From A Distance

Yankee

"What's your decision, Ms. Mendoza?"

She pauses for a while. Furrowing her brows and scrunching her nose.

"Babe, ano? Payag ka ba?"

Maine continues to think her choices through. Finally, after a few more minutes of thinking and anticipating eyes, she is able to think of an answer. She shakes her head.

"Thank you. I'm truly flattered...but no thank you."

-

Maine asked to visit her parents' museleo. Now, they are sitting down, silent in front of her parents' tombs.

They were about to leave, and whilst they both stood up, Richard had a question to ask her.

"Menggay?"

"Yes, Love?"

"Why did you turn down the offer to run for senate?"

"You know I love my Dad, RJ, but I don't want to go down that road. Hindi ko naman kasi magagawa ang mga nagawa ni Dad sa akin, sa mga magiging anak natin," she said nonchalantly.

"Hehe. Natin," he replies while he wiggles his brows and nudges her arm.

"Bakit? Ayaw mo ba? O, sige, bye," she irks as she starts to walk away in a faster pace.

"Huy! Ano ba. Siyempre gustong gusto."

"Kalmahan mo, boy. 'Di pa tayo kasal," she replies as she turns around and starts to walk away again.

"Edi...gawan natin ng paraan."

"Ano?" she asks, quickly turning around towards his direction.

And there he was, kneeling on one foot. Holding out the red velvet box. She started to doubt the situation again. Thinking about the possibility that she is still living inside a dream. Tears started to fall on her face, as she walks closer to him. He was still kneeling on one foot and he started to get tired, making him kneel on both his knees. She kneels down with him, cupping his face with both of her hands. She places her forehead on his, still crying and he is now reciprocating this gesture.

"Maine...you know I'm not good with words. But one thing's for sure...I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me?" he finishes this off by lifting the ring up to her face.

"Are you really proposing to me in the middle of a cemetery?" she queries chuckling a little.

"I'm proposing to you in front of your parents, Maine."

"Wait a second, is that-"

"Your mother's ring? Yea, it is."

"But I thought that it was buried with her?"

"I guess not. It was part of the things that Mr. Mendoza left to me."

Maine started to cry even more at the realisation of this. She was even a little hysterical.

"Hey. Hey. What's wrong?"

"That ring. It has so much meaning behind it."

Richard paused as he awaited her next words.

"It's a representation of how much they loved each other. Of how much they meant to each other. She used to tell me stories. Kung paano sila nagkakilala, kung paano siya pinursue ni Dad. When Dad finally proposed, and she saw that ring, sabi niya sa akin, para daw bang lahat ng hirap, sakit, pagod...biglang nabalewala. And every time that she's going through something, all she has to do is look at that ring and all her worries are gone."

She pauses for a while before she continued.

"Love, Dad told me about the moment she breathed her last. At alam mo kung anong ginawa niya before she did? She raised her hand with all her might, as all the energy in her body was disappearing, and looked at her ring. I guess, kaya ganoon na lang din ang galit ko kay Dad. But I know naman that he loved her, as much as she did. Hindi lang siguro halata, because he felt the need to hide how he felt about her loss, or rather, he just didn't know how to handle it."

"I...didn't know it meant that much. I almost feel unworthy of being the man to give you this."

"Shhhh. Don't say that, because if Dad left you that ring, then that means that he found na ikaw lang ang lalake na may karapatang ibigay sa akin 'yan. And you know what...I agree."

"So, is that a-"

"Yes, Mr. Faulkerson. I will marry you."

A/N: Short and one day early update! Get ready for next week though!