22 : epilogue : silent waves, silent kisses

Epilogue

On July 7, 2007 I was out of the house. A Federal Express package was delivered to my house, received by my sister. I came home right after lunch because I needed to freshen up before I went to another meeting near my house.

I saw the package on my bed. I thought the spare battery I ordered for my laptop must have arrived. So I thought I would open it in the evening when I get back from work.

I took another look at it. It was however shaped differently than the battery I ordered. This was square-ish and long. The battery was more flat and short. That got me curious. If it wasn’t the battery, what was it?

I opened the package. I am not neat in opening packages, I just rip them off. I did exactly the same thing. It was half open now. Guess what was inside the package?

It was a bottle of Corona Beer.

The bottle of Corona Beer had beach sand in it. With it was a letter. It started with the words: “Dear Tito Franco....”. The letter said she died on June 20, 2007 of cancer after a very short illness. The cancer spread so fast that she died quickly.

The letter also said her mom, yes the letter was written by her daughter, had asked her to do this for her. She had asked her daughter to write me this letter and send back the bottle of Corona Beer to me.

The letter said the Corona Beer bottle as long as she can remember was always placed on her mom's dresser. Her mom used to stick Post It’s on it to remind her of important things like birthdays.

Her mom told her she wants me to have the Corona Beer bottle because it had more use for me than her now. She wanted me to know both of us kept the memories. Now that she was gone, she wanted me to have all the memories.

Remember last Friday when I said I was going to end the story? While I was trying to write the ending, it occurred to me that maybe I should already let go. That I think one of the reasons she sent me that Corona Beer bottle was to set me free, not just the memories we shared. She must have known that like her, I kept my own Corona Beer bottle filled with sand.

So last Friday, I took the Corona Beer bottle she sent me and the beer bottle I kept for myself and placed both on the steps of the Loyola House Of Studies. This was the place where she and I met for me to teach her Algebra. I emptied the contents, poured the sand on the ground beside the steps and placed the two empty bottles there. It is my way of letting go of the memories - returning them to where it began.

Writing this story here, and writing it in the "dreamy" style that many picked up is to honor her memory. Intensity, desire, passion, orgasmic, laughter, dreamy, tenderness, everlasting. This piece is my tribute to her.

Thank you for being with me in this journey.


The End-----

l: haaayyy...i think im falling for you franco.... hehehe jk! what a really nice story =) sana nga maka-move on kn franco...ahm, cno nga b un magcompile nun story? pwede makahingi ng copy?

i: franc0 mio. the way you vividly recall the events--is really something... means that the lady is indeed special.

s: that was a really sweet tribute.

g: wow!! bro franco, it amazes me how you recalled every nitty gritty detail as if it happened only yesterday. i think u have what it takes to be a writer of novels, etc.true story or not, galing ng pagka deliver. =)

s: u made me cry franco..... .... please give me a hug....

s: and you got the bottle just recently? konsensya naman ako minamadali kita when you went to loyola house, all the while you were on a sad mode pala. i feel for you franc0. come here il give you a hug to you, with people passing on your story you've made her immortal

u: hey boss, that was a good one. i guess i'll have to read it again. i sort of focused only on the juicy details, until somebody led me to read the last part again. naks naman, dun pa kayo sa loyola house nagkita for algebra sessions. layo nun sa college ah.it pays to be good in algebra

s: This is my first time to post in pex, but I've been a lurker for a long time.To franc0, I salute you with all sincerity. I am a guy, but I was touched by your very intriguing and captivating saga.That was one great ride for all of us who patiently (desperately?) waited for every itsy bitsy detail of your story.

s: pretty good story telling franco...pwedeng pang-publication..

s: napadaan lang ako dito kaninang umaga at natapos ko ngayon gabi. na hook kasi ako sa story. good story telling. sad nga lang ako dun sa ending. better than "the notebook".

d: that's a sad ending, franco!but such a nice piece..wish i can have that kind of flair for writing...

s: franc0, touching daw in the way it was written. Very dreamy any style. When they read the ending, they understood why it was written in such a way. Sad daw. Some of my friends were rooting that you'd be together eventually.

h: talagang di pa ako natulog ha!! i got curious after the rave reviews I received from Silver and Soltera, hinanap ko talaga tong thread na to. I hope Bagels will follow.. such detailed story, huh!! you gave me
goosebumps!!!

s: hey, franco...just a lurker in InP... never thought I could find a story as amazing as this in InP... "in equal parts of love and lust"...the fact that its true makes it all the more touching... reminds me of the song "When you say nothing at all" hala... mushy... hehehhethanks for sharing

i: dude, that was one of the most "sensual" yet sensible story i've read my entire life.. and i've read a lot.. in a way, para siyang harrypotter, you can't stop reading until you get to the end. Kudos to you! Siguradong maraming nagppm sayong girls ngyon?! hehehe! Could I also ask for a PDF copy? I would lso like to share it to my friends.. Thanks dude!