My parents went back to America again. Naiwan ako muli sa Pilipinas dahil kailangan kong magtake ng board examination para matupad ko ang pangarap ko na maging licensed pharmacist. I needed to enter a review center.
Where are u now?
I received a text message from Dylan. We both decided to go to hacienda to visit Lolo Max and to have a vacation there.
Binitbit ko ang bag ko at lumabas ng bahay namin. Nilock ko ang gate bago ako lumipat sa bahay nina Dylan. This time, only Dylan and I were leaving together with their family driver who would take us to the hacienda. We would have arrived there before lunch time.
Our trip took hours. The hacienda was still the same, but the workers increased. Everybody was busy, because they were harvesting crops. Lolo Max approached us when he heard our arrival.
The helps assited us and carried our baggage, taking them to the guest room. We followed them. I was about to walk into the room when Dylan grabbed my hand to stop me.
"I'm going to visit Whitey. Do you wanna come with me?"
"Sure." I'd love to see the stable again.
"We'll leave after lunch."
He let go of my hand and went straight to his room.
***
I was wandering my eyes around while Dylan and I were riding a horse, taking the way to the falls where we had gone before. The green trees on the both sides of the road were refreshing my eyes and mind.
"The air is so relaxing!" I exclaimed. "I wanna live here forever."
"Kirby said that too." Dylan said letting out a chuckle. His voice was coming from behind because he was behind me.
"Speaking of Kirby, I miss him. Where is he? Until now he doesn't know about us. I never had a chance to tell him when he attended my debut."
"Haven't he seen my tweet about you?"
"He doesn't have a twitter."
"Oh... yeah. I forgot."
"I'm sure he will be surprised."
Nang makarating kami sa falls, may naabutan kami roon na ilang mga tao. Tila dayo sila rito dahil base sa kutis at porma ng mga ito, hindi sila taga rito. Mukha silang mga taga syudad katulad namin.
"Nagpapapasok ba kayo ng outsiders dito?" I asked Dylan.
"Yes. This falls is actually a tourist spot."
"Mayroong fee?"
"Of course. This is a private place."
Umupo ako sa may malaking bato roon habang inaayos ni Dylan ang mga gamit namin. Pinagmasdan ko ang mga babaeng naroon na nakasuot ng two-piece swimsuit. They had a nice body shape and color of skin. While on the other side, there were some men and lovers. Nakakapanibago dahil kami-kami lang dati ang narito.
"Let's change now," Dylan told me.
He held my hand and took me to the shower room. "I'll just wait for you there," ani Dylan at dumiretso sa men's shower room.
Nang masuot ko ang itim na one-piece swimsuit ko, napansin ko ang pulang marka sa may braso ko. Dahil maputi ang balat ko, kapansin-pansin iyon, ngunit kaunti lang naman. It was a little bit itchy when I touched it. "Rashes," I mumbled. Naalala ko ang sinabi ni Dr. Fernandez sa akin na isa ito sa mga symptoms ng Leukemia.
I got worried but I tried my best to be calm. I heaved a sigh before I went out of the shower room. There I saw Dylan, waiting for me from afar. He was topless and wore a blue swim trunk. I couldn't help but stare at him because he looked attractive; he really had a well built body though he wasn't that mascular, but he had this so called six pack abs that every girl drools over. So sexy.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" natatawang sabi niya.
"Like what?"
"Like you want to take me home."
I just rolled my eyes and restrained a smile. "I just think, you look so good today."
"And you look wonderful." He looked at me from head to toe wearing a playful smirk. I blushed.
"Let's swim now!" I changed the topic. Hinawakan ko siya sa braso at hinila na papunta sa falls.
Some turned their heads to us, especially the girls over there. I already expected that because Dylan was really a head turner, and probably some of them know him, knowing that he was popular on social media.
Dylan help me to go down into the water. Lumapat sa katawan ko ang malamig na temperatura ng tubig.
"The water is so cold," I said.
"Yeah." He held my waist as he dragged me to the side of the falls where the sun was not too exposed to us.
He drew closer to me and hugged me from the back. We watched the people enjoying the water.
"Let's just swim." Hinila ko siya sa malalim na bahagi ng falls.
I let go of him and started to swim. I loved the touch of the water on my skin and the view of the sparks of water from the reflection of sunlight. I looked at Dylan who was watching me.
"What?" I asked him.
A slight smile formed on his lips. "I'm just watching your beauty."
I let out a chuckle. "Hindi ka ba nagsasawa sa mukha ko? We're always together since we were kids."
"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life," he said in a very sincere way. Lumawak ang ngiti niya at lumitaw ang mapuputi at pantay-pantay niyang ngipin. His smile has been my favorite. I liked it whenever he smiled at me like that.
I bit my lip. "Bolero," sabi ko na may pigil na ngiti sa labi ko. "Your cousins are even prettier than me."
"You're prettier than them."
"You're just telling me that because I am your girlfriend."
"Exactly."
Lumapit ako sa kanya at hinampas siya sa dibdib kaya tumalamsik ang tubig. "Ang sama mo," I said giving him a death glare.
He cracked up and wore a half smile. "Alangan namang sabihin ko 'yan sa hindi ko girlfriend?"
I just rolled my eyes though I was a bit flattered deep inside.
After a while, we got out of the water, we sat and rested on the blanket we placed on the grasses. I wore a white swimwear cover up. The sun was still hot, but it was fighting with the coldness that I felt.
"The girls are looking at you," sabi ko kay Dylan at nginuso ang ilang mga kababaihan na nakatingin sa kanya. Napasunod naman siya ng tingin doon.
"Don't mind them," aniya bago nilagok ang laman ng bottled water.
I just heaved a sigh. Well, I wasn't a jealous girlfriend because I trusted Dylan more than anyone else.
I adjusted my swimwear cover up before I lay down. "Can I sleep for a while?" I asked him.
"No problem."
I closed my eyes and got some rest.
I didn't know how long my sleep was, but I was woken up when I felt gentle touches on my face. There I saw Dylan doing it while watching me sleeping. His face was shining due to the rays of the sunset, and I realized, the night was coming. I took my eyes off him and wandered my eyes around. Kami na lang dalawa sa lugar. Wala nang tao. Tanging tunog na lang ng agos ng tubig ang naglilikha ng ingay dito.
"Where are the tourists?"
"They went home already. This place is now reserved exclusively for us only."
I held his shoulders to give myself support as I sat up. His hands patted on my back to help me out.
"Let's go home," I said.
"Later." He smiled and then let go of me. I saw him get a . . . guitar? We never brought a guitar with us.
"Where did you get that?" I asked confusedly.
"From the guard. I borrowed it." He started to play it. I was a bit surprised because it was the first time that I saw him play a guitar. He usually played drums and piano.
"When did you learn that?" I asked.
"Since first year college. A friend taught me. You didn't know because we had misunderstanding that time."
"Ah, I see." I just watched him playing it. He played it like a pro because he was doing fingerstyle. "You're so good," I complimented with a smile on my lips.
He glanced at me, smiling back at me. "Thanks."
"If you're going to sing a song for me, what song is it?" I drew a little bit closer to him.
"You mean, you want me to sing a song for you," he corrected with a smirk on his lips. He leaned his back against the huge stone behind him.
"Yes."
He started to play the intro of the song. "Just the chorus of this song," he said; and then he sang:
"And I'll always love you
Deep inside this heart of mine
I do love you
And I'll always need you
And if you ever change your mind
I'll still, I will love you . . ."
He sang it in a very sweet and soft way that I could even feel the emotion of the song while he was locking his eyes on mine. He repeated that part of the song thrice. That was the moment that I felt my eyes moistened with that touching and heartwarming song.
When he ended the song, I swallowed before I spoke. "Why don't you sing the verses?" I asked while wiping my tears away in a furtive way.
He shook his head. "The verse of that song has heartbreaking lyrics. The lovers split up but they still want to be together again because they still love each other." He heaved a sigh. "I believe that won't happen to us. I don't wanna lose you." Those words from him made me think deep and analyze our situation.
All of a sudden I remembered my health condition. Leukemia is no joke. I didn't know if this illness has a cure. I was afraid. I might die anytime, and I wasn't yet ready. I had no assurance if I could survive.
"And don't want to leave you, Dylan," I told him emotionally. I felt a lump in my throat, until tears started to stream down my face.
He put aside the guitar before he reached for my hand to hold it. "I know," he said and smiled a little bit. His free hand wiped my tears away.
I wanted to tell him about my condition but I was afraid to ruin his peace of mind. I would surely make his world collapse. As long as I could, I wanted to keep this.
He let go of my hand and took something from his backpack. It was a piece of paper. There was one more thing but I didn't know what is was because it was covered by a handkerchief. He handed the paper to me. I accepted it with a questioning expression on my face.
"That's the poem I made before. Take it. That's for you."
I opened the paper, and I saw his poem. The title was "I Love You Endlessly." His handwriting looked wonderful.
"Until now I can't believe that this poem is for me," I said while reading the poem.
"Can you tell me what are the promises written there?" he requested.
Napahinto ako at napatingin sa kanya. "Lahat?"
"Yeah. They are two only."
Muli akong tumingin sa papel at hinanap ang promises na nakalagay sa poem.
"I promise that my love will never fade," basa ko sa unang promise na kita ko sa poem.
"Yeah. what else?"
"I promise that you're the one I will marry." Naramdaman ko ang pag-iinit ng pisngi ko nang basahin ko 'yon.
"Do you want me to fulfill that?" he asked.
"Yes," sagot ko at binaling ang tingin sa kanya.
"Then marry me."
Napatitig ako sa kanya hanggang sa bumaba ang tingin ko sa hawak niya nang mapansin ko ang pagkinang niyon. There I saw a diamond gold ring in a little red box. My lips parted in surprise; I was speechless, until my eyes became misty; warm liquids were forming in my eyes. I brought my eyes back at him and stared at him who was now smiling at me with so much love in his eyes, waiting for my response.
I jumped on him and gave him a very tight hug. I closed my eyes while silently crying on his shoulder. I felt his gentle touch on my back.
"Is this a 'yes' ?" he asked.
"Yes," I whispered. "I love you so much, Dylan."
"I love you too... and I'll always love you, Demi."
I broke our hug but I put my arms around his neck. "B-but how about my parents? They will not let me marry you." I asked while still crying.
He caressed my face and said, "I'm gonna talk to your--"
"No. Believe me. They will take me away from you."
He heaved a sigh but there was hesitation on his face. "We're both in legal age already. We can get married without parental consent. We only need witnesses." He wiped my wet cheeks through his thumbs. "Are you okay with that?"
"My parents will hate me for doing this, but I'm willing to sacrifice. I wanna spend my with you as long as I live." Knowing that I'm dying soon.
Joy filled his eyes until a smile formed on his lips. I could still see his face clearly though the sunlight was now fading. I closed my eyes as his lips touched mine, savoring his sweet kisses.