Rockiversary

214

"Am I real?
Do the words I speak before you make you feel,
that the love I lay for you will see no ending?
Well when you look into my eyes then you should know..."

214 - Rivermaya

Written by: Lyen523

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After 15 years of living in California , Richard finally decided to come back to Laguna. The place was his birth town where his grandparents reside and where his father grew up and got married. He lived there half of his life until his mother's petition came, and as a family they decided to take a chance . But recently his paternal grandfather fell ill and requested to see him. With the health of his grandfather in mind , Richard took the first flight back to the Philippines, leaving everything behind in California.

Richard was happy to see his grandparents . He remembered everything about them and how they love and took care of him when he was little. Seeing their family's ancestral house in Laguna also brings back all the childhood memories he has including Meng his childhood playmate and hope he will see her again. To his surprise the house looked the same way as the day he left as if it was frozen in time.

When he was a young boy he often played at the backyard where there were big fruit trees owned by his family. While his grandfather worked at the farm, his grandmother stayed home and tended the household. Everyday after his afternoon nap, his grandmother let him play at the backyard . His grandparents never worried about him getting lost because most of the people that lived around them were practically their relatives.

One afternoon when he was 8 years old, he noticed a girl just about his age peaking behind the big mango tree . It took days before the little girl started to play with him. The odd thing was the girl never spoke, but she was able to communicate as though he could hear her voice in his head. Dei was a pretty girl as far as he remembered and she had this charisma that makes draws him to her and follow whatever she says, which he can hear only in his head. He assumed that the little girl's family lived around the area, since she was always there to see him. Due to his young age, he never bothered to asked where she lived because the important thing that time was he had a friend the same age as him.

Richard's reminiscing over childhood memories got cut off when his grandmother called him to go to his room. On the way to the his room he suddenly felt the urge to look at the window and glance at the backyard. To his amazement a girl about his age was standing by the tree looking and smiling at him . He squinted his eyes, trying to recognize the girl but the moment he blinked, she was gone. He tried looking for the girl and wondered how she vanished just like that, but she got interrupted when his grandmother went to fetch him.

" Apo , kanina pa ako naghihintay sa kwarto mo."
" Pasensya na po La, may nakita lang po ako sa baba akala ko po ay kakilala ko ".
" Baka namalikmata ka lang iho , gabi na at nakauwi na ang mga kasambahay natin".
" Pero 'la, nakita ko po sya ngayon-ngayon lang po nakatayo sa ilalim ng puno ng mangga".

After a long moment of silence , Richard's grandmother just ignored what her grandson had told her and changed the topic.

" Itulog mo na lang yan apo at baka jetlag lang yan".

Richard didn't argue with his grandmother anymore and just followed her advice to settle for the night to rest. He thought that maybe she was right, he was just tired from his long flight . Dragging his luggage behind him, he went inside his room teary with-eyed what he saw. His grandparents never touched anything in the room, for 15 years it still looked the same as the day he left for America.

That night he tried his best to fall asleep but the time difference was making it difficult for him. He decided to get some fresh air at the veranda. When he got there he sat on the rocking chair facing their vast property . Richard closed his eyes to relax and feel the pristine air that blew across their land. A few minutes and he was already drifting off when suddenly he heard an unfamiliar voice calling him.When he opened his eyes, he saw thousands of fireflies surrounding him. He was amazed at what he saw and never wondered why he was at that place right then . Richard laid down on the soft grass and flowers blanketing the meadow to watch the small lights hovering above him. Until one of the lights came near him and to his astonishment, the firefly got bigger and bigger until it became a beautiful fairy.

" Kamusta ka na Richard ?"
" Kilala mo ako?"
" Matagal kitang hinintay na bumalik sa piling ko."
" Kilala ba kita?"

Then after asking the question he then noticed that he can only hear her voice in his head .

" Totoo ba ito , sa isip ko lang naririnig ang boses mo?"
" Huwag kang matakot Richard , lahat ng nakikita mo ay totoo".
" Ngunit paano nangyari iyon ? Hindi totoo ang mga diwata."
" Hindi mo ba ako natatandaan ?"
" Sinasabi ng puso ko na kilala kita ngunit ang isip ko ay nagsasabi na panaginip lang itong lahat".
" Alalahanin mong maigi Richard "
" Sino ka ba talaga at paano mo ako kilala?"

Instead of answering his questions the beautiful fairy came closer to Richard. She then sat beside him and told him to look at her eyes. Eager to know who she was,he then looked at her eyes and there he saw the past.Then he realized who she was and why she looks familiar.

" Dei!"
" Richard ako nga. "