Light Up The Sky

Chapter 26

"There I was, an empty piece of a shell... Just minding my own world... Without even knowing what love and life were all about..."

I smiled as I sing. Mula sa tinitipa kong keyboard ng piano, iniangat ko ang paningin ko. Tila may sariling isip ang mga mata ko dahil kusa nitong hinanap si Liam na nakaupo sa isang sulok. He was there, listening quietly. Among the little crowd, he stands out... with those pair of ocean eyes.

The soft curls of his hair are quite disheveled because of the cold wind. Isinasayaw din ng malamig na simoy ng hangin ang puting dress shirt na suot niya. The two buttons from the collar were undone, giving me a little access to see how hard his chest is. But it was already given. His gracious body looks so strong under the material of his shirt.

"Then you came... You brought me out of the shell... You gave the world to me... And before I knew... There I was, so in love with you..."

After I said those last five words, I saw how his lips rose as if he was thinking I was saying the lyrics to him, not singing them. I chuckled. Kung ganoon nga ang iniisip niya, hindi siya nagkakamali. Totoo naman. I am really here, so in love with him.

"You gave me a reason for my being... And I love what I'm feeling... You gave me a meaning to my life... Yes, I've gone beyond existing..." I smiled once again. "And it all began when I met you..."

My life really began when I met Liam. Ever since he came, I learned to always live for the little things in life—putting on an outfit that makes me feel good, having the first sip of milk in the morning, baking yummy cookies with him and Pascal, curling up with my favorite book, adding new sketches to my gallery, painting with him or painting him, documenting special moments with him and our fur baby through the lens of his camera, waiting for 5 am sunrises and 5 pm sunsets, listening to our favorite playlist on our road trips, letting the wind dance my hair, and feeling the sand between my toes.

He made me live for the little things because, he once told me that, those little things are what life is all about. This is what it means to be alive.

After everything that ever happened to me, I didn't know that it was possible for me to live my life the way I have lived before. But I did. Because of him, I'm not merely existing but living a beautiful life.

The blue eyes I once saw one scary evening were the same blue eyes that painted my world's amazing hues of vivid colors.

With Liam by my side, all my troubles began to melt away. With him by my side, the sadness in my eyes turned into sparks of happiness. With him by my side, I started to feel the warmth I was longing to feel again, the warmth I was craving from my parents, ever since my Kuya Hans left.

With his love, I saw the bright side of everything—the beauty of living despite the darkness, the beauty that I've seen starting with him.

I'm so lucky to have him in my life.

And it's such a privilege to call him my man.

"Anak ko 'yan!" proud na sabi ni Tito Oliver kasabay ng masigabong palakpakan ng mga manonood matapos kong kumanta.

I couldn't help but lift a smile because it really warms my heart every time Tito Oliver would call me his anak. And the tone of his voice whenever he would do that, how great it feels to hear that he's so proud of me, give me feelings I couldn't quite name. I just know that I always wanted to feel those feelings—feelings of being welcomed, of being home.