Yes, same. I love you."

In this place where I thought would never happen—here you are wrap in my arms, Maine. Anyone is lucky to have found love—and that loves gives you back the love that you deserve too. But I would say, that it's luckier for someone like me to have found and lost and then found again that same love with the same intense feeling like it used to, or maybe even more, now. This woman right here gives me my second chance, gives me more reason to live, and gives me back my heart that longs for her and her alone.

You untangled yourself from my embrace and I felt empty but just for a few seconds because you turn to me and hug me as tight as you can. You gaze at me with love glimmering in your eyes. You're at peace my love, and I feel the same way. Your love, your peace of mind, your happiness mirrors exactly what I am feeling right now. You are a talisman, Maine. You are magic and so precious to me.

"What?"

"I love you."

"I love clingy, Maine. I love you more, love."

And at that moment, not caring in the world if people are watching or if someone caught them. I kiss you—hard, the kind that keeps on aching inside in a good way, the kind of kiss that assures and reassures because that's you are to me. The whole of you, your presence, even my thoughts of you—are my symbol of assurance that this life—after all is worth living. You are worth my life, Maine. This lifetime will always be yours, and I hope you will always remember that.

—
On the last day of their Iceland itinerary, as they prepare for their Italy trip, both their cellphone keeps on buzzing with notifications on all their social media platforms.

Apparently, a foreigner posted on her Instagram account a photo of her. What makes the post viral are the photobombers of the photo. It was them, kissing in the background. One look, there's nothing shocking in the photo because it is normal to see a couple kissing in a foreign land. Only in a conservative country like the Philippines that PDA isn't openly practiced.