Te Quiero (hiatus)

4 - The Taj Mahal of Negros

After our stay at Museum Cafe, we went out and idled by the road where the jeepneys and vehicles were passing by.

The sun bore down on us oppressively, making me feel tad bit uncomfortable.

"Where are you going after this?" I asked him, fishing my black cap from my bag and placing it on top of my head.

He secured his backpack around his shoulder. "I'll be heading to Don Salvador. You?"

"Off to the Ruins. Then to Silay na after. I'm meeting a friend in a few hours."

"I'm also heading to The Ruins for a quick tour. Wanna go there together before I go to DSB?"

No point in hesitating, so I said, "Sure."

We boarded the jeepney and alighted at the place where tricycles were waiting for the tourists going to The Ruins. We rented a ride and were soon on our way. The trike was fast, so the wind was slapping on my face and making my hair dance all over behind my back. Dahan-dahan kong pinusod 'yon para 'wag sumabog.

Rhys leaned toward me and spoke a little louder than his natural voice, "So I'm guessing you're from Centrex?"

Napalingon ako sa kanya. "How did you know that?"

"I had a glimpse of your lockscreen. You're wearing the jacket. Plus, you're also with the Centrex basketball team. I recognized Gutierez right away."

He meant the previous captain of our basketball varsity team who was famous for his good reflexes and sharp three-pointers. He was popular in social media, being another eyecandy, but I wasn't interested in him then. Sa iba, sa kasamahan niya.

"Ah, yeah," I said over the loud whips of the wind and the roaring sound of the trike. "I have this massive crush on Justin Mercedez kaya I used to watch their games. You ba?"

"I'm from Intersci. Kay De Villa kami."

Ah, the other team's star player.

"Wow. Karibal ka pala namin, e."

To that, he only laughed.

#

The sun was extremely hot on my skin when we arrived at The Ruins. Buti na lang, nakapaglagay pa ako ng sunblock kanina bago umalis ng room ko, if not, I'd most definitely sport sun burn by now.

After paying the entrance fee at the counter, we followed the steps leading closer to the mansion. There was a big field of manicured grass between the columns and the mansion proper, so we lingered around the columns first, taking several shots there, before padding closer to the grandiose Taj Mahal of Negros.

If I were to describe how I felt as I moved closer to the italianate architecture, I would say it felt like a step into the past where time held its breath and preserved a fragment of history. Here, the pulse of memories were at its strongest, and if I listened close enough, I could almost hear the heartbeat of the love that paved the way for this mansion to even be created.

It felt even more bizarre and warming because this structure was build for and in memory of Don Mariano's wife, Maria.

"God," was all I could say, speechless at the ancient beauty of it. It was but a reflection of the past, merely a shadow of its once grandeur, but it held a beauty that was simply its own. It was perfect.

"A bit frustrating that the Americans had to burn it down during World War II, 'no?" Rhys said beside me as he took shots of the grey mansion.

"Why nga ulit?" Ate Nellie mentioned its history to me yesterday, but because of the thousands emotions slithering in my chest at the moment, I couldn't even remember a single thing.