Young and Married

Prologue

Prologue

"Do you Zack Andrew Pascual take this woman, Paige Iris Sanchez, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in heath, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live?
If so, answer 'I do','" matamang sabi ng Mayor na nagkakasal sa amin habang nakatingin kay Zack.

Hindi ako tumitingin sa aking mapapangasawa. I remained staring in the abyss. This is the most dreading day of my life. I feel weak and helpless. The weight of what happened does not justify what is happening at the moment. Just because of a simple mistake, I am getting married. Who would have thought that I would marry this young? No one. I did not even imagine to be in a relationship at this point in my life. Hilarious.

"I do." he forcefully said like he is convincing himself to say those two words that I don't like to say either. 

We don't want this marriage. We are both victims of misconception, a misunderstanding. Sabi nila, ang mga anak daw ay madalas hindi nakikinig sa magulang kaya sila napapahamak. In this situation, our parents did not listen to our explanation that is why we are in this kind of trouble.

Kung hindi dahil sa mga matatalim na tinging ipinupukol sa akin ni Daddy ay kanina pa sana akong tumakbo. If I am not afraid of him, I would have run. This marriage ruined my dreams. Kapag may kapahamakan sa harapan mo, normal na reaksyon ang tumakbo upang makalayo dito. I could have run, but I could not. Because the last thing I want to do is to disappoint my parents once again. Hindi ko na kayang makita ang hitsura nilang disappointed sa akin, baka ikasira ng puso ko 'yon.

But who wants marriage at this age? I do not even have a degree yet. Building my career should be my top priority now, not building a family. Look what happened after committing just a single mistake.

Masama ang tingin ko ng bumaling sa akin si Mayor upang ako naman ang tanungin. I cannot help myself but glare in anger and despair. I really, really don't want to be married yet!

Tumikhim ang Mayor bago nagsalita. 

"Do you Paige Iris Sanchez take this man, Zack Andrew Pascual, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in heath, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto him for as long as you both shall live? If so, answer 'I DO.'"

Hindi ako umimik kaagad nakaimik. Tila tinitimbang pa ng aking dila kung sasagot ba ako sa tanong na ayoko talagang sagutin. Ilang minuto ng katahimikan ang lumipas ngunit hindi ko pa din magawang makapagsalita. I throat feels dry. Ayaw ipagkanulo ng ang aking utak ang sarili.

Muling tumikhim ang Mayor.

"I will repeat. Do you Paige Iris Sanchez take this man Zack Andrew Pascual, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in heath, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto him for as long as you both shall live? If so, answer 'I do'."

"Paige, 'wag mo akong ipahiya," mahina ngunit malinaw na sabi ni Dad. I shivered because of the fear it brought to my system. Napatingin ako dito, at nangilid ang luha sa aking mata nang makita ang galit nitong mukha. Yumuko ako at tuluyang isinuko ang sarili sa kapalarang gustong kong tanggihan.

"I do," I said in my low voice.

"Forasmuch as you, Bride and you, Groom, have openly declared your wishes to be united in marriage, and in the presence of these witnesses have pledged love to each other, and have confirmed the same by joining hands, exchanging rings and declaring your vows, I as a mayor and legally authorized to do pronounce that you are now husband and wife," anunsyo ng Mayor. Bumaling ito kay Zack at inilahad ang kamay dito. "You may now kiss the Bride."

Itinaas ni Zack ang aking belo. Diretsong nakatingin ang aming mata sa isa't-isa. Alam naming pareho na hindi dapat nangyari ang kasal na ito dahil malaking pagkakamali lamang ito ngunit anong laban namin sa aming mga magulang? At this age, what can we really do but follow what they say? We are not really old enough to decide what is best for us.

Hinawakan ni Zack ang aking baba at itinangala sa kanya. Mariin akong pumikit nang makita ang kanyang papalapit na mukha. I closed my eyes not because I am anticipating the kiss. I closed my eyes because I feel unfair. Na para akong napagtulungan at napagkaisahang ipakasal sa lalaking ito. I don't even know him. He doesn't know me, too. We are both stranger to each other yet we are here, sharing this matrimony.

This is all because of that night. A misunderstanding lead us to this unwanted marriage. Hindi man lang sila nakinig sa mga paliwanag namin. Hindi man lamang nila kami pinakinggan. The decided what to do because they thought they know best. They did not even ask what we wanted.

Mabilis na dumampi ang kanyang labi. Parang hindi ito lumapat. Iminulat ko ang mata ko. Nakita ko ang mga nakangiting mukha ng lahat ng taong saksi ng kasal naming dalawa. They are all smiling while we are here contemplating why we are married at this incredibly young age.