Day 11,

"Happy birthday, my fiore," he whispered as we sat outside, waiting for the sunset. "May I have this dance?" he asked, offering his hand to help me stand up.

I smiled and put my palm on his hand.

"You may not experience having 18 roses on your birthday, but I want you to feel that in this moment you have, and I am one of them," he said with a smile that warmed my heart.

Araw-araw, lagit-lagi, ikaw lang, Colin. 

You deserve someone who can love you unconditionally. I don't know if that someone is me—my heart is too fragile to fight for us.

If only my heart could, I would fight for you. But we’re trapped in a situation where we cannot be.

Someone else needs you; someone is waiting for you—and that someone isn’t me. 

“Ang iisang panalangin
Ang iisang dinarasal
Ay sana sa walang-hanggan
At sana'y magpakailanman
Huwag mo akong kakalimutan”

You are my first and my last, Colin. It's only you, always you. There will never be anyone else, love.

But I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—I have to let you go.

As we danced together, he whispered, "Happy birthday, can’t this moment last forever?"

I held him closer, feeling the warmth of his embrace while the rhythm of our hearts moved as one.

“Thank you so much, Colin,” I whispered back while wishing this dance could last just a little longer.

“Ikaw lang ang tanging mahal
Basta't makasama kita
Segundo, minuto, oras at buwan
Ay 'di pa magiging sapat”

“Tell me if you want to terminate your birthday wish. I’m ready to defy everything for you . . . I’ll tell them it’s always been you—only you, love. I just want to be with you. You know my principles, Aris.” His voice trembled as he pulled me into a tight, painful embrace—an embrace filled with desperation and longing.

It was the kind of embrace that felt like home—the one I would always crave. Colin would forever be my favorite chapter, the one I would return to over and over again in the story of my life.

“No, don’t, Colin,” I whispered as my tears spilled over. “It’s time for you to let go of those principles so you can finally heal . . . My voice broke as I hugged him even tighter. “You’re healing with me, but you can’t completely heal with me. You need to find that healing with her.”

His arms tightened around me even more, and his grip was so intense that it felt as if he was trying to imprint the memory of us into his very soul. It was the tightest, most desperate hug I’d ever experienced. Neither of us wanted to let go, but we knew we had to.

In that moment, the world outside faded, leaving only the two of us clinging to the last remnants of a love we could no longer hold onto.

“The sunsets are here already . . .” I whispered, neither of us wanting to let go of the embrace. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked, knowing the fading light marked the moment I had to release him.

It was my silent way of saying goodbye.

“Thank you, Colin. There won’t be another life for us, but if it’s God’s will, we’ll find each other again in the same place where it all started.” My voice trembled as I slowly stepped back.

As I turned to walk away, every step felt like it shattered a piece of my heart. But just before I could leave him behind completely, his final words stopped me in my tracks, tearing my soul.

“Chase your dreams, love. I’ll chase mine too, separately, and we’ll each bloom into our own flowers of time.”

His words are like a bittersweet promise.

The sunset witnessed our last farewell, a silent witness to a love that would live on in the memories of that evening, even as we walked our separate paths.

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