Chapter 54: Eternity
DS8Uncovered #LuMa #BearCouple #DaggerSeries
CHAPTER 54: ETERNITY
LUNA'S POV
"Pen interviewed me early in the day, and it lasted for hours because he likes to torture me, and I finished six run-throughs, which also lasted forever since my employees also like to torture me."
Magnus' laughter fills the silence in my office. "My poor, LA."
"Give me a kiss to make me feel better," I said while batting my eyelashes at him.
"Should I cancel my flight?"
It's such a Magnus thing to ask. I doubt he's joking because I'm pretty sure he will indeed cancel his flight if I tell him to. Kahit pa nga sabihin na importante ang business trip niya sa Singapore.
He's currently on his way to the airport. Dahil ayaw niyang iwan ang sasakyan para may magamit ako kapag coding ang akin ay nagpa-drive na lang siya sa company driver nila. Dapat ako ang maghahatid sa kaniya kaso sobrang busy ko ngayong araw.
I don't usually stay too long in the office, which takes some getting used to. Kadalasan by two o'clock or earlier ay bumabyahe na ako pauwi. Minsan naman four full days pero hindi na ako pumapasok ng Friday.
It's not easy for me or for Maven, but we're all learning to cope with the changes. Isa pa ay kapag nasa bahay at naiinip ako ay hindi ko rin naman napipigilan na hindi mag-trabaho. But I no longer push myself too much. Kapag nararamdaman ko na kailangan ko ng pahinga ay hindi ko na nilalabanan iyon.
"Kapag talaga binoycott ka ng mga empleyado mo ewan ko na lang."
"Tanggap na nilang mas mahal kita kesa sa kanila."
Enebe? Kinikilig ako! "Weh? Sinabi nila 'yon?"
"Hindi. Pero wala silang choice kasi kabibigay ko lang ng bonus."
Napatawa ako sa naging sagot niya. Give it to him to bribe his employees with bonuses. Lalo na kapag sa gitna ng araw ay bigla na lang siyang nawawala dahil pumupunta siya sa opisina ko dahil nakagawian niya ng ilista ang sarili niya sa schedule ko kada tanghalian.
Wala naman sanang problema iyon kung bumabalik lang siya agad sa opisina niya after lunch. The lunch wasn't the problem. It's the dessert. And when I say "dessert", it's not the kind that you eat that I'm talking about.
My cheeks flushed. Well... pwede rin.
Umarko ang kilay ni Magnus na ka-video call ko pa rin. There's a familiar glint in his eyes that I usually see when he visits my office, I visit his, or sometimes when we're at home and we're in the mood to play around. Dahil alert pa rin si Mr. Control, unfortunately. "Why do I feel like I know what you're thinking?"
I rolled my eyes. "You don't."
"Ahuh," he said, sounding unconvinced. "Are you about to go home? Want me to order you food first?"
"Sa bahay na ako kakain at dadaan daw sila Lia mamaya. I'll save some for you." I grinned back at him when he did. "But no, I'm not going home just yet. Nag-half day kasi si Alex. I'm meeting someone on his behalf."
"Who?"
"A philanthropist named Merryam. I don't know much about her to be honest, but Alex prepared a helicopter that will take me there easily. Wala akong balak sumuong sa traffic ngayon." Rush hour pa naman panigurado dahil labasan na ng mga tao sa opisina. Aabutin ako sigurado ng gabi pauwi.
"I don't mind being stuck in traffic if I'm with you."
He laughed when I let out an exaggerated aww.
"I won't be stuck in traffic. Pero ikaw ang ma-i-i-stuck sa mahabang byahe."
"I should have brought my Boggle."
He has a mini version of the word game Boggle that one of his writers gave him. Noong mga panahon na nagpapanggap pa kaming honeymooners at natataong masama ang pakiramdam ko kapag kasama namin ang pamilya ko ay nilalaro namin iyon sa kuwarto. We're both competitive, and we love words, so it's a perfect game for us. Even though the rest of my family thought we were playing a different kind of game.
"You should have."
"Ayoko rin. Wala ka eh."
Nilukutan ko siya ng ilong. "Parang kanina ka pa nagpaparinig ah. Gusto mo bang sumunod ako?"
Nangingiting umiling siya. "You need to be there. I'll be with you before you know it, anyway."
Napabaling ako sa pintuan ng may marinig akong mahinang pagkatok doon. Sumilip si Gracie at tinanguhan ko siya bago ako muling tumingin sa cellphone ko. "I need to go, hubby bear. Call me when you're in Singapore."
"Baka tulog ka na kapag dumating ako ro'n."
"It's fine."
Bumuntong-hininga siya. "Fine. But also text me when you arrive at your meeting place. I need to know you're safe."
"Will do." I put my hand on my mouth and gestured a flying kiss to him which made the crinkles in his eyes appear. "I love you, hubby bear."
"I love you more, LA."
Kinunutan ko siya ng ilong bago ko pinatay ang tawag. It's something he's been doing these past few days. If I tell him I love him, he will say that he loves me more. If I say that I love him most, he'll tell me that he loves me most times two. Hanggang sa hindi na kami matapos-tapos. Mostly, he does it when we're on video call while at work. Para lalong humaba ang usapan namin.
Tumayo ako at nag-ayos muna ako bago ko kinuha ang bag ko at lumabas ng opisina. Nagpaalam muna ako kay Gracie at pagkatapos ay tumuloy na ako sa elevator na magdadala sa akin sa rooftop ng Maven.
"Good afternoon, Ma'am Luna," bati sa akin ng isang matangkad na babae na naabutan ko sa helipad ng Maven. Anaya Gregory's helicopter rental service is Alex go to whenever we need a chopper. Pero mas mandalas kapag kailangan niya dahil nagpapa-impress siya sa date niya.
"Good afternoon din, Anaya. How's life going?"
"Pagod pero masayang yumayaman."
Napatawa ako. "It's good then."
"So good that I might retire early. Thanks to the traffic of Manila. Though I wish we can convince people that it could be as great as riding."
"Kung pwede lang siguro, lahat ng tao lumipad na. Mag-budget friendly promo ka kasi para naman maraming makasubok."
"Saka na. Mahal ang gasolina."
Tatawa-tawang pumasok ako sa loob ng helicopter. She wasn't wrong though. Minsan parang ang sarap na lang bumalik sa panahon na kabayo lang ang mode of transportation.
It wasn't long before we took off. Habang nasa ere ay inaba ko ang sarili ko sa pagtanaw sa nasa ibaba namin. From afar, the lights coming from the vehicles slowly moving due to road congestion almost look pretty. Hindi nga lang maganda kapag ikaw ang nasa sitwasyon na ipit ka sa gitna ng trapiko.
Noong nasa college ako ay mas madalas ako na mag-commute o sumabay sa mga kapatid ko. Nakakatamad kasi talaga minsang magmaneho sa Manila dahil sa hindi masolusyunang problema sa traffic. Kaya danas ko rin talaga ang makipagsagupaan sa maraming tao.
"We're approaching the landing area," Anaya announced.
Sinipat ko ang tinutungo namin at sandaling napakunot ang noo ko. "That's a strange looking helipad. What building is that? It's oddly familiar."
"It's an interior design company. Furniture manufacturing facility din."
"Pakiramdam ko anghel tayo na bababa sa ulap."
Napatawa ang babae na unti-unting binababa na ang helicopter sa sentro ng helipad. When the rotor blades slowed, I looked at my watch. Just in time.
Hinintay ko munang bigyan ako ng senyales ni Anaya na pwede na akong bumaba. When she did, she helped me down and told me that she'd be waiting for me and to just give her a text.
Dumiretso ako sa loob ng gusali at binaybay ko ang hagdanan na magdadala sa akin sa kasunod na floor para magawa kong sumakay sa elevator. Ako lang ba o parang nakapunta na ako rito?
Visually, parang hindi pa ako nakakapunta rito. There are artistically painted splashes all over the walls and different geometric patterns that look cool, but I don't think I have seen them before, especially on a building like this. But there's something about the place that feels so familiar to me that I can't explain.
I sent a quick text to Magnus, telling him that I arrived, and to Alex, asking him the address of the place because I'm curious why it feels familiar to me. Mas madali ko sanang malalaman kung sasakyan ang ginagamit pero dahil helipad iyon at bumaba na ang araw habang nasa himpapawid kami ay hindi ko matiyak kung nasaan kami talaga. "Punta rin kasi ako nang punta, wala naman akong kaalam-alam kung saan ako makakarating."
Nagmamadali rin kasi si Alex kanina. Kapag nalaman ko na nakipag-date siya ewan ko na lang. Though, if I think about it hard, I doubt he will do that. Serial dater man ang isang iyon pero hindi no'n basta iiwan ang trabaho. We were once cut from the same cloth. Hindi na nga lang ngayon. Recovering workaholic na ako.
Napahinto ako sa paglalakad nang tumunog ang cellphone ko. Hindi kay Alex galing ang message kundi kay Magnus. The phone pinged again, and when I opened his message, I saw that he sent me a picture of a mini Boggle.
I responded by telling him that I thought he didn't bring his Boggle with him. It's a good thing he did, though. Sigurado akong wala pa siya sa airport base sa nakita kong traffic kanina.
Lagi akong maaga pagdating sa mga meeting. When I say that "I'm on time", it usually means that I'm early. That's why I didn't hurry and I answered my husband's message first.
Tinipa ko ang mga salita na nakita kong nabuo sa ipinakita niya sa akin na picture. I typed cure, may, marry, man, curry, me, cry, run, met, run, bury, an. Usually in Boggle hindi pwede ang two letter words pero dahil madaya kami ni Magnus ay pati one letter word ay sinasama namin.
Nang maipadala ko sa kaniya ang text ay inilagay ko na sa bag ko ang cellphone ko at nagsimula na ulit akong maglakad. I need to focus. I can spend hours just texting Magnus. Dati nga hindi niya sinasagot ang mga text ko. Ngayon pa ba ako tatamarin na sinasagot niya na ako?
I stopped at the elevators, and luckily it was already waiting on the floor I was on. When I got inside, I pressed the floor that was mentioned in Alex's email, and I waited for the lift to descend.
I was looking at my phone when the doors opened, and I stepped out. Sumalubong sa akin ang isang pamilyar na luma na kanta dahil isa iyon sa mga naririnig kong pinapatugtog nina Mama at Papa. This Magic Moment by The Drifters. They have a cool space and a cool music selection. Nice.
Nagsimula akong maglakad sa walang katao-taong pasilyo. Kung sa Maven ito ay baka nagkakagulo pa. Morning or nearing the end of the day, Maven is always bursting with energy mainly because we always have so much to do.
Napatigil ako sa paglalakad nang may mapansin ako sa kaliwa ko. Lumapit ako doon at napakurap ako nang makita kong post-it note iyon.
"It was a boring day. My writers haven't sent their manuscripts yet. But I have a feeling that they will wake me up at night when they start to send them one by one."
Nilingon ko ang pinanggalingan ko. I backtracked, going back to the elevator. May kung anong kumabog sa dibdib ko nang makita kong mula roon ay may mga nalagpasan ako na post-it note na nakadikit din sa pader.
"Is a red necktie on me a yes or a no? Not too flashy?"
"I had soda for breakfast. I was too busy."
"I found out that the editor I trusted was causing disharmony to the team because of power tripping. She was even making malicious, ungrounded rumors. I fired her. It didn't feel good, but it needed to be done."
"You're busy making money, aren't you? That's good. I'm busy too. Para sa future natin 'to."
My mouth gaped in surprise. The last one looks like a text I sent to Magnus a long time ago. The others feel like they've been patterned after the kind of messages I sent him before. Iyong mga panahong ginagawa ko pa siyang diary ko. Kung ano-anong random lang na bagay ang tinetext at itinatanong ko sa kaniya.
Pakiramdam ko ay nanlalambot ang tuhod ko nang muli akong magsimulang maglakad. The notes started changing, like it's going with the flow of time until it reaches the moment we're currently in. Until they started feeling like a promise.
"I'll dance with you in the kitchen."
"I'll carry you up the stairs as long as I can. Katulad kung paanong gawin iyon ng Papa mo sa Mama mo."
"I'll eat your cooking even if it poisons me."
"I'll treasure your heart."
"You'll always find an ally in me. Sa'yo lang ako kakampi kahit na anong mangyari."
"You can break my heart into tiny pieces, LA. Because then, those fragments will be a thousand more that will end up loving you."
"I've read words after words. I've seen what feels like an infinite number of them again and again. And yet no one describes perfectly the way I love you. I guess it's because none of them got to fall in love with you the way I do."
"Tulog o ikaw? Ikaw. Laging ikaw."
I was so focused on the words written on the wall that I didn't notice a figure waiting for me at the end of the hallway. Not until he speaks. "Took you long enough."
Muntik akong mapatalon sa pagkabasag ng katahimikan. My head snapped in the direction of the voice, and I saw Magnus standing not far from me, waiting for me with a smile.
"Pero okay lang. I also made you wait for a long time, didn't I?" he asked.
"W-What... what's happening?" Itinaas ko ang kamay ko nang akmang magsasalita siya. Ipinilig ko ang ulo ko na parang makakatulong iyon para ma-i-pokus ko ang utak ko na parang lumulutang. "Of course I know what this is. The painted clouds around the helipad, the notes... I just... I feel like I'm whiplashed."
He grinned. "It's hard to surprise you. Not when we both can't stand being away from each other."
"That is true." Iginala ko ang tingin ko sa paligid namin. "The notes..."
"I noticed you keeping the ones I leave for you."
"Of course you did." Nothing escapes him much. "You're too observant."
"Only when it comes to you."
"Really?"
He nodded. "I always look at you. Even when I didn't want to be involved with you, I kept finding myself looking for you in the crowd. In the end, you always have my attention, no matter what I do." He lifted his chin toward the scattered notes. "Lagi mo akong pinapadala ng messages noon. You keep disturbing me that I wanted to block you, but I never did. Hindi ko alam pero natatagpuan ko na lang ang sarili ko na binabasa ang mga pinapadala mo. I found myself smiling before I could stop myself. Sometimes I even start to type a response."
"At kapag sa tingin mo ay nasa gitna ako ng gulo ay ikaw na mismo ang tumatawag. You fell for my charm before we both even realized it."
"Yes, I did," he admitted without second thoughts. "The notes are my version of a disturbance in your life."
"A handsome disturbance." Natatawang umiling ako. "Nah. You'll never disturb me."
"You'll always be my beautiful disturbance, but you're no longer a bother. The rest of the world is the distraction, but you're now my only focus, Luna Alondra Magnus-Aquillan."
My eyes misted over. "You're such a romantic."
"For you, I am." Humakbang siya palapit sa akin pero huminto siya nang may ilang pulgada na lang ang natitira sa aming dalawa. "Do you remember this place?"
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. "I've been here, haven't I? I just can't put a finger on it."
"Because everything looks different?"
"Yeah— wait." Holy shit. I do know this place!
His smile widened when he saw that it'd started to dawn on me. "We first met here. Right on this spot. I was talking to Lucienne, and you were just staring at me. I was struggling to ignore you, but you didn't let me succeed because you tapped me on the shoulder and started talking to me. That's the day that everything started changing."
"I fell in love with you here," I whispered.
He took another step forward, and he reached for my hand. "At first, I thought of bringing you to the hospital. That's where I first realized that I'm in love with you. But I thought that it's better here."
"Why?"
"Because you first claimed me here."
Tuluyan ng kumawala ang mga luha mula sa mga mata ko at naglandas iyon sa magkabila kong mga pisngi. Magnus caught them with the back of his hands, wiping them away.
"We already have rings," I said through tears. "We're already married."
"I know. But I still want to ask the question." Inangat niya ang kamay ko. He turned it so that my palm is facing upwards, and then he placed something on my palm.
"Can you see it this time?" he asked softly.
With tears falling, I nodded. M-A-R-R-Y-M-E.
"I'm not meeting any Merryam, am I?" When I realized something, I shook my head with a laugh. "Merryam. You just jumbled the words to create a name."
The corner of his lips tipped up. "I did."
More tears formed in my eyes. "Such a romantic," I repeated.
He gently tucked a lock of hair behind my ears. "Marry me again, LA. Make me the happiest man possible, and be with me as long as you can. Give me the rest of your life as I give you mine, and I will turn it into forever. Even if we just have one more day, one more hour, one more minute, one more second... that's our forever. Because having the chance to love you, that's eternity for me, Luna. And if the time comes that I need to kiss you goodbye, may it be you or me leaving, I'll do it with my heart full, knowing that I got the chance to spend my eternity with you, no matter how fleeting it might seem."
I feel scared. I am more scared now than I ever was. And yet it's overshadowed by the burning inside my chest that screams for the man standing in front of me.
When I pray for my life, I always beg to let me live for the people who love me. For my husband's heart that will surely break if I leave him. But right now, the prayers that echoed in my heart have more to say.
"Yes," I whispered as fresh tears started to run a path on my cheeks. "Yes. I will marry you again. As many times as you want me to."
In the next moment, as I found myself enveloped in his arms, I noticed a message written directly on the wall next to us. Magnus probably talked to the building's owners just to make it possible. Because written on the wall in small letters are both our names and the day that we first met.
I want to live. Please let me live. I want to love him longer. I want to be loved by him for a long time. Please. Please let me stay by his side.
"Tulog o ako?" bulong ko.
"Ikaw," ulit niya sa nakasulat sa isa sa mga post-it na nagkalat sa paligid. "Laging ikaw."
Magnus wrapped his arms tightly around me when my body jolted in surprise when there were suddenly loud cheers. Bumukas ang ilaw sa loob ng isang kuwarto na kanina ay wala akong maaninag. To my surprise, my brothers and sisters-in-law are all in there wearing party hats. May mga hawak din sila na pagkain habang si Kuya Trace ay may hawak na kulay orange na cake at sa ibabaw no'n ay may nakatayong mga letra na I-K-A-W. There's a bear on each side of the word, one has a necktie, and the other is wearing heels.
"Are you going to suddenly dance with them?" I asked.
It's a thing that my brothers do when they're proposing. Si Kuya Gun lang ang exemption dahil masyadong solemn ang proposal niya. Pero may balak siyang bumawi. He told me that he's planning to propose again.
"Nope."
Tumaas ang kilay ko. "No?"
He leaned down and he brushed the tip of his nose with mine. "That's your job, Dawson."
Well, he's right. Hmm. "I'm Dawson-Aquillan," I corrected him.
"Damn right, you are."
___________________________________End of Chapter 54.
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