(NP: Never had a dream come true by S Club 7)
Life was never easy. Para sa akin, para sa ating lahat. For me, I don't just wanna survive, I wanna live... live a life I deserve. Live a life because that is what everyone deserves... to live and be happy.
I smiled while looking at my son who is now laughing with Yudin. I can't help but to feel happy because Daven is very prim when it comes to others. Hindi siya ganun ka masiyahin, he is only care free when he is with Yudin... he seems like he found another twin sa katauhan ni Yudin na pinsan niya.
"Someone looks happy." Napatingin ako sa bandang kanan ko nang marinig ko ang boses ni Fely, my twin brother's wife.. I'm so glad that she's okay. Halos hindi ako mapalagay nung nalaman ko ang kalagayan niya. Mabuti nalang at nandun si Devin para pakalmahin ako ng mga panahong iyon.
"Who wouldn't be? Look at our family, Fel... it's perfect!" nakangiti kong sabi. Mabuti nalang at masaya na kaming lahat ngayon.
"Yes, it is. I'm so happy to have you all." Di ko mapigilang masiyahan pa... Fely and I, we had the same life, we shared the same pain, agony... for yeard. We fought to live, to survive not just because of ourselves but also because of our families, the love of out lives...
"Mommy!!" Napalingon ako sa pinanggalingan ng boses na iyon, isang maliit na batang babae ang nagtatakbo papunta sa gaei ng babaeng katabi ng kakambal ko. Oh? She's here?
"Hindi ka ba nagseselos sa dalawang yan?" I asked Fely out of curiousity.
Mabilis naman sigang umiling tsaka ngumiti habang nakatingun sa dalawa, "Nope, she's a treasure I treasure, Val. Without her, hindi magiging buo ang lovr story namin ni Vairel." Naguguluhan man ay napangiti nalang ako. I bet she saw something in her too, I guess?
"Hi! Hello!" Napangiti kaming lahat sa may harapan nang marinig namin ang boses ni Heirice doon. Nasa tabi niya si Ashan na isa sa mga kambal na anak nina Ashton at Sia, pati na tin si Gizzy na nak-piggyback ride pa kay Ashan.
"Hello!!!" Bati naman ng mga kabataang naka-upo sa damuhan and with kabataan, that means Yudin, Ara and Yuan's son, Athoan, Athan and Yoana's son, Madrien, Mara and Andrei's, Toffie, Mau and Heidi's eldest, Varinel and Varelin, Aire and Fely's twins and of course, Thyon.
"We are here because we want to sing a special song for everyone!" Heirice said in an excited tone. Mukhang excited na ata talagang kumanta.
"Yes!" it was the other kids who cheered, nakakatuwang panoorin na nagkakasundo sila just like us, their parents.
"Dj! Play the music!" Heirice shouted kaya naman ay napalingon ako sa gawi ng may mga speakers, natawa nalang ako nang makita ko doon si Athan na nagpapaka-DJ talaga, may suot pa siyang head phones at nagba-bounce-bounce pa. I was expecting to hear a lively music pero napalingon nalang ako sa gawi ng asawa ko na ngayon ay nakahawak na sa dalawang kamay ko.
A soft melody started to play, mahina lang pero alam na alam ko na kung ano ang kantang 'to. Hindi man ako ganun kagaling kumanta ay gustong-gusto ko talaga ang isang 'to.
"These kids.." naibulong ko nalang sa sarili ko dahil dahan-dahan nang kumakanta ang mga bata.
I have to be honest, medyo sintunado si Heirice at siya iyong may sobrang lakas na boses sa kanilang lahat ngayon next to her is Ashan who seems to be enjoying so much, si Ashi naman ay mukhang bagot na bagot na at napipilitang lang tumayo doon kasama ang mga pinsan niya pero kumakanta pa rin naman siya. He's even holding Varelin and Varinel's hands who's seems to be bored as well.
Everybody's got something
They had to leave behind
One regret from yesterday
That just seems to grow with time
There's no use looking back, or wondering
How it could be now or might've been
All this I know
But still I can't find ways to let you go
I can't help but smile upon hearing their voices.
"Don't tell me kakuntsaba ka ng mga yan?" namimintang kong tanong sa asawa ko na mabilis namang umiling.
"Nope. I'm innocent witch I have nothing to do with this!" natatawang sabi niya pa habanag naka-hawak pa rin sa dalawang kamay ko. Napatitig nalang ako sa mga mata ni Devon, I can't believe that I' here with him today. Hindi ko pa rin lubos mapaniwalaang ayos na ang lahat sa amin ngayon. No more pain, no more guilt, no more anger, and mostly... no more lies.
I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you
Sinabayan ko ang pagkanta ng mga bata habang dahan-dahan akong isinasayaw ni Devon. I can see my other cousins from where we are now, hinihila na ni Athan at Andrei ang mga asawa nila, ganun din si Ashton na mukhang mabubugbog na ni Siara anumang oras dahil nangungulit na rin.
"You're brother is really weird." narinig kong kumento ni Devon kaya naman ay napatingin ako sa gawi ni Vairel at ganun nalang ang pagtawa ko nang makita kong hinihila na siya ni Fely papunta sa gitna. Vairel will never change, he will always hate dancing though he is good at it.
Somewhere in my memory
I've lost all sense of time
And tomorrow can never be
'Cause yesterday is all that fills my mind
There's no use looking back, oh wondering
How it should been, now oh might've been
All this I know
But, still I can't find ways to let you go
Remembering the things that has happened, I can't help but to just smile. I'm happy, so happy. Paano nalang kaya kung hindi ako lumaban? Paano kaya kung hindi na bumalik si Devon? I mean, in the first place, he was the reason why I wanted to fight, because I didn't want to leave him, kasi tanggap ko naman na noon eh, na kahit anong gawin ko ay hindi na ako magtatagal... pero kita nga naman ngayon. Buhay na buhay ako. Masayang masaya rin.
I leaned on my husband's chest, I can clearly hear his heartbeat. Hindi iyon mabilis, hindi rin naman mabagal, sakto lang. Nakaka-kalma sa pakiramdam ang tibok ng puso niya.
I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you
Sandali akong napatigil sa pagsu-sway nang marinig ko ang pagkanta ni Devon. I have never heard him sing before, kahit na gaano ko pa siya pinipilit noon ay hindi siya makanta-kanta... Nanatili akong nakatayo habang nakatitig sa mga mata niya habang siya naman ay nagpatuloy sa pagkanta. I can't take my eyes off him because he's intently looking at my eyes as well.
"I didn't know you can sing." I joked when he finished singing, wala na kasi akong ibang masabi.
"I'm not as good as your cousins, though." Sabi niya pa habang nakangiti pa rin sa akin. Napangiti na rin ako. I'm in love with him, more... so much more..
"But they will never be as good as you, Demon." Humilig ulit ako sa dibdib niya at pinakinggang ang pagtibok ng puso niya ngunit hindi kagaya ng kanina ay hindi kalamante ang tibok nun, sobrang bilis na. I smiled in glory, ako lang ang nakakapagpabilis ng tibok neto.
"Ang bakla mo." I teased him nang makalayo ako sa kanya.
"Ang bully mo." tuluyan na akong napahagalpak ng tawa dahil ngumuso pa talaga si Devon. Ang cute nyang tingnan!
Naagaw ng naglalakad na si Daven ang atensyon ko. Paano ba naman kasi, naglalakad siya habang hindi naka-tingin sa daan. Nakatingin siya sa direksyon ni Yana na ngayon ay busy sa cellphone niya. Kunot na kunot ang noo niya habang pinipindot ang cellphone niya kaya naman ay kumunot rin ang noo ko. Ano na naman kayang nangyari?
"Mommy, Daddy, Yudin doesn't want to play with me anymore." seryosong sabi niya habang nakatanaw pa rin kay Yana, takang-taka naman akong napalingon kay Yudin na nakatanaw lang din kay Yana. What the heck is wrong with these two?
"Huh? pero wala namang ginagawa si Yudin, Daven ah? Nag-away ba kayong dalawa?" Devon asked our son na hindi pa rin inaalis ang tingin kay Yana.
"He said he doesn't want to play because he wants to stay with tita Yan." tumaas ang kilay ko dahil sa sinabi ng anak ko. What is wrong with Yana?
Alam kong mali pero hindi ko mapigilan ang sarili ko. I squatted to level my son's height, then I asked him the question that has been bothering me for a while now.
"What's going on with Tita Yan, Daven? alam mo ba, baby? hmm?" I sweetly asked him. Parang nabigla naman si Daven at napatingin sa akin. His eyes grew wider like he just realized something important. Mabilis siyang umiling at nag-iwas ng tingin kaya naman ay napanguso nalang ako. Ang bad.
"Anak, you have to tell us, maybe we can help your tita Yan." mabilis akong tumango-tango dahil sa sinabi ni Devon. I really have to know. I want to know.
"But I promised Yu that I won't tell anyone." nakangusong sabi ni Daven kaya naman ay mas lalo akong na-curious. Okay, I have to make him tell us.
"Daven, this is an adult matter, you have to tell us so that we can help your tita Yana figure things out." Kalamado kong sabi kahit na gustong-gusto ko na talagang takbuhin ang distansya namin ni Yana.
"but..." Daven gave me a look, para bang hinhambing niya ang mga magiging kakalabasan kung sasabihin niya o hindi... I understand him. I know how close he is to Yudin, pero kung totoo ang kutob namin ng mga asawa ng mga pinsan at kapatid ko na may malaking problema si Yana ngayon ay kailangan kong malaman. Kailangan kong makealam kasi kami yung nakaka-tanda eh.
"Sweetheart, you have to understand. I know that you don't want to anger Yudin but you have to do this for your tita Yana." pagpapa-unawa ko sa anak ko na mukhang naiintindihan naman ang sinasabi ko. Matalino si Daven, silang lahat, I bet he already figured out what he needs to do and he's just dealing with how he'll face the consequences.
"Okay... I will tell you." he sighed defeatedly kaya naman ay nagwawaging napangiti ko. God, my son is hard to persuade now, paano nalang kaya sa mga susunod na mga taon?
"Yudin told me that tita Yana told him that she broke up with tito Tim. Then, she doesn't know what to do because she's..." nanlaki ang mga mata ko dahil sa ibinulong ni Daven...
"W-What?" napalingon ako sa nagsalita. Napalunok nalang ako nang makita ko si Yuan doon. Uh-oh.
"She's what?!" Napalingon ako sa paligid nang biglang tumaas ang boses ni Yuan. Mabuti nalang at busy ang iba sa mga anak nila kaya walang naka-pansin kay Yuan.
"Puntahan mo muna si Yudin, Daven.. go." I told my son na mabilis namang tumalima.
"calm down, Yu. Baka--"
"No, I have to talk to Yana. How can she get pregnant?! She--"
"Calm down! Let her handle this. H'wag na muna tayong maki-alam Yu." Pagpapakalma ko sa kanya. So.. Yana's pregnant? God, this is bigger than I thought.
"I can't calm down! I have to talk to her and to that fvcker and get them fvcking married so that their child won't have a broken family!" napapikit nalang ako dahil sa sinabi ni Yuan. I understand him, really, I do. At kung ako lang? marahil ay ganun din ang gagawin ko but considering Yana's attitude, sigurado akong may ams malalim na dahilan kung bakit niya ito hinayaang mangyari. Yana would shut down the whole world just to do what she needs to do, because that's her. She's true to her word. And I think that this is her stand, to be in this situation.
"Yu, you can't force Yana to do something she doesn't want, kilala mo yan." mahina kong sabi. Kasi kung meron mang mas nakakakilala sa aming lahat kay Yana ay siya yun, yes, we know Yana, but Yuan is on a different level, kasi, magkapatid sila.
"NO. I have to--"
"gē ge, ràng wǒ zhàogù zhège." My eyes widened in surprise when I heard Yana's behind from behind me. She was smiling, parang wala lang problema kaya naman ay mas lalo akong nanlumo at kinabahan para sa kanya. Tapos, hindi ko pa naintindihan ang mga sinabi niya. Why did she speak in Chinese anyway? Hindi naman siya kadalasang gumagamit nun! (trans: Kuya, let me handle things.)
"Don't say that! You have to talk to that bastard! Did he broke up with you!? nakakabaliw ka na ba, Yan?! How can you do something so reckless!" napalunok nalang ako at nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin kina Yana at Yuan na nagyon ay magkaharap na. I notice the others coming our way habang ang mga bata naman ay pinapasok muna ng bahay kasama ang kani-kanilang mga yaya.
"Don't drag him to this, kuya. This is all on me. Ako ang may kagustuhan ng lahat ng 'to." matigas ng sabi ni Yana na ikinapagtaka naming lahat. This is the first time that we saw her like this. Yung parang walang pakealam?
"Ano bang nangyayari sa inyong dalawa?" hindi na ata naka-awat pa kaya ay nagsalita na si Ashton.
"This! This woman, yan! She's pregnant!" Inis na turo ni Yuan sa kapatid niya naa ngayon ay naka-yuko na.
"What!? W-Wait... are you seriously telling me that Yana's.."
"Yes! She is! and she broke up with that bastard Timothy!" I closed my eyes because of stress. Just.. why do they keep on shouting?!
"Can you please just stop calling him a bastard!?" Iritado nang sigaw ni Yana na ikinatigil naming lahat. Nagkatinginan kaming lahat bago napatingin sa iisang direksyon, Yana's.
"This is my choice so please don't meddle with it." seryoso niya pa ring sabi kaya takang-taka pa rin ako.
"Yana.. you have to--"
"Kuya.. just... please.. hayaan mo nalang ako--"
"Anong hayaan!? Are you hearing yourself? NO! Kailangang malaman ng lalaking yun na nabuntis ka niya--"
"Wǒ yào jià gěi wángjiànlín, hǎo ba! Suǒyǐ ràng wǒ chéngwéi!!" kumunot ang noo ko sa ginawang pag-sigaw ni Yana at kahit na hindi ko iyon naiintindihan ay sa tingin ko ay mabigat ang ibigsabihin nun dahil ganun nalang ang panlalaki ng mga mata ni Yuan, ganun din ang kina Ara, Maurice at sa kakambal ko. Right, they do understand. (Trans: I'm getting married to Wang Jianlin, okay!? so let me be!)
Akmang magsasalita pa si Yuan ng biglang may sasakyang tumunog. Mabilis na naglakad paalis si Yana at kahit na anong tawag namin ay hindi na siya lumingon pa. Just.. what happened?
"What did she last said? I heard a name, Yu, who is it? May third party ba? did Timothy cheat?" mabilis na tanong ni Heidi.
"I-I have to talk to my mother." Mabilis na umalis si Yuan kaya naman ay naiwan kaming lahat na walang alam kung ano ang sinabi ni Yana.
"Wang Jianlin... Wang Jianlin... isn't that the rich businessman from China, Aire? Owner of the Dalian Group and Hoyts Group? Right? Siya lang yung kilala kong Wang Jianlin na may relasyon sa pamilya natin." kunot noong sabi ni Mau sa kapatid ko. Wang Jianlin?
"I think so too." what are they talking about?!
"Ano bang pinag-uusapan nyo!? Who's that Wang Jianlin at bakit niyo siya pinag-uusapan?!" di ko na maiwasang itanong. Who is that guy!?
"Yana said she's getting married to that guy." My brother said nonchalantly which made us all stunned. She's getting married? But she's pregnant? Bakit? How?
Dala-dala ko ang pala-isipan iyon hanggang maka-uwi kami ng mag-ama ko. DIretsong dinala ni Devon si Daven sa kwarto niya dahil tulog na yun sa kotse pa. Ako naman ay dumiretso na sa kwarto naming mag-asawa. Naabutan ako ni Devon na naka-hilig sa headrest ng kama namin kaya naman ng matapos magbihis at mag-shower ay dumiretso an siya sa tabi ko.
"Antok na ako." paglalambing pa niya. I'm thankful that he didn't mention what happened earlier, kanina ko pa kassi naiisip yun at ayaw kong mas madagdagan ang curiousity ko.
I caressed my husband's head hanggang nakatulog na siya. I can't help but to stare at his handsome face, ang gwapo naman kasi talaga na lalaki ni Devon. I'm blessed to have him as my husband, gwapo na, sobrang bait at mapagmahal pa.
"Goodnight, demon." I sweetly said as I kiss his cheek. I love him. So much and I am thankful because God gave me someone like him. Someone who will never give up and someone who will keep on showing me how much he loves me. And I guess I deserve that, after all, I have always been..
"Sleep tight, my Valerie." I smiled. I have and will always be...
his Valerie,