Maybe this TIME

XIII. The REUNION

After a month...

It was 6:00 am in the morning and I was walking in our backyard for some exercise when someone rang the doorbell

It was Darlene..

"Oh bes! Bat di kapa nakabihis? Anong oras na oh!"

"Oo na eto na magbibihis na, nag exercise lang ako kasi after a month ngayon lang ulit ako lalabas ng bahay"

"Okay I'll wait for you inside, let's go😊"

Another reunion, marami na naman akong maaalalang hindi maganda pero that's okay, lahat ng yun may naging mabuting dulot sa buhay ko.

I am excited to see and meet my classmates again, ibang iba talaga yung section namin ee, nabuo ang isang pamilya, mga taong maaasahan mo talaga sa kahit anong aspeto ng buhay, sila yung mga taong never nakalimot. So eto na nga magkikita kita kami ulit..

"Ganyan ka na bessy? Make yourself gorg naman, ngayon ka na nga lang lalabas ult ee" Darlene said.

Parang nakalimutan ko ngang mag-ayos ng sarili for a while, aalis ng hindi man lang nakapag lipstick, even face powder wala, Well feeling ko naman kasi maganda na ako with my bare face hehe.

Darlene helped me doll myself a bit. Inayusan ako ng buhok, naglagay ng kung ano anong kolorete ee diba reunion lang naman to ng section namin?

"Teka bes, saan ba tayo pupunta? Saan ba ang venue?" I asked Darlene

"Sa school natin bes"

"Whaaaat really? Ang weird talaga ng mga taong to, sinong gugustuhing kumain at magreunion sa school?"

"Lahat kami bes, ayaw mo ba nun? Babalik tayo sa nakaraan?"

We left the house at 8:00 and went to the academy.

I was wearing a trouser pants with white knitted top partnered with a white sneakers.

Habang papasok kami sa school I can hear my classmates, nagkakantahan sila ng napakalakas, ofcourse kasama din ang aming butihing former adviser, it was Saturday kaya walang ibang tao sa school aside from us.

As I enter the room, biglang may napakalakas na putok galing sa ceiling at unti unti na ngang nahulog ang mga confetti,

Aba! Aba! Ano tong pinaggagagawa ng mga taong to?

"Congratulations for your fast recovery"

Nakasulat sa aming board.

At syempre nakita ko sina Joy at Dave. Even sina John Ford and Chris was there they were all congratulating me with a warm hugs ang claps.

I was so happy to have a family like them. I was really overwhelmed and about to cry again pero dahil ayoko ng drama I just thanked everybody with hugs and kisses.

The class was incomplete, andaming wala, but noise was the same, napakaingay parin talaga nila.

Ma'am approached me and hugged me also, she told me never daw siyang nagkamali sa pagkakakilala sa akin, very competitive kahit nung mga bata pa kami and so she told me a lot of congratulations.

I remembered Chris, lumapit siya sa akin and he gave a tight hug also, he thanked me for recovering and for everything I did for him before.

I hugged him also at hinaplos sa kanyang likuran, and said "Thanks to you marami din nagbago sa buhay ko"

And there, that day was so memorable, we ate a lot, kwentuhan, tawanan and iyakan.

I think yun yung mga bagay na hindi mawawala kapag nagsama sama ulit yung mga taong tinuring na pamilya ang isa't isa.

Darlene approached me..

"Bes I'm sorry"

She then suddenly grabbed me and naglagay siya sa akin ng blindfold, wala na akong nagawa, I know it would be another surpise kaya sumabay nalang ako sa trip nila

As soon as wala na akong makita biglang tumahimik ang paligid, tanging huni ng ceiling fan ang naririnig ko, I thought natritrip lang sila or maybe this is a tagu taguan game, do I need to find them?

After 30 second I decided to remove my blindfold and intented to find them.

Nang matanggal ko ang panyong nakapiring sa aking mga mata, I saw nothing..

Where is everybody? I tried to look around the room and even sa comfort room but wala sila so I decided to go out..

Pag lumalabas ka kasi sa room namin hallway na siya kaagad papuntang stage

As I opened the door and step a bit, I was in the hallway facing the stage when someone is walking from the other end of the hallway

He was so tall, he was wearing a formal polo tucked-in in grey pants with black belt in it. He was holding a bouquet of roses and he's slowly walking towards me.

I know who is he but I cannot contain myself and I cannot believe what I'm seeing, I cannot believe he was there...

The moment when I saw him walk towards me smiling so sweet and handsome, para akong hihimatayin, parang hindi ako makahinga.

Sinimulan kong maglakad palapit sa kanya, ewan ko ba, yung mga paa ko hindi na mapigilang maglakad ng mabilis kahit hindi pa nito kaya

I was like medyo natutumba tumba kaya kumakapit ako sa parapets. As soon as he saw me walking that fast

I saw him run towards me..

He was so fast like how my heart beats that moment.

He held my hand and started to bend his right knee, I cannot move and I'm speechless.

We looked at each other na para bang parehong hindi makapaniwala sa mga nangyayari.

I saw my classmates unti unti at isa isang lumalabas from different rooms holding a flower while someone at the stage was singing "Maybe this Time" by Michael Murphy.

He talked and said

"Aika, thanks for waiting for me, I realized that life without you is something I cannot call LIFE, I left the seminary and want to be with you for the rest of my life, May God forgive me for what I decided to do, but I know this is what we destined to be, will you Marry me?"

I ran papuntang stage to steal the microphone and I screamed "YES"

I was crying that time, kahit yung mga kaibigan ko hindi na din napigilang maiyak .

This is it. God really wanted us to be together coz if not, he will not be here asking my permission to marry him.

Sabi nga nila...

"If two people are meant to be together, eventually they'll find their way back"

Khael found me again, but this time I found him also.....