Strings of Memory

Extra 5

For the first few minutes, puro humming lang ang narinig ko. It sounded like she was figuring out the melody—paulit-ulit niyang inuumpisahan, humihinto, tapos inuulit ulit. Hanggang sa marinig ko na siyang kumanta.

"You know you could just say
Oh-oh, oh-oh
If I can hear you I'll be fine
And again
Oh-oh, oh-oh
If I can hear you I'll be fine"

Paulit-ulit lang. Humming and repeating those lines all throughout the recording.

Then, I heard a rustling sound.

"Yan na muna. Dadagdagan na lang kita kapag may naisip ulit ako," she said. And just like that, the recording ended.

Napatawa ako nang mahina. Is this the song she was talking about? Puro humming at paulit-ulit lang 'yung lyrics.

Pinakinggan ko ulit. And again. Until the melody imprinted itself in my mind. Hindi ko namalayan na I was already humming along.

Kinuha ko ang notebook ko at isinulat ang lyrics na meron na. Paulit-ulit kong kinanta habang iniisip, Ano kayang gusto niyang iparating sa kantang 'to?

A song about us.

Bigla kong naalala ang sinabi niya. It's a song about us.

Napangiti ako nang mapait. When I think about us, my mind always goes back to the fact that we both had feelings for each other. But we never had the courage to say it. We were both so hopeless when it came to that.

And as if on cue, something clicked inside me. My eyes darted back to the words in my notebook, then to the recorder.

That's it.

I grabbed my bass guitar and started playing around with the melody. Line after line, I wrote. Until finally, the song took shape.

Once I was done, I began to sing.

"If I'm always hopeless
Cause I can never say what's on my mind
Then you're just as hopeless
For always speaking in between the lines"

Napangiti ako ng mapait. Hopeless talaga tayo, 'no?

Bigla kong naalala 'yung panaginip ko. The one where we finally confessed. The one where we said goodbye.

"I guess we're both hopeless
We can never seem to get it right, but it's fine
I couldn't care if its upside down, I love the sound"

I closed my eyes as I reached the chorus.

"You know you could just say
Oh-oh, oh-oh
If I can hear you I'll be fine
And again
Oh-oh, oh-oh
If I can hear you I'll be fine"

I kept going.

"Well, time's been frozen from the moment you pulled me into morning's glow
A warmer summer breeze is blowing, whispering I'm not alone"

Yes. I'm not alone.

I have my mom. My dad. Our friends. My dad's bandmates. And you.

I have all of you as I move forward.

You're the summer breeze whispering to me that I'm not alone. Just like the first time I saw you. Just like that gust of wind I felt when I first saw you.

"One more time, one more time
Believe me when I say
Hey, this winter won't be freezing me, if you stay"

I kept singing.

"Oh"

Just like I promised you, Luna. I finished it. I continued your song for you.

"If I'm so hopeless
And you're so hopeless
Then we're both hopeless, you know
If I could find the perfect words somehow, here and now"

A song that's just about us.

"You know you could just say
Oh-oh, oh-oh,
oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
And again
Oh-oh, oh-oh,
oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh"

A song about two hopeless people who couldn't say what they truly felt.

"You know you could just say
Oh-oh, oh-oh,
If I can hear you I'll be fine
And again
Oh-oh, oh-oh
If I can hear you, I'll be fine"

As the last note faded, the door to my room suddenly opened.

Pumasok sina Rive, Elliot, at Zeira.

"Hi, Wynther," Rive greeted, waving. "Sorry for intruding. Sabi kasi ni Tita Maya puntahan ka na lang namin dito."

Nagpalinga-linga si Elliot. "Dude, you're composing again? Kakagawa mo lang ng kanta ah!"

Naupo siya sa kama ko at tinignan ang notebook na pinagsulatan ko ng lyrics.

"You're so full of ideas," komento ni Zeira at naupo sa tabi ni Elliot.

Napangiti ako. "It's not my idea. It's Luna's. She was planning to make this song... she just told me to finish it for her."

Natigilan sila.

"Really?" Tanong ni Rive.

I nodded, showing them the recorder before playing the second recording. They all laughed at Luna's constant humming, but I could see it in their eyes. They missed her voice too.

When the recording ended, Rive sighed. "Hindi pa tapos 'yung kanta. We still need to do the other instrument parts."

"Yes," sang-ayon ni Zeira habang tumatango.

"So..." Pabitin na sabi ni Elliot at ngumiti. "Let's go to Youssef's garage and complete it!"

Napatawa ako bago tumayo. They helped me put my things away before we left.

As I walked with them, I held onto one thought.

Luna.

I kept my promise. I finished the song.

Well... not completely. Not yet. But I finally wrote the words you couldn't. I gave it the melody you were searching for. And now, we're going to bring it to life—together.

Rive, Elliot, Zeira, and I—we're heading out to finish what you started. To add the drums, the guitar, and the keyboard. To turn your simple recording, your quiet humming, into something real. Into something that will last.

You're still here, you know? In every note, in every lyric, in every beat we'll play. You're in our music. In this song.

We're moving forward—not away from you, but with you. Just like always. Just like it should be.

I hope you'll like it, Luna. I hope, wherever you are, you'll hear it. And I hope it makes you smile.