"Are you really leaving?" the boy asked, crying. "Can't you stay?"

"Don't worry, she'll be back, right, Thea?" the boy's mother said, patting her son's back.

The girl nodded. "I promise I'll be back, so don't cry, okay?" she said while smiling and wiping the boy's tears.

"Thea! Let's go"

Lumingon ang batang babae sa kanyang ama at tumango. "Bye" she sadly waved goodbye to her friend.

She was about to leave when the boy suddenly held her hand and handed her a handkerchief. "Don't forget me, okay? I'll miss you" he said and hugged her.

Thea was shocked but she hugged him back. Matapos ang ilang segundo, kumalas na siya sa pagkayakap at nagpaalam na.

-----

"Thea, wake up, we're here"

Unti unti kong minulat ang aking mata nang tapikin ako ni daddy sa braso. "Oh, we're here already?" tanong ko at tinignan ang bahay na nasa harapan ko. I smiled, we're finally back. Its been 10 years since mom died and we left the coutry. 10 years ago when my mother died, my father decided to move to spain to start a new life. Now that we're both fine, we decided to finally come back.

Lumabas ako sa sasakyan at bumungad sa akin ang pamilyar na lugar. I smiled. "Dad, I'll just go for a walk outside" pagpaalam ko kay daddy na nilalabas ang mga gamit namin mula sa sasakyan. He just nodded as a reply. I excitedly ran out of the house and walked through the familiar streets. A strong gust of wind passed by and I smiled.

"Takbo!!!!"

Nagulat ako nang marinig ang isang sigaw. Pagka-lingon ko nakita ko ang isang lalaki----na sa tingin ko ay kaedad ko lang---na hinahabol ng mga aso. At syempre, my oa self panicked. Oh my god!! Why now???????
Nagulat ako nang hinila ng lalaki ang braso ko at sabay kaming tumakbo.

Nang mapansin niyang wala ng asong humahabol sa amin, tumigil siya at binitawan ang kamay ko. "Sh*t we almost died" tumatawang sabi ng lalaki. Nababaliw na yata to. He looked at me and stood properly. He gave out a boyish grin. "Hi, I'm Ivan. Ivan Werner" he said and offered his hand.

Parang pamilyar ang pangalan niya... Nanlaki ang mata ko. "Ivan?! Ikaw talaga yan?!" Gulat kong sigaw kaya nabigla at naguluhan si Ivan. Napansin ko yun kaya nilabas ko ang isang panyo sa bulsa ko at pinakita sa kanya.

"How did you get that?" seryoso niyang tanong.

"Crazy! Its me! Thea! Amalthea Hillary!"

"Thea?! You're back?!" naiiyak na tanong ni Ivan at niyakap ako.

Tumango ako. "I told you I'll be back" I said with a smile.

"I missed you"

-----

"Hey, come back here!" sigaw ko kay Ivan na tumatakbo habang tumatawa at hawak ang libro ko.

"Ayoko nga!! whahahahaha!" sigaw niya na parang baliw.

Bumuntong hininga ako at tumigil sa pagtakbo. Just what the hell did I like about this annoying guy?! What stupid idea came into my mind to date him?! "I hate you Ivan Werner!"

Tumawa lang siya. "Hahahhahahah I know you love me!"

"Gosh darn you!! Give me my book back!!!"

----

"One, two, three, smile!" sabi ng photographer at lahat kami ay ngumiti. Its been 10 years since I came back to the Philippines and reunited with Ivan. And now, we just got married.

"I love you" he whispered.

I smiled. "I love you too"

----

"Ivan!!" masayang sigaw ko habang tinitignan ang dalawang pulang linya.

"What?! What's wrong?!" Natataranta niyang sigaw.

"Look!!" I happily shouted and showed him the results. "I'm pregnant!"

At nang marinig niya yun ay parehas kaming nagtatatalon na parang mga baliw.

----

Months past at naging masaya kami. We were excited for the day our little blessing would come. But, one day, bad news came.

"Dahil masyadong mahina ang katawan ni Mrs. Werner, may possibility na hindi niya makayanan ang delivery and... you might have to choose between the mother and the child."

Napatulala kami sa narinig namin. Sunod sunod na pumatak ang luha ko nang malamang may posibilidad na mamatay ako o ang anak ko. I don't want to die, gusto kong makitang lumaki ang anak ko. Gusto kong tumanda kasama ni Ivan. Marami pa akong pangarap at pangakong gustong tuparin. Pero... ayokong maging kapalit nun ang buhay ng anak ko.

"T-totoo ba yang sinasabi mo, Doc?! Wala bang paraan para parehas silang mabuhay?!" Umiiyak na sigaw ni Ivan.

"As I said, Mr. Werner, its just a possibility" sagot ng doktor. "But, I suggest as early as now, you should choose"

Tumingin sa akin si Ivan at tinignan ko siya. Nadurog ang puso ko nang makita ang mga mata niya. He was torn between us. Hindi niya alam kung sino ang pipiliin. Kaya naman ako na ang gumawa. "I choose my baby." Napatulala si Ivan sa narinig. "Wala akong pakealam sa pwedeng mangyari sa akin. I will never give up my baby and that's final" I said and stood up from my chair and wiped the tears on my eyes.

Nang makalabas na kami sa opisina ng doktor, humagulgol ako ng humagulgol. Si Ivan naman ay tahimik lang na umiyak sa tabi ko.

Hinimas ko ang tiyan ko. "Wag kang magalala anak, proprotektahan kita... even if it means losing my life" I whispered.

-----

Time passed and my body became weaker and weaker until the time came for me to give birth. Ang araw na pinakahinihintay at kinakatakutan namin ay dumating. Thankfully, I survived the delivery and our baby, Aruna, was born.

The doctors suggested that I should stay in the hospital for a few more days to recover. We all expected I would get better, but we were wrong. Instead of getting better, my health got worse. And as days past I was already sure. I wouldn't last long.

-----
SIX DAYS AFTER ARUNA WAS BORN

Unti unti akong napamulat ng mata nang marining ang pagbukas ng pinto. I smiled when I saw Ivan come in. Binaba niya ang mga dala niyang prutas at iba pang mga gamit. "Ivan.." Hirap na hirap kong pagtawag sa kanya. Agad siyang lumapit sa akin at umupo sa upuan katabi ng kama ko. "If I die---"

"No you won't!  Thea, diba sinabi na ng nga doktor na gagaling ka?! You'll get better and we can live happily" he said, trying to hold his tears in.

Tumingin ako kay Aruna na mahimbing na natutulog. Wala siyang kaalam-alam sa nangyayari sa paligid niya. I smiled. Tinignan ko ulit si Ivan at nagsalita ulit. "Let's face it, Ivan. We both know that I won't get better." Tahimik na umiyak si Ivan dahil sa sinabi ko. "If I die, I want you to raise Aruna well. Don't let her feel like she doesn't have a mother. Wag mong hayaan na maging malungkot ang anak natin, Ivan. Make sure to tell her that I love her very very much." unti unting pumatak ang mga luha ko pero pinilit ko pa ring ngumiti.  I held his hand and stared straight to his eyes. "And I want you to be happy too. If, in the future, you meet someone better than me and you fall in love with her, you can marry her. I'm letting you go now"

"You already made it impossible for me to re-marry with your condition" pagbibiro niya.

"Crazy" I said while laughing. After a while, I spoke again. "Ivan, if I said I was tired, would you let me rest?" I asked.

"Can I even stop you from sleeping?" he asked, crying.

"No." I answered. "Good night, Ivan. I love you" I whispered with a smile on my face.

And slowly, my eyes closed.

----

Her Favorite number is 6

She left the country when we were 6

She came back when we were 16

We got married at 26

We were happy, but life had something for us that we didn't expect.

THE END