Laments of Broken Strings (Arte del Amor #1)

Chapter 7

Is this really okay?

This is the kind of happiness I haven't felt in a long while. It is something that I do not think I deserve. Why me, after all that I've done?

I spent the past year just striving to survive and live with all the pain I've been carrying upon my shoulders. Waking up was painful but falling asleep was just the same with all the nightmares. That's my life and I'm starting to get used to it.

All in all, I was a wreck, and maybe I still am. So this feeling of happiness growing inside me as I stare at him playing on the stage is all so foreign. A feeling so good yet feels so illegal.

Can I really be this happy?

Since the song started with Seth shouting my name, the crowd went wild and kept on asking who the Nyx Lyrica was.

I am Nyx Lyrica...

"Huwag kang matakot, 'di mo ba alam nandito lang ako?" Seth started the song while he was looking at me. I'm sure that he is.

His small smile caught my attention and everybody else's. I can't bring myself to smile back because I am in awe. "At kung ikaw ay mahulog sa bangin, ay sasaluhin kita."

"Omg, girl! Ang haba ng hair!" tili ni Ryna habang inaalog ako mula sa likuran.

"Tangina, ang tindi mo sir!" sigaw ni Kaius.

His voice is beautiful plus their instrumentals. Just beautiful.

"Huwag kang matakot na matulog mag-isa, kasama mo naman ako." Nikolai accompanied him with backing vocals and I'm not exaggerating when I say that they sound so majestic.

The crowd is singing along with him with the ocean of waving lights. It's loud and deafening but everything seemed like they were fading away, except for him. Except Seth and the way he sings and strums his guitar, with his eyes fixated on me.

Right now, he's all that I can see and hear.

"Huwag kang matakot na umibig at lumuha, kasama mo naman ako."

Ang lamig ng boses niya. Ang sarap sa tainga. Kahit sino ay hindi magsasawang pakinggan 'to. It's no surprise that he's this popular.

"Ngayon lang kumanta 'yan." malakas na sabi ni Kaius sa tainga ko, pulling me out of my reverie.

"Huwag kang matakot na magmukhang tanga, kasama mo naman ako." His words, though the lyrics were already familiar to me, sounded like assurance. It hit different than the original... because this is personal to me.

I can't help but wish that the song would last longer. Ayaw kong matapos itong kung ano mang mayroon sa mga tinginan namin. Gusto kong maintindihan kung ano ito. "Huwag kang matakot sa hindi mo pa makita, kasama mo naman ako."

For the whole song, he didn't break our eye contact. Everyone also kept on looking at my direction, curious as to who he's staring at.

Ganito nga pala ang pakiramdam na haranahin. I almost forgot how it used to feel. Pakiramdam ko'y lumulutang ako sa alapaap. Hindi ako sigurado kung para saan itong ginawa niya, kung harana ba... pero gusto kong paniwalaan na ganoon na nga.

The feelings are so familiar and so nostalgic it makes me want to cry.

"Huwag kang matakot, 'di kita pababayaan kailanman..." I swear by the look on his eyes that he just made a promise to me.

He ended the song with one last solo guitar and raised his hand, where my bracelet was placed and he showed another hint of a smile. His orbs staring at me are softer than I've ever seen them, it's like they're trying to tell me something.