A Soldiers Love and Devotion

Bits from the Past

He was busy dribbling the ball while some screaming ladies shouting his name is heard in the background.
" shoot the ball cougar, c'mon". Said cougar's cousin marvin. He made a dribble and made a perfect ringless shot.
End of the game and while the 3cousins are busy wiping their sweats,  a couple of ladies came and asked to give them some biscuits and sweetly asked if they need anything like water or towels which the guys respectfully declined. The vacazina cousins, cougar, marvin and benny are talking about their future plans, cougar who is 18 at that time said " i dont know if i can still  pursue college even if i want to, you know how hard life is for us, i regret running away from Aunt sophia's house, (aunt sophia is a medical doctor who send cougar to highschool and who plans of having him enrol in sto thomas manila if the latter havent decided to go home to mindanao after graduation.) "why not? You can go back, just asked mama to give you fare and go back, (benny and marvin are brothers and their mother nena is the sister of cougars mother) if you do, you can push with your plans on taking maritime" marvin replied.
"well, leaving aunts house without any words made me ashame to go back" cougar answered.  The cousins bid goodbye as benny went with his girlfriend who was waiting outside the basketball court. Cougar was slowly walking alone thinking about what marvin said when suddenly a girl who was smiling shyly approach him on the road and asked if he knew annie. " oh annie, she is with cousin benny at the moment and i dont know where the two went after they left " cougar stated. The girl who was 17 was wella, a round faced girl was annie's friend. "oh i see, are you going home then? Can i accompany you cougar as i am going the same way as you do?" wella shyly asked.
" by all means, i dont know you though, who's daughter are you?" cougar started the conversation as they walked the path that leads to a bunch of coconut trees. The two reach their destinations as they are both living on same barangay. Cougar seemed not to be interested with wella but the latter does. She has a huge crush on cougar and decided to make him his boyfriend no matter what. Three days later,
" Cougar!" A girl's voice woke cougar from daydreaming, he is sitting near a parked jeep in a hidden spot away from population after a basketball game with cousins and friends who came home from a school vacation. He was pre-occupied lately on his thoughts of going back to ilocos sur to asked his doctor aunt to send him to college and take maritime. "hey! Wella, what brought you here and how come you knew where i was?" 
"well i was watching you with annie a while ago when you had your game, i was even clapping and shouting but you never recognized me" wella shyly told cougar. " oh, im sorry, you know when im playing im so focus that i dont see people around, anyway, whats up? Anything i can do for you?"
"ahm, no, no, nothing, just want to do some chitchatting with you, can i sit beside you? Wella asked.
" but of course! Its just that its a little bit dark now, your parents might worry and well be looking for you now?'.
" oh they wont, i told them i will be at anni's house and i will be late" wella said calmly and who is already sitting beside rex. Wella dressed in a mini skirt and a loose blouse stared at rex eyes as she was saying how the teenager plays so well in the court that day and how she admires his fierce eyes. Rex who was a bit restless as wella is too close to her and he can smell the baby cologne she is using can only say thank you. Wella added that he is too serious on their conversations as she started talking about how she went well in school and her friends and asked him if he has a girlfriend already. " i dont have one yet, but i had a crush in highschool" rex said blankly. He is too affected by wella's closeness as she seemed to be flirting with him. Without thinking, he slowly kissed her without even thinking, a moment passed and wella was kissing him back passionately as if she was expecting this to happen. They were doing it in the jeep not minding if someone passed them and heard them. After the heat explodes, the two realized their mistake. They were walking without talking on the road.
A week after,
" cougar, hey, why are you so busy now a days like you are doing something important things at home that you barely come and play with us? Benny confronts cougar. " oh just trying to think of how i can go back to school and go to college, i am trying to write to auntie" the latter answered. " c'mon then, lets have a drink" benny pushed cougar hands. The two went outside and since the latter's family has a store, they went and asked for 2 bottles of beer. " cougar, how is your mother?" benny's mother nena asked. " she is fine auntie, she will visit you this afternoon"
The two bottles become 6 and then when they are almost drunk cougar bid benny farewell and started home.
While he is walking, wella suddenly appeared on the road, cougar was surprised but was trying to pass her but wella hold him in the hand and asked why he was suddenly ignoring her. " i dont want another thing to happen to us, you are in college, and i am trying to go back to college, and i dont love you, he was thinking of adding that line too but he think it will be too harsh for her.
" well i dont care. We can have a relationship even if we are on school cant we?" wella was walking fast so he can beat the strays of cougar. When they reach the jeepney where they both have their intimate moment the first time, cougar grabbed wellas hands and bring her inside the jeep and make up with her the second time. "This is what you are looking for thats why you are after me? Cougar throws her underwear on her face
And ran fast home. He was so regretful after he did it again. He remembered what he promised to himself not to be tempted again with lust, and to do that thing to someone he love. " shit! How come that woman has no shame, giving her body to me or probably to anybody, as she is no longer a virgin when i touched her the first time" cougar motioned to himself while he is busy packing his things so he can go away.
A month later, cougar who was back in ilocos was busy trying to ran an errand for her older sister who just gave birth, was told to to pack his things and go back to mindanao.
" why manang?" Cougar said.
" just go back to mindanao and you will know" her elder sister glydel.
cougar who just arrived in lanao del norte was motioned by his mother that the girl wella is pregnant and was always seen at auntie nena's house who was unfortunately for him wella's godmother. The events was very fast, cougar was forced to live with wella due to the latters aunt's intervention and wella's parents.
Cougar stayed with wella and her family, live with them as a boy and after giving birth, cougar become an errand boy, a helper during the day on his aunt's warehouse and a baby sitter at night on his baby boy as wella  was too lazy and irritant when she her sleep is disturbed by her baby's cries and woos.
Cougar's routine made him realized that he can't afford to send his son to school when the baby reached the schooling age so he decided to take a turn and look for a decent and better job. He made a decision to go back to ilocos sur, without saying anything to wella as they are not talking without making a fight, he asked his mother to give him a fare. 3days after he fled mindanao, his military journey started.