The Vow

54

Here it is!

Ito na yun!

Wala ng bawian!

Wala ng atrasan!

I am already in front of the closed door where I will officially become Mrs. Beka Davis.

Hindi ko alam nararamdaman ko, the butterflies in my stomach keeps on flying around and I feel nervous, happy, and excited.

Parang gusto ko nalang itulak pabukas yung pinto at tumakbo papunta kay Elijah, pero syempre prim and proper tayo dito dahil napakaromantic ng ambiance ng simbahan.

Dapat nga mother and father ang maghahatid sa akin, kaso sabi ko si Daddy nalang, kasi ayokong maging unfair sa dalawang nanay ko, and also Daddy is the only person who was with me when I was born and up until now. Mrs. Lim was with me for the first 10 years of my life, and Mommy Ella was with me since I was 13, they both were with me, pero si Daddy lang yung talagang kasama ko simula una hanggang ngayon, so I want him to be the only person that will walk me to the man I will marry, to my end game.

I breathed deeply when the door finally opens, sliding door kasi to eh, and may manipis na silk na nakaharang sa entrance, parang kurtina ganun pero sobrang nipis nya, see-through. I am looking at the bouquet I am holding.

I am wearing a princess gown na tube, para syang kumikinang na diamante kapag sa dilim, sakto lang dahil gabi ang kasal namin, yun lang kasi available time, kaya sumakto din yung dress dahil nakikita mo ang pagkinang nya ngayon. This is my dream dress.

Nag-angat ako ng tingin nang hawiin ang see-through na ginawang kurtina and I heard everyone gasp.

My eyes quickly search for the guy I want to see and my eyes met his, I can't help but smile and he mouthed 'Wow' while smiling at me.

I started walking the long aisle and cling onto Daddy's arm pagkarating ko sa gitna.

My eyes are still fixed to the only man that matters right now and always standing out.

"Your dress is so gorgeous" rinig kong sabi ng mga pinsan ko kaya ngumiti ako sa kanila.

Nang marating namin ni Daddy ang dulo ng aisle, he gave my hand to Elijah, and they talked a bit.

"You look so gorgeous, you're a shining diamond like your dress" he complimented.

"You always stand out" sabi ko.

We proceed to the altar and the ceremony started. Kinuha muna ni Cindy yung bouquet ko, sya kasi yung maid of honor ko eh.

When it's time for the exchange of vows, well pinatanggal namin yun sa ceremony because of my belief and the priest respected it, so he started explaining to everyone.

"Dear Brothers and Sisters, I know you all are waiting for the exchange of vows, but, Beka and Elijah talked to me if we can skip it, I asked for their reason, ahm, can I share it to everyone so they can also understand?"

We both nodded and he started talking again.

"Ok, so I asked why would we skip it, because the exchange of vows is one of the important part of the ceremony of the sacrament of wedding. I was amazed at how Beka explained it to me when they talked with me. They both said that both of their parents marriages failed, and they both did the exchange of vows which is the usual program, then I told them, not because their marriage failed, yours will fail too. But, Beka wowed me, and I was also amazed at how Elijah let Beka explain it to me, hindi nya sya pinangunahan, then Beka told me, they did the exchange of vows, vows means a promise of a lifetime together, but, suddenly it failed, the promise of a lifetime together was broken, and she said, we want to spend the rest of our life together, but, spending the rest of our life together is not a promise that should be made, but, a choice to make, they both chose to spend the rest of their life together, they chose to love each other even in the darkest days, they chose to not give up on each other, and they chose to stay beside each other while they are fighting for their lives, their freedom. Beka said 'we choose to love each other despite everything, no promises made, and we still end up here looking for a church where we want to marry, and we still end up being with each other as parents to their babies. Pwede naman po kami magpakasal na hindi nangangako ng kahit ano na pwede naming hindi matupad. Promises are meant to be broken. Instead of promising in front of God and in front of our witnesses, gagawin nalang po namin yung makakaya namin para pagsilbihan ang isa't isa bilang mag-asawa. We don't need to promise anything, we just need to show to each other what we want to say, and will always choose to love and understand each other despite of everything. No promises brought us here, and we will continue that way po.' She even told me, we can get married without making any promises too, because promises are meant to be broken, which I understand, and for her, action speaks louder than words, because she said that's what Elijah did, he never promised her anything, but, instead he gave and showed her everything she deserves, even more than that, which made sense. Action is indeed louder than words, because there are things that we can't say but we can show, and there are words that we can say, but we can't show no matter how important that person is. These two, Beka and Elijah, proved to me that you can get married, you can be happy, you can be in a healthy relationship, without promising some things, but instead showing everything. So brothers and sisters, today, we will skip the exchange of vows to respect Beka and Elijah's decision, and also for us to wake up to the reality that marriage is not a promise, lifetime is not a promise, but a choice. For Beka and Elijah, I would like to thank you for enlightening me about it, and for choosing to stay with each other instead of promising something you can't do. I am amazed, and I am very very glad to have met a couple like you. Can we all gave them an applause for standing to what they believe?"

Elijah kissed the back of my hand, coz our fingers are intertwined while we're sitting. Napangiti nalang kami sa isa't isa.

"I love you so much, wife"

"I love you too so much, hubby" sabi ko habang nakangiti.

We had exchange of rings, and some rituals sa kasal, hanggang sa matapos.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, Man and Wife, you may now kiss the bride" sabi ni Father.

Humarap kami sa isa't isa habang nakangiti. My heart is so full right now, sobrang saya ng puso ko na finally, I will have someone I will officially call my husband.

Unti unti nyang itinaas yung belo ko and cupped my cheeks and kissed me on my lips to seal our wedding.

The priest also congratulated us and give us some advice that we can use in our daily life.