"Ginoong Eduardo." Agad na napalingon si Yohan kay Elisa nang marinig ang nag-aalalang tinig nito. Kasalukuyan silang nag-uusap ng mga kapatid niya habang si Apple Pie ay kasama naman nina Elisa at Pedro. He was about to ask her what's wrong when she slowly pointed at where Apple Pie was seating. She was on the dining room, eating her breakfast . . . or supposed to be eating. Kaysa kasi kumain ay nakapikit lamang ang babae at mukhang nakatulugan ang umagahan. Nag-aalala naman siyang lumapit sa babae nang makitang nabitawan na nito ang kutsara dahil sa lalim ng tulog nito.
"Langga . . ." malambing niyang tawag dito sabay hawak sa kaliwang kamay nito kung saan suot-suot nito ang engagement ring na binigay niya dito. "Langga," tawag niyang muli dito na sa wakas ay nagpagising dito.
"Hmm . . ." inaantok nitong sagot sa kaniya bago nito pinatong ang ulo sa kaniyang balikat.
"Langga, kakagising mo lang. You promised yesterday that we would go out today, right? We still need to pick all the stuff for our wedding." Yohan tried his best to make his voice as lively as possible. Pinilit pa nga niyang ngumiti kahit gusto na niyang maiyak sa kalagayan ng babaeng mahal na mahal. Even though Apple Pie was able to sleep for 10 hours straight last night, she was still fucking sleepy and tired this morning. She had eye bags as if she never slept at all and she kept on yawning as if her back was looking for a bed so desperately.
"Just a five-minute nap, Yohan," hiling nito sa kaniya bago nito inayos ang pagkakahiga sa kaniyang balikat. The way she said that made him want to follow her, but he knew that it wouldn't be advisable for her health.
Tinigasan ni Yohan ang puso at agad na hinindian ang nais ng babae. "No. You've been sleeping for almost the entirety of the day. Tignan mo nga, iyang breakfast mo ay naging brunch na dahil late ka ng nagising." He immediately held her in an upright position to force her to wake up. Inaantok namang lumingon sa kaniya si Apple Pie habang nakatingin sa kaniya ng inosente.
"I'm sorry," she innocently apologized which made him feel some sort of guilt. He has been pushing her too hard to fight against what's happening right now without considering that she was struggling so much.
"No, I should be the one to say sorry. It's not your fault," ika niya dito bago mahigpit na niyakap ang babae. Alam naman niyang ginagawa na ni Apple Pie ang lahat ng makakaya nito upang malabanan ang nais ng kaluluwa na bumalik sa totoo nitong katawan. Kagabi lang ay pinilit nitong makipaglaro at makipagkwentuhan kina Elisa at Pedro upang hindi nito isipin ang matulog. She even asked him to wake her up early so she wouldn't spend the whole day asleep. He tried early this morning but she wouldn't wake up no matter what. Muntikan na siyang magka-panic attack dahil akala niya ay patay na ito. Buti na lamang at napakalma siya kaagad ni Xav. "Are you really tired? Gusto mo ba sina Elisa na lamang ang papuntahin natin sa bayan?" malambing niyang tanong dito bago hinalikan ang tuktok ng ulo nito.
"Opo," cute nitong sagot.
"Okay, then. Ililista na lang natin ang lahat ng nais mong ipabili para sila na lang ang pupunta doon. We can spend the whole day with each other. Does that sound good to you, hmm?"
Apple Pie weakly nodded before leaning on his shoulder again. Siya naman ay malungkot na napalingon sa mga taong nasa likuran lamang nila. Kitang-kita ang pag-aalala sa mga mata ng mga ito.
They tried their best just to find a solution to no avail. Wala na silang malapitan ng tulong. Iyon ang masakit sa sitwasyon nila ngayon. Ni hindi man niya lamang magawan ng paraan ang paghihirap ng babaeng mahal niya. He was forced to accept that she would die soon. Kada segundong dumadaan ay tila ba nilulunod siya. Kada hiningang lumalabas sa bibig niya ay nagiging paalala na malapit ng kunin sa kaniya si Apple Pie.
He can't even do anything to save her.
The only privilege that was given to him was being able to make sure that her last days will be the most memorable days of her life. So that's what he did.
Ginawa niya ang lahat ng gusto ni Apple Pie. Gumawa sila ng bucketlist na naglalaman ng lahat ng gustong gawin ng babae.
Shopping without worrying about the cost? Done that.
Learning how to horseback? Already did that.
Tour around the historic town? Crossed-out already.
Lahat-lahat ng gusto nitong gawin ay nagawa na nila. Ngayon naman ay pinaghahandaan na lamang nila ang paparating na kasal nila. It was just a simple ceremony. He doesn't even think that the church will even recognize their marriage. Si Kuya Zy lang kasi ang magpre-preside sa seremonyas. Matatagalan pa kasi kung dadaan sila sa tamang proseso. He still has to ask for the approval of Christina's aunt and then "panliligaw" would follow that would undoubtedly last for months. They don't have that kind of time. Kahit ito na lang sana ay gusto niya sanang mabigay kay Apple Pie.
A wedding.
She deserves to get his last name after everything she has to go through. First, his stubbornness in admitting his feelings for her. The way he treated her like shit just because he wasn't man enough to admit that he likes her. Second, his father that forced her to sacrifice their relationship just to protect him. And then there's the way he treated her when they met again. Not even taking the time to listen to her explanation. It was even his fault that she was dying. He did this to her. Kung hindi siguro siya nakilala nito ay baka tahimik na namumuhay pa si Apple Pie. Maybe she was already a famous chef in Dubai or maybe she already have her own restaurant here in the Philippines.
She deserves a wedding, a grand one if she let him but she didn't. Hiling lamang nito na ikasal sila sa huling araw nito sa mundo. Nais daw nito na siya ang huli nitong makita bago nito tuluyang ipikit ang mga mata. Nais nito na isayaw niya ito sa kahuli-huling beses bago pa man bumigay ang katawan nito at tuluyang bumitaw.
She wanted to have their wedding as the last memory that she would have before she die.
A beautiful memory to hold on to during the bittersweet ending.
A/N: Malapit na po tayong matapos. :)
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My Everything In His Past (2nd Book of 'In His Past' Series)
Historical Fiction"I wish I realized much sooner how important you are, my wife, my president, my everything."
