"Do you take Joy Smith to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"Yes, Father."
"Do you take Sylvian Herrera to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"Yes, Father."
"I now pronounce you, husband and wife."
"Father, wala po bang kiss the bride?"
"Siraulo ka, 'tol. Marriage booth lang 'to, hindi yan allowed."
Lahat ay narinig kong tumawa. Tumingin muli sa akin si Sylvian at para bang nahihiya ito.
Nagsialisan na rin ang mga tao pagkatapos ng 'kasal' namin at nagtungo sa iba pang booth.
"Joy Smith, will you be my girlfriend?"
"Hoy, hala ka. Bakit ka ganyan? Hindi pa ba sapat na pinakasalan kita?"
"E hindi pa naman totoo yun e."
"Alam mo ba na kaya lang ako pumayag dito sa marriage booth na ito ay dahil sabi sakin ng mga kabarkada mo."
"Labag 'to sa kalooban mo?"
"Oo."
Nakita ko siyang sumimangot.
"Biro lang. Ano nga ulit yung tanong mo?"
"Joy Smith, will you be my girlfriend?"
"Sylvian Herrera, yes."
Nakita kong nanlaki ang mga mata niya at niyakap niya ako.
"Thank you, my Joy."
Napangiti na lamang ako.
"Yearbook!"
Narinig naming sigaw ng isang estudyante sa harapan namin.
May hawak itong camera.
Ngumiti kami ni Sylvian sa harap nito at ipinakita ko ang aking singsing.
From that day, I sworn to love Sylvian with all that I am and with all that I have.
"Joy?" It was Ted.
I just gave him a glare.
"I am sorry for your loss." He said.
Tumango na lamang ako sa kaniya.
"Did you know why Sylvian did that?" Tanong ni Ted na siyang bumuhay sa akin.
Hindi ko alam ang dahilan kung bakit niya iyon ginawa kaya't gustong kong malaman kung bakit.
"Sylvian told me that he already lived enough." He started.
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"He already had everything, Joy. You, his dream but unfortunately, your pregnancy didn't work out." He continued.
"It was always his dream to serve the country even though he wasn't born in the US. He told me that seeing this entire human race survive would be his reward." He added.
"As for you Joy, he also wanted to see you survive. He also told me that everything you have now will help you. Sylvian loved you so much that he was willing to sacrifice his life for you to live longer." Pagpapatuloy pa rin niya.
"Your unborn child and him are now watching you from above. Thank you for making my brother's joy. I hope you'll forgive him for not fulfilling his promises."
Ted walked away after explaining.
I couldn't help but to cry.
How am I able to live my life the same again if he's not by my side?
How could I wake up every morning knowing that he's not around anymore?
I stared blankly at space.
Everything's dark yet it is still able to glow.
Maybe I can do the same with myself.
Maybe I can still see through the dark phase of my life.
Maybe I can still find the reason to get back up again.
I already suffered from the greatest pain a person could ever think of.
I lost my home.
I lost my child.
I lost my Sylvian, my Engineer.
What more could I lose now?
It is 2050, anything is possible.
I could turn my painful experiences to bridges of realizations as we land on Mars.
------------------------- END -------------------------