The Lovers of the Midnight Sea

Another Future

After that night, they went to Ambrosio's house and eloped the very next day. They settled in a fishing village in the province of La Union. They had a small but lovely home there.

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March 19, 1888
Canaoay, La Union
3:42pm

Five years have passed, and everything seems perfect. The old people there were even jealous of how sweet they were to each other. Blanca would go near the sea where Ambrosio is working to give him his lunch and would stay for a while. Blanca works as a seamstress, and people are delighted with her works that she opened her own shop.

One afternoon, Blanca was walking through the streets when she encountered three men that were waiting for her. She quickly walked past them, but one of them grabbed her arm. She couldn't escape them as their grip was firm. They won't even budge when she tried to shove them. She was silenced and was brought to a calesa. The men took her to a small house in the middle of a forest.

She was instructed to go inside, and there she saw Doña Fatima.

"Doña? Why are you here? What's happening?" she asked, but the old woman just looked at her.

Her hair was pulled down by the angry woman, and she shrieked.

"Do you know what happened to my son Blanca? He went crazy! He looked everywhere for you! You left him worried, but you moved on!" The doña cried.

"I was helpless... I couldn't even help him... I guess he loved you more than himself... He traveled restless, he always hopes that maybe one of those days you would come back to him. If only you could see him, you would see the pain through his smile... And it breaks me that I, his mother, couldn't even do a single thing for him!" She released Blanca's hair and continued talking.

"He went on to board on a ship, thinking that he would see you again... But a storm came, and not even his body was left... You should have told him that you don't want him! You gave him hope, and it gave him death!

Oh, my dear poor son!" she exclaimed.

Blanca felt guilty, she admitted that she was reckless. Her heart has already decided before she could ever think. Perhaps she was selfish.

" I really don't want to end it like this, but my sanity is long gone... I couldn't think of anything else but my son... So now, let's burn in hell together!" The woman took the gasoline and lit the house on fire.

Blanca tried to escape the room, but it was locked tight. Doña Fatima watched her despair while she was sitting on a couch.

She managed to break a window to the living room. The door was only one step away, but a piece of burning wood knocked her down. The house was engulfed by the flames, and the people have started to notice it.

A man came running to Ambrosio at the shore.

"Ambo! I saw your wife being dragged by men! I think they went to the forest!" The man pointed the smoke coming out of the woods.

Ambrosio ran fast through the forest hoping to see his dear wife. He saw a house that was almost burned to ashes. He bravely opened the door and saw his dying wife. He took her away from the fire and held her to his arms.

"Blanca! Hold on! I will take you to the village." He tried to carry her. She looked at her pitiful husband, a year formed in the corner of her eyes. She couldn't do anything to comfort him.

She touched his cheeks and was about to say something when Ambrosio stopped her.

"Please just don't say a thing, just keep smiling at me..." he said helplessly while caressing her hand.

"Will you promise me that you'll stay by my side?

I'm afraid that if I let go of your hand, I'll lose you...

When I first realized my feelings for you, I started to become greedy, I wanted to live with you, grow old with you..." he couldn't even finish his sentence as his heart started to sink.

" It's fine... You don't need to say that... Just listen to me... " Ambrosio felt defeated and listened to his wife.

" If I was reborn again, please find me even if I don't look like this..."

"I will find you, despite where you are. I will recognize you, despite who you are, " Ambrosio replied.

"And in that life, please make me your wife again... So I can make it up for our lost time here..."

The lovers bid their goodbye and promised that they would see each other again. Blanca's last breath escapes her mouth, her warmth has vanished yet her eyes still dropped few tears. Ambrosio's world started to crumble. He screamed in misery, then wept in sorrow.

He carried his wife to the sea and dropped on his knees. The cold sea breeze seemed to comfort him, the faint light of the moon gave him solace, and time froze to grieve with him.