Embraced By The Howling Winds (Antique Series #1)

Epilogue

Epilogue

From the moment I saw her again, I knew I had already lost it. I was overly confident that she would grow this beautiful, and I'm one of those guys who's bewitched. Even from a far, I'm able to recognize her silhouette.

Unfortunately, our first encounter after years of not seeing each other didn't end well. We had a little misunderstanding, and that disbelief looked made me conclude that I got a slot on her bad side.

"Y-you're crazy," she remarked before going back inside the church. I sighed and turned to my spot with the twins and Hadah.

Since that day, I have never seen Nachi wear dresses when attending the masses together with her cousin, Zai, and my cousin, Josh.

Nachi doesn't recognize me. We'll I couldn't blame her. We're both kids when we met each other, where I led her and her older sister, Mavis, when they lost their way home. I'm close to Mavis because we still had contact for years.

Every time we see each other, we would always end up with an argument — well, most likely, Nachi's attitude prevails. Kung hindi lang siguro siya nagtitimpi, naitulak na niya ako paalis sa umaandar na tricycle noong sinita ko na naman siya sa suot niya.

After the mass, that on the 24th day of December, I didn't imagine to encounter her again. Alam ko namang hindi siya natutuwa na makita ako. I hinted at the idea when Josh made Nachi sit beside me in the tricycle. Hindi ako umalma dahil wala lang naman sa akin iyon. I even lent her my jacket when I noticed that she's cold.

"Thank you, ibabalik ko 'to agad sa'yo kapag nakababa na kami."

I hummed and nodded, but honestly, her words moved me. Kaya nga lang, agad na nabawi ang mood ko nang marinig ko siyang may kausap na iba.

How can her voice be this sweet?

I couldn't help but pry after she dropped the call with her so-called boyfriend. What happened next? Sinupladahan niya ako. Pero okay lang kasi may sense naman ang pinagsasabi niya.

But judging from her choice of words, I felt like she's facing some challenges in her life... and I won't judge her for that.

I spent Christmas with my family, and I feel genuinely happy and contented. Seeing my siblings with a smile on their faces after receiving small gifts makes my heart feel delighted. This is the essence of real Christmas for me.

"Salamat, Kuya!" Masayang sabi ni Hadah nang mabuksan niya ang regalo. "Ito 'yong oil pastels na gustong-gusto ko."

Natawa lang ako at ginulo ang buhok niya. Nang matapos kami sa pagkain ay pinasuyo ako ni Papa na ibigay ang mga regalo sa mga inaanak niya. Napabuntong-hininga ako nang makasalubong sila Zai noong pabalik na ako ng bahay.

Kahit gusto kong tumanggi, alam kong hindi paniniwalaan ni Zai ang rason ko. Wala akong nagawa kundi pagbigyan nalang ang gusto niya at nang makarating sa bahay ay agad nalaman ni Papa na pupunta ako sa kanila ni Auntie Zadie dahil nakapagtext na pala si Zai sa kaniya.

Though I didn't regret going to Auntie Zadie's house because I got to talk to Mavis and had a light conversation with Nachi without getting her annoyed at me.

Also, I just found out that she kept her boyfriend a secret. It made me theorize that there's a tendency she's also to keep her future relationship lie low like what she had currently.