Between Then And Now

Chapter 3

Vien’s POV

The cloud is bursting out in tears again drenching every visible things in the field. I can sense the coldness by the shivering sound coming from the street dog that just passed by. I roamed my gaze in the park, children are in a haste to find shelter, a mother bird is singing a panicking song flying to and fro obviously looking for its little one. I let out a deep sigh, I’m leaning on a bench right now, I closed my eyes tightly, praying that someone will come and see me, join me watching the rain like before. Patiently waiting for someone to stare lovingly at me again.

Patiently.

I want to see a familiar silhouette in the rain so badly. Memories played at the back of my mind, tears started to stream on my rosy cheeks as I’m wishing that I can turn back the time.

I started to love the rain when I was in first grade. It was one of the rare days that my mom would come to school and fetch me. Waiting outside the classroom holding an umbrella and a raincoat for me. While other parents will bring two umbrellas, my mom will only bring one, reminiscing the idea that we’re sharing under one umbrella makes me giggle. Sometimes, she’ll even let herself get drenched in the rain making sure that I won’t get a tiny drop of rain. I love how she carry me when the water is high.  I just miss my mom. But one day, she killed herself in the hospital.

FLASHBACK

“I can't leave you. This time, I'll stay” Brylle uttered.

Jasmine distanced a bit, but I got confused because she didn’t inch out to leave. She’s getting something from her bag, then leaped towards me.

My screams were swallowed back to my throat as she poured something in my face. I felt an intense pain directed from my eyes.

 

“If I can’t have Brylle, then no one should HAHA. Hmmm, but it seems like he’s into you AGAIN! So I just decided to put a corrosive solution in your pretty face,Vien”  I trampled to the left edge of the bed, I felt comfort as the hand of Brylle caught me.

“How could you do this to me, mom?!” I wailed from the top of my lungs, still grunting from the pain.

Yes, Jasmine is my best friend, and she’s my mom. 

 

“I’m tired of swearing but I know that you once fell in love with me, Brylle. Away from the fate that separated us long ago. There’s one flare that melted our love story, I want you back, Ricardo!” she crazily shouted, obviously addressing it to Brylle. 

 

“I never believed them saying that you’re a psycho, mom! But now! You proved it to me that they’re right. Dad Ricardo is not Brylle! How could you let insanity of love drive you to destruction! Yes, they hold a strong resemblance with each other but they are two separate individuals” grasping for more air, I held on to the table beside me “Dad died long time ago, can’t you move on?! you saw this man that I fell in love with, but you tried every trick to destroy us, showing your plan and belief that dad reincarnated in him. That’s a crazy idea!” she’s laughing while I’m saying those words. I felt weakness wrap me up as I lose consciousness.

 

I slowly opened my eyes when the memory stopped playing in my head. My damp lashes caused a blurry affect in my vision.

The heavens seemed to open up as a familiar figure is walking going to my direction, my heart leaped in happiness as I tried to fix myself abruptly. Seven….six….five… four more steps and he’ll be barely inches away from me, but my whole system shook, a whole bucket of cold water drenched my inner soul and rattled as the scene unfolded before my eyes. 

With a brown staff in his hand, he just walked and continuously took another unsure step without sparing a glance at me. With a shaky hand, I picked up the picture that he unconsciously dropped. 

A girl’s arm hooked in the man’s arm, I can see genuine happiness between them clearly shouting out forever.

I gently strode my long legs towards him, “Hey, babe! I’m here” softly pinching his cheeks, “I told you that it’s way more better if you have me leading you the way. You’re such a hardheaded kid, you insisted to go inside the shop saying that you can, reasoning out that it’s just fine because there’s not a lot of costumers inside” he just smiled sweetly and said nothing. My heart slowly melted as I stared to my man, he held on to that photo as if holding a treasure so precious and priceless. That made my tears finally regain the power of gravity. I cupped his face and planted a kiss in his forehead, travelling my hands to his waist to lock him in my warm hug.

That blind man wrapped in my arms right now is Brylle. On the picture, appeared the both of us genuinely in love with each other before, up until now, and to infinity.

A part of me already died three years ago. But no one seems to notice. Maybe I’m just really good at hiding. 

“Love recognizes no barriers, I know it is hard to remember all the gorgeous memories we had when all the wilted petals of flowers blocked the way, but the only thing that I know I could do was to love you, and love you more- like the way I did when we first laid in the same bed. You gave me a second chance to see the world again through your eyes saying that you’ve laid enough stares to the beauty of your world while in the hospital, which is me. You donated it to me thinking that I can’t take care of our children if I’m blind. I now quit writing in the book of singularity, and sign in as a collab engineer of a home that will be built between you and me” I cried through Brylle’s precious eyes as we kissed each other in the blessing of the Lord, the crowd merrily cheered us as we stood together hand in hand- me and the main character of my life book. 

Disney said that everyone has their happy ending, so if it's not yet happy, then it's not yet the end.

I closed my eyes to inhale the merry scent of air inside the hall.

"It's the end... So it means both of you can already face the end all because it's already a happily ever after...." A frightful voice crashed the harmonious atmosphere.

I really thought that it was already a happily ever after, well, it was, before my mom appeared, on her left hand was a loaded gun. 

The next thing that happened changed my whole life.....