A Collection of Short Stories

Dear Love

They say, all monsters are humans and yet I couldn't wrap my mind around how monsters could look so beautiful. Maybe that is how they were made, to look so enchanting that you could never tear your eyes away from them. They were made to look like a dream so you'd never want to be back at reality again. They were made be spellbinding you'd never want to be sane again. Maybe that is how they were made.

I remember that specific day in December, my favorite time of the year. The cold breeze of 3:30 AM seeped through my pink knitted sweater, I crossed my arms across my chest and rubbed my palms against my upper arm as I shivered. I looked up to the sky and saw that the moon has fallen into slumber but there were still a few stars on the dark sky. Those few stars that shone the brightest on that specific day, overpowering the indigo sky. Right there, I saw your eyes. They always shone like stars, but if your eyes were to become stars, your eyes would be my favorite and if they were stars, I would never look down again.

You took both of my hands and rubbed them together, my hands enveloped by your enormous ones. For a man, your hands almost felt like velvet cloth, so warm and so smooth. Suddenly, I forgot about the cold December air. Especially when you brought our hands near your lips and you blew warm air into them. I couldn't stop looking at you and I guess I could say I was spellbound. You let go of my hands and suddenly I wish time has stopped or at least slowed down on that moment a few seconds ago. Or I wish I could capture that moment, from your breath on my small fingers, your velvety hands covering mine and how warm I felt.

You smiled at me and took my left hand, intertwining with your right hand. I smiled back. No words were exchanged but that was just one of our simplest expressions of love.

The bell of the church rang and I was pulled out of my trance. I laughed at myself. I was 30 and I still thought like a teenager. You tugged at my arm and I walked with you towards the entrance of the church. People swarmed towards the entrance, there was barely air to breathe and sometime people bumped into us but I couldn't care less. What I cared about was how you would look at me from time to time and check if I was okay because when you spoke, it was as if the crowd wasn't noisy and all I could hear was you. I nodded every time. It was safe to say I was in love with you.

One hour of the Misa de Gallo seemed to have flown so fast when I hoped time stood still especially when we held hands during the singing of the song "Our Father". When we were finally out of the church, I closed my eyes for I could smell rice cakes. "Your favorite!" you said, beaming with excitement as you pointed towards the stall that sold rice cakes. With a huge grin plastered on your face, you pulled me and ran towards the stall, immediately buying a piece for the both of us. I laughed as I was catching my breath. We ate our rice cakes as we walked home. At 5:15 AM, the sky has streaks of pastel colors and the air has gotten warmer.

Our home was quiet when we arrived. Of course, it was only 30 minutes after 5, the children are still fast asleep. We entered the living room and you crouched down to remove my sandals. I smiled. 5 years of marriage and still you continued to act sweet as if we only got married yesterday. You put of shoes on the rack as I sat on the sofa. You made your way to the shelf next to the television and grabbed the book that you have been reading for two days now. You sat at the end of the sofa and tapped the space beside you, signaling that you want me to scoot closer to you.

I closed our distance and you wrapped your arm around me. I laid my head on the space between your shoulders and your chest. In that position, you read your book. I wanted to ask if you were uncomfortable but you were so engrossed with what you were reading that I chose not to say anything at all. That is how we spend the quiet hours before our children wakes up at 7.