My Sinisinta (TO BE PUBLISHED UNDER PAPERINK PUBLISHING HOUSE)

Wakas

April 3 2019

"At pagkatapos ng araw na 'yon ay naisipan kong isulat ang librong ito." pagpapatuloy ni Andrew.

Tatlong araw na ang nakararaan nang ma-launched ang libro niyang pinamagatang, “My Sinisinta”. Top trending topic ito sa Twitter, umani ng 12,000 tweets, sold out na sa mga piling mall at bookstores sa buong Pilipinas. He was even mentioned in the news earlier. Ngayon ay nakatayo siya podium, sa harapan ng maraming mga tao, partikular mga naantig sa kuwento na isinulat niya. He's here thanking them for reading, supporting and purchasing his latest book.

"Why do you keep on writing for her?" tanong ng isang babae.

"Dahil sa pagsusulat ko na lang siya nakakasamang muli, nahahagkan ko siya sa pamamagitan lamang ng mga salita. Hinding-hindi ako mapapagod magsulat para sa kaniya, dahil dito ko na lamang natutupad ang minsan naming inasam na walang hanggan. Kung pagsusulat na lamang ang tanging paraan upang muli't-muli ay magkatatagpo kami, handa akong magsulat ng mga libro hanggang sa mahimlay ako."

"May bago po ba kayong libro na ilalabas pagkatapos nito?" tanong naman ng isang lalaki.

"Sa ngayon ay wala na muna, kailangan ko munang mag-focus sa buhay ko bilang isang inhinyero. Ngunit, makakaasa kayo na babalik din ako sa pagsusulat." nakangiting tugon niya.

"No offense po, pero wala na po ba talaga kayong balak makipag-date ulit? Have a girlfriend or build a family on your own?" sa kabilang banda ay isang teenager ang nagtanong nito.

"I have a promise, and promises are meant to be kept. How can I be happy with someone else when I know that there's someone waiting for me somewhere out there? I can't see my future with anyone else, it's only her, it's only Vera."

"Naka-move-on na po ba kayo sa nangyari?" ani pa ng teenager.

"You know, when you lose someone you loved, you will never really move-on, you will just get better, but you will never get over it. It leaves you a permanent mark that even time can't heal."

"What made you fall for her the most?" tanong naman ng isang estudyante na nakasuot pa ng uniform na u-m-attend sa naturang event.

"She's just being her, she's brave, she's beautiful, inside and out. I prayed for her, and He gave me that woman." Sa mga oras na ito'y pinipigilan ni Andrew ang sarili, ayaw niyang umiyak sa harapan ng maraming tao.  Ayaw niyang magpakita ng kahit na anong senyales ng kahinaan, lalo na't halos ng naririto ay mga tagahanga niya.

"What did you learned from that relationship?" kuwestiyon naman ng isang teenager rin na lalaki.

Tumikhim si Andrew. "I learned that, it isn't just about giving love, you should also be brave. Brave enough to stay during the upstates and rock bottoms of your relationship, brave enough to risk everything you have, and brave enough to accept what's already written in the stars."

"Kung mabibigyan kayo ng isang pagkakataon upang pihitin ang orasan at bumalik sa nakaraan, ano ang babaguhin ninyo?" dagdag na tanong ng lalaki.

"Kung makakabalik man ako sa nakaraan, gusto kong baguhin ang buong sitwasyon, gusto kong ako na lang ang magkasakit at hindi siya. Marami siyang mahirap na pinagdaanan na pikit mata kong pinanood, dahil hindi ko kayang makita siyang naghihirap, maraming mga pag-iyak na halos ikasira na ng sistema ko, gusto kong bumalik sa oras na 'yon, upang hilingin na sana ako na lang, at hindi siya."

Napuno ng katahimikan ang bawat sulok ng lugar nang unti-unti ay lumagaslas na ang luha ni Andrew. Dali-daling pumasok sa eksena ang mismong coordinator ng event upang sagipin siya.

"Thank you everyone for coming, the event ends here. Encourage your friends to go read and purchase his books, thank you and be safe." anang coordinator.

Nang makaalis na ang lahat sa loob ng astrodome ay kaagad niyang inabutan ng tissue si Andrew.

"You've come so far." papuri ng coordinator.

"No, we've come so far, I will not make it here, if she didn't inspired me." sagot ni Andrew.

"You're brave." tinapik ng coordinator ang likod ni Andrew.

Dumiretso si Andrew sa memorial park nang araw ding 'yon, dala ang paboritong bulaklak at pagkain ni Vera. Kagaya ng nakagawian ay umupo siya sa harap ng puntod ng kaniyang Sinisinta, kinausap niya ito na parang bang ito'y sasagot. Inilapag niya sa ibabaw ng lapida ang cheesecake na paborito ni Vera nang siya'y buhay pa.

"Kung buhay ka lang, alam kong pati cheesecake na dala ko para sa akin, lalantakan mo." pabirong wika ni Andrew, bago isinubo ang cheesecake na hawak niya.

He wrote the book for the both of them, Vera as Virginia, and himself, Andrew as Alejandro. Like Virginia and Alejandro, they met unexpectedly, they fell in unexpected ways, and they once dreamt of making a family of their own. He writes for her, like as if she's still alive to read them. Every books that he had written were dedicated only for Vera.

The only thing that reconnects him to her is through writing, via writing, he has to meet her over and over again, in different places, time, with different names, personality, they'll fall for each other once again, and have the happy ending that they always wished to have when Vera was still alive.

There are things that someone can only express through writing. Andrew writes to express his love, longing, grief, sadness and devastation towards the death of Vera, his great love.

He writes for her hoping that one day, it's not only through words, pages and inks that they'll meet, but eventually they'll be living together for the rest of their lives happily.

******

"Our story isn't something that you can call as tale as old as times, nor a fairytale for they lived happily ever after. Our love is something magical, something that's worth celebrating, it may ended like a sea of grief, but for us, it began blossoming, and ended in full bloom." panapos ni Andrew sa panayam niya sa isang radio station.

Wakas