He liked the feel of the wind on his face as he speeded up further South for his new life, he felt free but he knew it wouldn't last long; he knew once he arrived in his destination that he would start thinking about it again. Horrible images caused by Typhoon Nidora and the line of dead bodies on the streets. He was a doctor, he was supposed to save lives but he couldn't do anything about it and it killed something inside him.
He could never forget that little girl's face she had almost survived, she was still breathing when he found her under that collapsed house but someone pulled him away to tend another victim- an older man who was also a hopeless case. If he had to choose, he would pick the little girl to tend first- she was too young to die. He hated himself for not doing anything to help the poor girl, even after three months since the devastating Typhoon he still hadn't recovered and the little girl still haunted his dreams every night. He would even drink himself to sleep to the point that he almost lost his job at the hospital.
He was a newly graduate from med school, he was on his first year as a registered medical practitioner when the Typhoon happened, he wasn't ready to see that much death at the same time.
After three months, he had decided to move from what looked like a ghost town. To his luck, his cousin Marian called him to say that their little village was looking for a general practitioner. He was from a family of doctors and nurses and his ate Marian, a nurse married a small-town Doctor and moved to Tagaytay. She told him the opportunity was good and he deserved a breath of fresh air, he needed not convincing because as soon as he finished his conversation with his cousin, he immediately wrote a resignation letter to the hospital he was working. Three weeks later, he welcomed change.
He had been driving for an hour towards ate Marian's house where he would be staying for a few days before moving in to a house Marian had helped him find. He liked what he was seeing, the green scenery and the feeling of serenity- it was very different from the scenery he had been looking at for the past three months. His hometown had been turned into a ghost town, he could still imagine and hear the scream of people begging to be saved.
At around six o'clock in the evening, He finally arrived at his cousin's house. They were well-off, for a couple with a newborn baby their house was too big for them but he remembered Marian told him that she and her husband were planning to have more children thus buying a big property was practical. They only got married a year ago and were immediately blessed with a baby girl.
"Insan, finally!" His Ate Marian walked down the steps from their front door, she wore a sundress. She walked up to him and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.
"Ate Yan, kumusta?" He asked,
"Ok lang, kumusta biyahe?"
"Ok lang, te. Ngayon ko lang napansin, maganda talaga ang view dito," he said,
"Siyempre naman, maganda talaga dito. Tara sa loob, good timing ka. I just finished cooking," she grinned, leading him inside the house. They were greeted by Marian's husband, his Kuya DingDong who had their baby Zia in his arms looking like a proud father. Kuya Dingdong greeted him with a pat on his shoulders. The last time they saw this couple was a few months ago at the Rivera's family reunion.
"Insan, welcome to Tagaytay!" he said,
"Thanks po, Kuya." He smiled weakly, then he looked at the baby girl the older man was carrying and he held her tiny hand. "Hello baby Zia,"
Marian had her hands on her husband's shoulder, smiling at her guest. "Ninoy ka sa binyag niya ha, this Saturday na,"
"Ganda talaga ng timing mo!" Kuya Dingdong chuckled, "Tara na at gutom na ako, kain tayo't para makapagpahinga ka na rin,"
The Dantes' house were cosy, it was indeed a house meant for a big family. It had a warm feel to it with a mixture of modern and antiques he knew his ate Marian designed. He loved it, he felt like he was in another country.
They had dinner at the glass room that overlooked the large garden. Dingdong sat at the end of the table, ate Marian on his left side with baby Zia's cradle between them. Zia was fast asleep in it. He was seated across Marian on Dingdong's left side.
"Kuya Dong, kelan umpisa ko sa clinic mo?" He asked,
Dingdong grinned at him, "Grabe ka naman. Kakadating mo lang trabaho kaagad? Settle ka muna, gala gala ka bukas kilalahanin mo muna ang town, sa susunod ka na lang may umpisa. Relax lang,"
Alden shrugged, "Ok lang Kuya. Kailangan ko talaga magumpisa ka agad, kung anu anu iniisip ko kapag wala akong ginagawa," he said
Marian sighed, "Insan, you need to stop blaming yourself for what happened," She knew what her cousin had been through the past three months- he had lost a lot of friends from the typhoon and he felt helpless after failing to help the poor girl. He was still grieving but she kept telling him that life goes on.
"Alam ko ate, pero ang hirap pa rin."
"Insan, need to get used to seeing dead people all the time. Doctors tayo, we do our best pero siyempre nasa Diyos ang decision kung oras na ng tao o hindi, our profession is to prolong living, pero minsan may pagkakataon na hindi na kaya ng ating mga kamay." Dingdong told him. He nodded, even Ate Marian smiled weakly at him.
"Ok lang yan. This is a fresh start, maganda dito sa Tagaytay maraming magagandang view. You will see the Taal Lake and Volcano from your room, you know. Nakaka gaan ng feeling dito, nakakarelax." Marian gave him an assuring smile. "If you want puntahan natin iyon bahay na titirahan mo bukas? It has an amazing view as well,"
"Pwede po, Te Yan"
"It's a hidden gem, it's only been vacant two weeks ago kasi nag retire na iyon dalawang matanda at sumunod na sa mga anak nila sa America. It's fully furnished,"
Marian was really hands on and determined to help him, he was touched by his cousin's effort but he didn't really care about how amazing his new home was going to be, all he cared about was the hope that he could finally get a good sleep. Tagaytay was a relaxing place indeed but he still felt lonely, his heart still felt empty and his head was still full of those horrible images.
After dinner, he insisted in helping Marian clean up after the table but Marian waved him off.
"Bisita ka namin, you don't lift a finger in my house. Ako na bahala dito at magpahinga ka na muna,"
"Sure ka, te Yan?"
"Sure na sure,"
"Insan, baka gusto mo ng wine bago matulog?" Dingdong asked, holding a bottle of wine. "Local tong mga wine namin pero sobrang sarap, friend ni Marian iyon may ari ng malaking vineyard dito sa Tagaytay,"
"Try mo to oh, iyon Mariana Red Wine nila, sobrang sarap. Favorite ko to," Marian took out three wine glasses and laid them out for her husband to pour the wine. She then gave one each to the two men.
He took a small sip of the wine to taste and his eyes widened. "Masarap nga siya,"
"Yep, maganda rin pasyalan ang Vineyard de Mendozas, parang sa ibang bansa ka talaga," Marian said, excitedly. "That's actually where we will hold Zia's christening, doon ang reception."
He just nodded, too tired to actually talk about places to visit in Tagaytay. He wouldn't have time anyway, all he wanted was to work and be anti-social and to forget. He finished his glass of wine in one gulped and washed it.
"Te, Kuya. I'm gonna call this a night na. Medyo pagod ako sa biyahe."
Marian nodded, "The guest room is on the third floor, sa attic. I prepared it for you na,"
"Thanks po te Yan, kuya Dong. Tuloy na po ako sa taas. Goodnight
"Goodnight." Marian smiled weakly at him, watching his back as he climbed up the stairs. She turned to her husband who hugged her and kissed her forehead. "He'll be fine here, right?"
"I have a feeling he will love it here," Dingdong answered
-
"Mahal na mahal kita pero ang sakit eh, at sa best friend ko pa?" the girl was crying, the boy with her had guilt all over his face as the girl repeatedly hit his chest with her arms.
"Sorry, sorry!" The guy cried too as he knelt down in front of her, begging for her forgiveness.
Maine Mendoza threw a piece of popcorn towards he television set. "Heh! Nag sorry ka lang kasi nahuli ka! Gago!" She said to the television screen, she was angry and annoyed at the male character for being so... stupid.
She couldn't deny it, she could relate to this movie and even though she'd watched it countless of times, she still felt affected. She would cry, sometimes she would laugh at how stupid the guy was for playing with two girls who happened to be best friends.
Oh come on, it had been a year already since her ex fiancé left her for her snake of a bestfriend. There she was now, still hurting while watching a movie, she actually didn't understand why she loved torturing herself by watching movies that reminded her so much of that horrible betrayal.
"Ewan ko ba sayo, Maine. Nood ka ng nood tapos iyak ka ng iyak, baliw lang te?" She told herself. She'd been living alone so she was confident nobody would judge her. She gave out a big sigh after realizing what she was doing to herself, she searched for the remote control so she could turn off the damn television. Looking at her watch, she got up to feed her dog, Nini.
Her life had become boring, she admitted that. She always wanted to live in a house with a beach view or a lake view, but since she moved to Tagaytay a year ago after the big betrayal and having inherited her grandfather's vineyard, she finally bought a lake house with the amazing view of the volcano islands. She thought it was that, she'd crossed it off her life goals list but she still felt lonely. For the past year, she tried her best to forget. She'd gotten close with a few locals, especially her grandfather's workers; she renovated the vineyard and turned it into a restaurant and a tourist attraction; she got very busy so she didn't have to think about her stupid ex and her stupid best friend.
Now she was back to her normal routine, with only managing the vineyard as her only distraction, she signed up for Yoga class but she only went once and stopped; it was too much stretching to her liking. She had plenty of time to think about it now, which was stupid because it had been a year, it should mean nothing to her now but the feeling of loneliness creeped up to her.
"Ano ba yan," She groaned in thought as she grabbed a bag of dog food from one of her kitchen cabinets. She then poured some of it into her dog's dish. "Nini, ano ba pwede kong gawin?" She asked with a sigh, it was pretty useless talking to her chow-chow, she wouldn't reply and ever Nini did reply, she would most probably run.
Her landline phone suddenly rung, bringing her back to reality. She rushed to her hall where her home phone was placed on one of her antique high tables.
"Hello?"
"Good evening, Maine,"
"Good evening, Patricia. Napatawag ka?" It was one of her best friends that she still kept in touch. Ever since Miguel and Lucy's betrayal a year ago, she only kept in touch with a few people from her past and one of them was Patricia Tumulak, they'd been best friends since college. There were three of them, inseperable until Lucy decided to stab her in the back by stealing her fiancé. She had met a lot of people since her move to Tagaytay but she kept them at arms length, never really allowing them to be very close.
"Hindi ba pwede mangamusta sa best friend ko?"
Maine made a face, "I'm OK Patring, ikaw ba?"
"I'm good. Anyways, I called kasi gusto ko sana mag pakain ng mga bata sa birthday ko. Next next week pa naman iyon, and I know you love doing charity works so magpapatulong sana ako sayo,"
"Sabe ko sayo may point tong pagtawag mo eh, you would normally text me,"
"Nasa office kasi ako, so nakigamit na lang ako ng landline,"
Maine raised an eyebrow and looked at the clock. "It's already 9 o'clock,"
"Overtime ako, unfortunately. Pero ito iyon, we will be doing an emersion in two weeks time. Gusto mo tumulong and mag sponsor?" Patricia worked as a local journalist of Tagaytay Times. Since Maine moved to Tagaytay, she had begged her husband Sam to move there as well to be near Maine and of course, Patricia was more of a provincial girl than a city chick and she thought Tagaytay was just the perfect place to live.
"Corporate Social Responsibility yan ng companya ko, pwedeng pwede. Ano naman maitutulong ko?"
"Up to you, pero diba close kayo ng asawa ni Doctor Dantes? Pwede mo ba siyang pakiusapan na tumulong satin? We need about four doctors since we are planning to have medical missions and check up. I already have Sam as our mission's dentist," Sam is the lucky guy who Patricia married straight after college. They'd been childhood sweethearts, and because of them Maine still believed in love despite of what she had gone through.
"I will try and talk to Marian about it but I'm pretty sure Doc Dantes will help anyway, mabait naman iyon mag asawa, kakausapin ko si Yan tomorrow,"
"Ok thanks, Maine. Anyways ano balita sayo?"
Maine shrugged, which was pointless because Patricia couldn't see her anyway. "I'm bored with my life already, halos nagawa ko na. Renovated the vineyard, renovated this house, kailangan ko ng bagong project," she sighed,
"Kailangan mo ng lovelife," Patricia giggled,
Maine rolled her eyes, "Tapos? Magpapaloko ulit ako?"
"Maine, di naman lahat ng lalaki parehos sa walang kwentang ex mo. Just try,"
She made a face and looked at Nini who was staring at her, "Ever since what happened, I don't think I can trust anyone with my heart anymore,"
"How would you know if you don't try?"
"Pwede iba na lang iyon project ko, one that doesn't involve getting my heart broken again?"
"Maine, you deserve someone who inspires you. Kahit may projects ka, para ka pa ring robot na may ginagawa lang but for nothing, dapat may purpose iyon ginagawa mo,"
"Purpose? Ano ibig mong sabehin?"
"Iyon working for a future together, ganoin. Inspirasyon tawag don, Maine." Patricia laughed, Maine giggled. "You want me to set you up? May friend si Sam na veterinarian,"
"Salamat na lang, Patricia pero baka madala ko si Miggy sa friend ni Sam,"
"Ha? Bakit?"
"Papatingin ko iyon hayop na iyon, sila ni Luciferia, actually." Maine said bitterly, she heard Patricia gave out a loud laugh from the other line. Amused by the nickname Maine had come up for their ex bestfriend.
"Maine, don't be bitter be better!" Patricia couldn't stop laughing. "Kaw talagang babae ka, dami mong alam pero basta, I'll set you up with Sam's friend ha?"
"Hmm, I'll think about it."
She heard Patricia sigh. "Maine Mendoza, it's just dating. Di mo naman papakasalan iyon lalaki. It won't hurt to try, just get to know this person. I'm pretty sure you won't like being forever alone,"
"Fine, sabehin mo Friday. Double date na lang tayo nila Sam. It'll be awkward kapag kami lang dalawa, 'cause I'm really not ready to be sociable,"
"Sige, that's a good idea. Tawagan kita ulit bukas, please talk to your friend Marian ha?"
"Okay, Pat."
"Right, kailangan ko na ibaba tong call. Pack up na," Patricia finally said, Maine pouted, she still wanted to talk to Patricia.
"Sige," she said, sadly.
"Maine, kailangan mo na talaga ulit bumalik sa dating scene," she said. "Sige na, goodnight."
"Night, Pat. Ingat ka pauwi,"
They both hang up at the same time, Maine once again gave out a heavy sigh and looked around the room, pressing her lips together and trying not to cry.
She missed them, her family especially her parents; her siblings and her nieces and nephews. She hadn't seen them in a year, and she refused to let them come and visit her, she had no face to show them. And she was thankful that they understood her, she would keep in touch once in a while but she would much rather leave her past behind. She was thankful Patricia had been persistent in staying in her life, she actually earned an earful from Patricia when she told her she was leaving her old life, starting from scratch. Her bestfriend clawed her arms in anger, "Tangina, Maine. You don't get to decide na kalimutan mo ako sa buhay mo ng ganyan. We've been bestfriends for years and I was loyal to you, don't be unfair," Patricia had screamed at her. At the end, she gave up pushing Patricia away because she was that annoying best friend she couldn't resist.
Busying herself to distract her lonely thoughts, she decided to make a salad and open a new bottle of wine from her big wine cellar. She collected every sample of different types of wine from their own vineyard as well as from other countries, growing up she'd always been interested in wines- guess she had that trait from her grandfather and it was why she was the one who inherited the vineyard because her dearly departed grandfather knew she lived for wine.
She decided to sit on her front porch, a small terrace with the magical view of Taal lake, which was a few yards away from where she was sitting. It was her favorite hobby, seeing the night sky relaxed her and it made her stop thinking about the negative feelings and enjoy the beauty and mystery of the world.
"Lord, sana naman bigyan niyo ako ng taong tatanggal ng lungkot na nararamdaman ko ngayon." she prayed with her eyes close as she took a deep breath of fresh Tagaytay air.
She didn't realize a falling star appeared across the night sky.
-
At the Dante's residence of the same time, Richard Faulkerson Jr or known as RJ was having a hard time falling asleep, which was no surprise. So he decided to have some fresh air and look at the beautiful view his ate Marian had proudly pointed out earlier.
It was indeed beautiful, the night sky were of dark blue with sparking dots scattered like beautiful jewels, and were reflecting on the calm lake waters, the silhouette of the Taal volcano and hills. He could hear cricket singing, and the feel of the cold Tagaytay air. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"God, please send me an angel to tell me everything will be OK." he sighed.
Just like the woman on the other side of the small town, he didn't see the falling star.
But it was a night full of wonders and fate had something in store for two lonely people
-
Sobrang nakakainspire talaga ang Aldub. Alakain mo iyon? I have Dabarkads and Finally Home I need to update every week? Now nadagdagan na naman nito and i'm loving this story and I plan this thoroughly talaga para maging super ganda.
I told someone on twitter that I'm inspired to write a fanfic with Dongyan and Aldub with a little bit of SaPat. And lately, I've been frustrated because of slow updates from my favorite Aldub fanfictions so I decided to make a new one:
But I really hope you guys will like this. Hindi ako makatulog isang week na na puros 5am na ako natutulog tapos nag gygym pa ako sa hapon. I'm tired but I need to do this story dahil ayaw matangal sa isip ko ang plot ng story na'to. I think I'm becoming really obsess na.
But I hope worth it ang puyat at magustohan niyo ito.
Salamat po.
Happy Birthday to our princess Maine Mendoza, continue to be an inspiration to people especially to people like me who are frustrated writers.
Aldub Readers, this is my gift to you!