Leaving it to chance [ Serendipity Series #01 ]

XX: gugma

Gugma — (n.) love, affection. [ cebuano/bisaya ]

* should there be any bisaya words used throughout the chapter, translations will be provided.

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Content and Trigger Warning:

-Mentions of death, trauma, and car accident.

-NSFW (Not Safe For Work)/R-18 content will be present in this chapter.

Please read with caution.

"I was in high school when my parents got into an accident," Mikie recounted as we entered the cemetery. "We were on our way back home from a family outing in Batangas. For some reason, I really wanted to ride with Lolo and Lola because my other cousins rode with them. I remember it so vividly pa nga, eh. My cousins and I were at the backseat of Lolo's car, nanonood kami ng Star Wars sa laptop. Lumingon ako sa back window and I remember seeing my dad's car behind us. I waved at them pa nga before going back to the movie. After a few minutes, we heard a crash. When I looked back, a truck slammed into my parents car. It was as if my whole body froze. The ambulance took forever to arrive. I saw them carry my parents' bodies into the back of the ambulance and we rushed straight to the nearest hospital."

My hand was in his as we walked, giving it a tight reassuring squeeze. I knew this wasn't an easy story to tell.

Mikie looked at me and smiled before he continued, "Si . . . si Mama . . . she died on the spot. The truck hit the passenger's side where she was seated. Papa was in a coma for a week before he followed Mama. It was the hardest week of my life. I watched Papa fight for his life. I lost my parents and my grandparents lost their child. It took a while for me to recover. I had to go through therapy for the trauma because I didn't know how to handle it. Swimming was my savior. Swimmer din kasi si Papa, and so it made me feel connected to him kahit papaano."

"I'm sorry, Mike. I didn't know."

"It's okay. I just miss them sometimes. That's why I always get worried when you drive home alone," he explained.

I loved it when Mikie would always check up on me, I never put much thought into it because it was normal among couples to text each other when they get home or give updates in general, but now I understood it was more than that to him.

I watched as Mikie placed the flowers by their graves and lit two candles for each of his parents. He was silent at first, his hand running through the markings on their gravestone. There were melted candles and dead flowers when we arrived, probably from friends and relatives that visited over the past few days since it was Undas after all. I kneeled beside him, to help clean their headstones.

In loving memory of Engr. Karoline Mariel Marquez-Ceniza.

In loving memory of Engr. Jericho Alphonzo Garcia Ceniza.

"Engineer pala parents mo?" I asked while putting the dead flowers inside the plastic bag.

"Yeah, they both met in college. chemical engineer silang dalawa."

When he stood up, he had a small smile on his face, taking my hand into his. "Ma, Pa, sorry kung medyo natagalan ang pagbisita ko. Lumandi pa kasi anak n'yo."

Napatingin ako sa kaniya, eyes widened at his words. "Amaw ka man tingali? Ano ba'ng pinagsasabi mo riyan," Gago ka ba? Ano ba'ng pinagsasabi mo riyan, bulong ko sa kaniya.

Tinawanan niya lang ako, shaking his head as he pulled me closer to him by the waist. "Ma, oh. Pinagalitan ako ng girlfriend ko. Nahiya yata 'to sa inyo. Yes, po. Girlfriend ko po. Si Nina pala. Naku, Ma, Pa, kung nandito po kayo, matutuwa talaga kayo sa kaniya. Pinapasaya niya po ako, grabe."