Bukas Paggising Mo

An experimental love story about the feebleness of human relationships against the intense power of love.

[Excerpt]

"Iya, kung papayag ka, gusto ko sana'ng..." Clark cleared his throat. "I wish to be with you for a long time."

"Bakit ako? Wala ako'ng maiibigay sa'yo."

"May nabasa ako'ng libro last year. It's called 1984 by George Orwell."

"Nerd."

"The protagonists, Winston and Julia, were underground rebels fighting the system in a dystopian world. And I remember a line there that says 'Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.' Sa mundo nila, mas importanteng maramdaman mo na may kakampi at hindi ka nag-iisa. Kailangan nila iyon para mag-survive sila sa mundo. And you, Iya, are my Julia."

Napuno ata bigla ang puso ni Iya at umapaw. How she loved hearing Clark talk geeky this way, like no one she knew.

"Sus, maliit na bagay."

Nagningning ang mga mata ni Clark. Iya didn't know if those were unshed tears.

"Iya, hindi ko alam ang ibig sabihin ng 'love.' Palagi ko siyang nababasa, but I won't presume to know what that means. And people might say that we're still young and all, that we don't know anything about the world, pero..."

"Pero?"

"Nandito ka na. Nandito na ako. At willing ako'ng matutunan kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng 'love' kasama ka."

But what if learning about love isn't enough?

****