"Hating the one thing you love is a pain worse than losing it." - Wynther Fynne Clemenceau
Wynther never had a dream-until he heard his father play the bass. In that moment, music became his purpose, his passion, his future. He dreamed of standing o...
Pagkatapos kay Elliot, napunta ang tingin namin kay Zeira, na nakatingin kay Harrison.
He must have trained her kaya sobrang galing niya sa gitara. And as her trainer, he's the one who has to evaluate her play.
Ngumiti si Harrison. "You're good, Zeira. You've been practicing ever since you picked up the guitar. You practiced and practiced-walang tigil. You never stopped, and it shows. All I can say is, keep up the good work." He gave her a thumbs-up.
Zeira grinned and nodded excitedly, like a little kid receiving a long-awaited present.
After giving us their criticism and advice, Youssef busied himself teaching Elliot while the rest of us watched. Elliot's eyes sparkled with joy as he watched Youssef demonstrate.
"Dream come true 'to for him," sabi ng deskmate ko na hindi ko namalayan na tumabi na pala sa akin.
Tinignan ko siya at tumango. She's right. This is a dream come true for Elliot. He's being taught by his idol-who wouldn't want that?
When the night came, Youssef cooked for us, and it was delicious. After dinner, we all went to our respective rooms to rest.
Pumikit ako at sinubukang matulog, pero kahit pagod na pagod na ang katawan ko, hindi ako dinalaw ng antok. Kaya naman, napagdesisyunan kong lumabas ng kwarto.
Maingat kong binuksan at sinara ang pinto para hindi magising sina Rive at Elliot na mahimbing nang natutulog. Lumabas ako ng bahay at naglakad papunta sa dalampasigan.
Napahinto ako nang makita ko ang isang babaeng may maikling buhok na nakaupo sa buhangin at nakatingin sa dagat.
It's my deskmate.
Napalunok ako. I glanced back at the house, then back at her, bago ko napagdesisyunang lapitan siya at maupo sa tabi niya.
"What are you doing here?" Hindi ko napigilang tanungin.
Tumingin siya sa akin. "I can't sleep. Ikaw?"
"Me too," sagot ko bago muling ibinalik ang tingin sa dagat.
Binalot kami ng katahimikan, just enjoying the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, until she broke the silence.
"I forgot to thank you for helping me out yesterday with that drunkard. Muntikan ka pa tuloy masaktan," she said.
Sinilip ko siya at nakita kong nakatingin pa din siya sa dagat kaya naman muli kong ibinalik ang tingin doon.
"Yeah," ang tangi kong naisagot.
She chuckled a little. I glanced at her again, and for some reason, she seemed to glow. Not literally, but under the moonlight, her beauty stood out even more.
Muli kaming binalot ng katahimikan kaya naman muli kong ibinalik ang tingin sa dagat at pinanood ang marahang paghampas ng alon. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was a comfortable silence-one that didn't need to be filled with unnecessary words.
"You know what, Wynther," bigla niyang sinabi, making me turn to her. She's still looking at the sea.
"What?" tanong ko.
"I'm so happy today that it's making me feel that something bad might happen," she said, a sad smile on her lips.
My heart dropped at the sight of her expression. I noticed how happy she was since we arrived here-she met her idol, got an autograph, and was even praised for her beautiful voice. But I can also understand her anxiety. Nothing's permanent in this world and the happiness she's feeling is fleeting. It can disappear in a snap.
But instead of voicing out my thoughts, I chose to say something else.
"Nothing bad will happen," I said, trying to reassure her. "Your happiness isn't borrowed, and you're allowed to feel it. So you should enjoy it. Treasure it. Don't think about anything else. Just enjoy the now."
She didn't reply right away. Instead, she just stared into my eyes for what felt like forever before turning her gaze back to the sea.
"Thank you, Wynther," she said softly. "For encouraging me to take that one step I needed to take toward my dream."
"You already thanked me enough for that," sabi ko, pero umiling siya.
"It's not enough. I haven't thanked you enough for what you did. I still have so many things to thank you for." Then she looked at me and smiled-a smile that made my heart pound loudly in my chest.
"I know that you're fighting against something I don't know about. I noticed how your demeanor would always change whenever we talk about my dream. It makes you uncomfortable, but you still tried your best to accommodate me. You went along with me kahit na ayaw mo. And for that, I'm truly thankful. And I'm sorry, too, for dragging you into it kahit na ayaw mo."
Humugot siya ng malalim na hininga bago nagpatuloy.
"I can see how much you love performing. When you helped us out when we were being humiliated by that band, I saw how bright your eyes sparkled. How you smiled genuinely for the first time. And when you first brought your bass in school-I saw how careful you were with it. I knew then how important that instrument is to you. You love it just as much as you love performing."
I couldn't say anything. Because she's right.
I love performing. And I love my bass more than anything dahil bukod sa bigay iyon ni Daddy, it's something that connects the two of us. I love it with all my heart that's why it was so painful when I decided to let it go.
But I'm really grateful when I met this woman. Because she managed to keep my dream alive by dragging me with her. Kung tutuusin, ako pa nga dapat ang magpasalamat sa kanya. I owe her a lot, and she doesn't even know it.
Nang hindi siya nakakuha ng sagot mula sa akin ay mas nilakihan pa niya ang ngiti sa labi niya at nagpatuloy.
"So thank you, Wynther. I thank you from the bottom of my heart," she said sincerely, and for some reason, my heart ached a little.
Her smile was so bright, and her words cut straight through me. I felt them. I felt how thankful she was, and it made my heart beat even louder and faster.
I kept staring at her, unable to look away, until I noticed how she started to fidget. She looked away, and I caught how the tips of her ears were turning red.
Then, all of a sudden, she looked up at the sky where the moon was shining brightly.
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"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" she said, silently admiring its beauty.
Without taking my eyes off her, I answered, "Yes. It is."
