Artificial Horizon - A César Fernando Basa x Reader story

XLVII - Coriolis Force

Force which accelerates the movement of a rotating mass perpendicular to its motion and towards the axis of rotation.

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After three months of deployment at Lahug Airfield at Cebu, César finally returned back to Manila. For the past few months, it had just been letters exchanged between us; and it was true that absence made the heart grow fonder. That's why, when we met one another again for so long, I couldn't help but to tell him everything that I couldn't write down through letters alone. And I remember him laughing that I must slow down and take my time in telling all of it to him, since he will not be gone at once.

That evening of the twenty-sixth of July, we headed on to the Santa Ana Cabaret. His status as a member of the Philippine Army Air Corps granted us immediate entrance for a surely expensive dinner, and when he invited me for a dance, it was then my turn to laugh at another show of his talent that I didn't know he'll be able to do so. I couldn't help but to grow quiet in my amazement that he definitely led and guided me to a dance along with countless others to be at the right time with the music.

"Oh, bakit ang tahimik mo?" he suddenly asked me, smiling ever so beautifully that made my heart beat faster and my mind to repeatedly ask myself how all of this felt like a dream when it was actually my reality.

"Para kasing panaginip lang ang lahat, at para tayong mag-asawa na nasa honeymoon." Realizing what stupid words I suddenly blurted out, I flushed at once and hastily took them back, "Uhm, n-no. Ang ibig kong sabihin ay—"

He scoffed. "So, this is your idea of a honeymoon?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Hindi ako makakapayag that my bride is so easily satisfied by this. Besides, hindi pa nagkakaroon ng ceremony; so, I suggest she be a little more patient."

"That's cheating. Hindi pa naman din talaga tayo kasal, nor engaged. But, seriously, now that we're talking about such thing... bigla lang din sumagi sa isip ko if you have imagined what your ideal wedding would be like?"

"Not in detail," César remarked and chuckled lightly before drawing his face to me and our bodies closer to one another. "Except for the one who'll stand beside me."

I gaze back at him intently, realizing that it wasn't only his eyes that were full of love, but even that of mine was very well reflected through his. I smiled softly and then asked him, "César, ano sa tingin mo ang pakiramdam na makakasama mo ang taong minamahal mo habang-buhay?"

"Bakit mo naman naitanong bigla?"

"I can't quite imagine it... Alam ko na lahat naman ng kasal ay maganda at masaya dahil parang 'yon ang marka ng panibagong kabanata para sa dalawang taong nagiibigan. On the other hand, madaming tao rin ang nagsasabi na marriage is the 'grave of love'. Either way, it's a significant moment in life. Kaya napaisip ako paano kaya iyon sa kanila? I wonder what it is like for people who stay together until the end."

César leaned his forehead against mine at that and breathed in heavily. He seemed to think deeply of it for a moment before he sighed and answered, "(Y/N), don't let yourself get boxed in by such definitions. Marriage is just a legal pact. What you experience is life itself. Kung sino man ang pinili mo ay siyang representation ng pinili mo na buhay para sa iyo. Love isn't what life is all about, pero naniniwala ako that it can give people the courage to face their choices."

"Sa tingin mo ba may lakas ka ng loob para harapin ang mga desisyon na iyon sa buhay?" I counter.

"I do, but I don't know what my chosen one thinks. If I ask you now, how would you answer?" He slowly pulled away from me, took something from his pocket, and while holding my hand, slowly showed me what he had taken out. Smiling, not minding everything else but his eyes fixed on me alone, he added, "I know that I am not the perfect man, and I'll certainly pressure you, listen to you, argue with you, and love you until the end of my life. And together, we'll be one another's equal as husband and wife. So, (Y/N) (L/N), do you dare to marry me?"