Seducing The Epicene

Chapter 38

Franki's POV

Nag-iisa lang akong nakaupo dito sa labas ng kubo habang nakatingala sa madilim na kalangitan. Ang ganda ng buwan ngayon, pero parang dumagdag lang siya sa aking kalungkutan.  Kanina pa ito nang sinabi ni Maza sa amin ang nakita niya kanina sa social media.  Pero hindi naman siya sigurado kung sina Mommy at Daddy ba yun. But kung sila nga talaga, na nandito na sa Pilipinas, then hindi naman nila ako agad mahanap dahil sobrang layo at tago itong lugar. Pero hindi ko maiwasan na makaramdam ng pangamba dahil alam ko sa huli na mahanap din nila ako. How about Dianer? Yung naging bahay at pamilya ko dito? Ang pagmamahal na aking nahanap? Hindi ko kayang iwan. Alam ko na pwede naman ipaglaban pero paano kung bibitawan nalang niya ako dahil sa sobrang komplikado ng sitwasyon?

"Bakit parang ang lungkot ng puso ko?" Agad akong napatingin at napatawa nang biglang nagsalita si Dianer na mukhang kakarating lang dito. Umupo siya sa aking tabi at may ibinigay.

"Ano to?" Pagtataka ko.

"Kwintas."

"I mean, para saan?"

"Sa leeg."

Tinignan ko siya ng masama at kinurot sa tagiliran dahil sa mga pinagsasagot nito sa akin. Alam ko naman na kwintas ito na inilalagay sa leeg. Ang ibig sabihin ko lang naman ay bakit niya ako binigyan di'ba? I know there's a reason, at gusto ko malaman ang dahilan na yun.

"To naman, di mabiro."

"Dahil ang biro mo hindi nakakatawa, kundi nakakainis." Seryosong sabi ko habang hindi pa rin kinukuha sa kaniya. Hangga't hindi siya sumasagot ng matino, hindi ko kukunin yan.

Nang hindi ko kinukuha ang kaniyang ibinigay ay siya na mismo ang naglagay nito sa aking leeg. Pumunta pa talaga siya sa aking likuran para lang ipasuot sa akin.

"Itong kwintas na ito ang simbolo kung gaano kita kamahal. At kung saan ka man naroroon, kung magkakalayo man tayo, dala-dala mo pa rin ang pagmamahal ko. Basta suot mo lang ito palagi, parang nandiyan na rin ako sa iyong tabi."

Parang gusto kong maiyak sa kaniyang mga sinasabi. I never thought of this lovestory would be so beautiful. Akala ko, ako lang ang mag-isang nagmamahal. Pero pakiramdam ko doble pa yung pagmamahal niya sa akin.

"Dianer, wag dito." Saad ko nang maramdaman ang mga halik niya sa aking batok. I can't help it. Nakikiliti ako. Agad naman siyang umalis at umupo ulit sa aking tabi.

"Alam mo ba na there are two kinds of love story." Baling nito sa akin at ako naman ay napangiti ng tipid habang nakatingin sa malayo. Mataman lang akong nakikinig sa kaniya.

"The first lovestory na ikukwento ko sayo ay ang kwento ng pagmamahalan ng araw at buwan." At tumingala din ito sa buwan na siyang tinitignan ko.
"The Sun was a god of sorts. His light was so powerful it actually brought herbs to life and grew goods from the ground. Everyone, every day, came out to worship him." Panimula nito, kaya sa kaniya ko na itinuon ang aking atensyon.

"The Moon was seen as a darkness. One that brought a cold presence to the world. Everyone hid in their homes when she rose.
The Moon craved to be seen. She wanted a breath of fresh air up in the midnight sky. She wanted to be loved.
Yet everyone admired the Sun. They sensed the warmth of his glow. They felt alive in his daylight.

But the Sun had a secret: he admired the Moon. He recognized her secrecy and fell for the way she was timid with herself. She hid parts of herself from the world that he knew the world would embrace.

They were opposite souls, the Sun and Moon. They were lovers who rarely met and always missed one another. Yet they both waited patiently for the rare days when they might coexist peacefully." Tumigil muna siya sandali at tumingin sa akin. At doon ko napagtanto na ang tinutukoy niya ay ang eclipse. Na one in a hundred years pa nangyayari. It is so rare.

"The Sun wanted to make his true love happy in his absence. He wanted to show the world what she had to offer.

He thought for weeks about how to give her the breath of air she wanted, leaving the world in a cloudy haze.

Finally he knew what he had to be done.

He sacrificed his light every night to shine on the Moon so she could be seen in all her beauty.

He gave up something he was admired for, to let her shine."

"But they don't have happy ending right?" Tanong ko sa kaniya dahil minsan lang sila magkikita.

"Their love is forbidden. So they just live happily apart. At minsan lang sila bibigyan ng pagkakataon na magkita. More likely a both." Sagot niya. Parang nalulungkot ako sa kwento nila.

"Sometimes, I think of the sun and moon as lovers who rarely meet, always chase, and almost always miss one another. But once in a while, they do catch up, and they kiss, and the whole world stares in awe of their eclipse. Sabi nga nila. Maraming nagagandahan sa kanilang pagmamahalan pero hindi tumatagal, dahil hindi pwede."

"So more likely na sad ending siya kase--"

"Magkikita pa ulit sila." Agad na putol nito sa akin na hinawakan pa ang aking kamay. Hindi na ako umangal dahil totoo naman na magkikita pa ulit ang araw at ang buwan. At baka sa araw na yun, pwede na.

"So kwentuhan mo na ako sa ikalawang lovestory." Utos ko dito at sumandal sa kaniyang balikat. Ito ang tahanan na hinahanap ng puso ko na hindi mahanap sa bahay. I wish it would last. I maybe more happy if there's no thing such as endings.

"The next story is How the Ocean loved the Moon. It is a love once shared by two tainted with betrayal and fear; a love filled with sweet kisses, that is now empty in the abyss of the waves."

Nakikinig lang ako hanggang sa naumpisahan na niya ang kaniyang kwento

"The moon rises to the heavens each night, looking down on the ocean. There he sought after the brightest stars but ended up finding fake giants. He looks at different nebulas – always leaving the ocean to look for the best and coming home to her just to take a quick rest. He always wanders off. Oh how he loves to play!

The ocean stayed down beneath the surface, looking at the moon above. She holds jaded memories deep in her eroded trenches. She tries to calm her storms every night but ends up with vivid recollections of sadness in her waves. She knows how casually the moon pulls her back in – but she knows how his eyes always see the most sin. Such a sad thing to try so hard but never end up as the one. Oh how she tried!

I want to tell you the story of how the ocean loved the moon – a story of two parallel worlds. To meet at one point, perhaps, is impossible and to drift apart is an easy call. He brings darkness that surrounds the ocean. Strange how she rejoices in the dilemma.

I want to tell you how the ocean waited for the moon – oh she used to be a damsel in distress! But he taught her how to endure misery. To take pleasure in the audacity of betrayal. To lose herself in the brink of collapse and coalition. To stay stranded in the tides of doubt and indifference

I would love to tell you how the moon loved the ocean. But he never did. It was not love at all. It was comfort. It was a sweet escape. It was a lie.

Now I want to tell you how the ocean loved herself. She saw how serene she is after the storm. These days she held more breaths of self-satisfaction. These days had been the best. Days – that’s right. It’s daytime she now looks forward to, kisses from the sun at the break of dawn."

Hindi ko na namalayan na tapos na ang kwento kung hindi lang niya ako hinalikan sa aking ulo.

"There are two kinds of love story; where the one just catching glimpses of one another, waiting for an eclipse to happen, and the one that she may bend her tides towards you, but will never ever be yours completely."

And I prefer the former one.

"Kwentong pagsasakripisyo at pagiging makasarili... sa pagmamahal." Patuloy pa niya. "But in the end, parehong pinili kung ano ang tama."