AT around half-past twelve in the afternoon, the sun was high up in the ocean blue sky but the weather was surprisingly cool instead of the usual scorching heat. According to the weather forecast, it was a great day to go out on a picnic or stroll outside with your friends or special someone. But ignoring the weatherman's suggestion, cooped up inside a quiet, huge office, a man in his late 20s was comfortably sitting on a leather office chair. He was wearing a white button-down long sleeve tucked in black slim-fit trousers. His hands were tightly clasped together while his elbows were resting on his massive table.

Across the table, there was a huge monitor with different channels, looking like a broadcast monitor inside a control room of a media company. His eyes were specifically fixed on the two which had the labels: World 2 and World 3. He never took his eyes off those two channels for almost thirty minutes ever since it suddenly shut down and went black.

Seemingly in deep and suspicious thought, he slowly placed his chin on top of his intertwined fingers. His eyes narrowed and his gaze grew deeper as he bit his lower lip and cocked his head on one side. The look on his face was mixed with different emotions, but curiosity overpowered everything.

In the middle of peace and quiet, a Filipino-Indian descent man suddenly barged inside the office without knocking. Despite his calm expression, his steps were fast and frantic like he was in huge trouble. He was wearing smart casual attire with an identification card hanging around his neck where his name was written.

Sanjay Raj

"Sir Melendrez," tawag ni Sanjay sa lalaking nakaupo sa swivel chair nang nakalapit sa lamesa. "I have to make a report about a recent incident."

Like the man he was speaking to couldn't hear anything, he just kept his eyes on the monitor. Sanjay cut his eyes while staring at his superior with confusion.

"Sir Melendrez―"

"Shh..." the man cut him off and pointed at the monitor using his lips. "Look at the monitor."

Still feeling lost and confused, Sanjay turned his head towards the monitor. He didn't know what his boss wanted him to see at first, but then his eyes widened when he saw the two channels down. Mabilis na nilingon ni Sanjay pabalik ang lalaki sa gulat at pagkataranta.

"Sir, that's what I'm going to report about!" he said, slightly feeling nervous. "We detected that the Esoterra devices in World 2 and 3 underwent self-destruction. But before that, we recorded a high frequency of electromagnetic waves from both devices a day before. We tried contacting the person assigned to both worlds but we couldn't get through because we lost the connection."

"And Alter went down as well in those worlds, right?"

"Yes. We tried fixing the system but to no avail. I'm afraid we might have to take the application off the stores. It will take time to develop another Esoterra. But regarding Alter, we found something else..." Sanjay placed a paper on top of the table. "We did some quick research and found something odd between these two users from the app but we couldn't get into it further," he explained. "Rest assured, we will continue the investigation and retrieve their conversation to find more information. But for now, that's our initial report about the current situation."

The man glanced at the paper which contained the username of those two users under investigation. Not showing any emotions, he kept a poker face and looked up to his subordinate.

"No need to investigate," he said, then picked up a fountain pen and reclined on the backrest of his chair. "And we also don't need to replace the Esoterras."

"Sir?" Sanjay looked lost because of the sudden decision.

"Ever since we developed Esoterra and launched Alter, I already got what I needed from this project." He started spinning the pen using his fingers. "I proved the existence of parallel worlds and made multiverse travel possible. We have other important projects under our hands. We should focus on that instead. Alter is just a fun experiment we did. And besides, the other Esoterras are bound to be destroyed ten years from now. We can't keep it running forever. I know you know why."

Knowing where he was coming from, Sanjay nodded. "Yes, Sir. I understand."

After looking stoic, the man finally smiled as he stood up. He approached Sanjay and tapped his shoulder lightly. "You should go back to work now," he said. "Thanks for the report."

Muling tumango si Sanjay at tipid na ngumiti. He excused himself and went on his way out of the office. Saktong pagkabukas niya naman ng pintuan ay bumungad sa kanya ang isang babae na ayos na ayos. She was dressed in a gold maxi dress and her hair was tied in a bun with a real flower clip for her hair accessory.

"Oh, hi, Sanjay!" masiglang bati ng babae sa lalaki; ang pinakitang personalidad ay kabaliktaran ng ayos.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lois," bati pabalik ni Sanjay bago tuluyang lumabas ng opisina.

Nalipat naman ang tingin ni Lois sa lalaking nakasandal sa lamesa, naghihintay na lumapit sa kanya.

"Are you done with work?" Her expression changed when she frowned as she approached the man in quick, heavy steps. "We're going to be late, Cooper! Ako pa talaga ang sumundo sa 'yo rito sa opisina mo!"

Inilahad lamang ni Cooper ang kanyang mga braso at sinalubong ng yakap si Lois. "I'm sorry. I got caught in something."

Lois unwillingly pushed herself away from him as she looked straight into his eyes. "Then, let's go now! I don't want to be late."

Napahalakhak si Cooper sa naging reaksyon ni Lois. He would always find her cute whenever she was throwing a fit at him that he couldn't help but smile or chuckle to express it.

"Cooper!" reklamo ni Lois at mas lalong ngumuso.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." He gave up right away before they got into a petty fight. "Let me just get my things."

Nakahalukipkip si Lois habang pinanonood si Cooper. Along with the beige suit draped over his swivel chair, he got his wallet, phone and keys as well. Nang makalapit ulit kay Lois ay nakangiting inilahad niya agad ang kanyang kamay.

"Let's go?" aya ni Cooper.

Bahayang ngumuso si Lois at kahit medyo nagtatampo pa ay ibinigay ang niya ang kamay kay Cooper at upang sabay na silang umalis patungo sa simbahan.

*****

ONE of the local churches in Manila was already filled with important guests when Lois and Cooper arrived. The interior was decorated with a vintage theme. Looking at the grand scale decorations, you could immediately tell that the wedding ceremony cost a fortune and everything was well planned.

Mayroon na lamang dalawampung minuto bago magsimula ang kasal. The wedding coordinator quickly went to the couple to give them some reminders and last-minute instructions. Inabutan rin niya ng maliit na flower bouquet si Lois bilang isang bridesmaid. Kalaunan ay lumapit na rin sa kanila ang isang babae na suot ang dress na katulad ng kay Lois.

"Elise!" Niyakap ni Lois ang babae bago hinarap nang maayos.

"Bakit ngayon lang kayo?" tanong ni Elise sa dalawa.

Lois rolled her eyes at her boyfriend before she answered her friend's question. "Ano pa ba?" She sounded so sarcastic. "Mukhang mas importante pa sa kanya ang trabaho kaysa sa kasal ng best friend niya. If I didn't go to his office, he'd surely forget about the wedding."

Habang nag-uusap ang dalawang babae ay may lumapit na ring lalaki kay Cooper. Walang salita at mabilis niyang hinawakan ang braso nito upang hatakin papunta sa altar.

"I can't believe you're late!" The man sounded stressed as he kept dragging Cooper. "Ilang minuto na lang at magsisimula na ang kasal namin."

"I'm not late," Cooper shamelessly defended himself. "We still had twenty minutes when we arrived. Kinausap lang kami noong coordinator kaya 'di ako agad nakalapit sa 'yo."

"Uhuh, and if Lois didn't drag you out of your office, then I'll have no best man for my wedding."

Natawa si Cooper. "Chill, Elrond," walang kuwentang payo niya sa kaibigan. "Tingin mo ba makalilimutan ko ang kasal ninyong dalawa?"

"Yes," Elrond answered without hesitation.

"Ouch."

Binitiwan ni Elrond ang kaibigan nang makarating na sila sa harapan. Hindi naman maiwasang matawa ni Cooper nang makita kung gaano kakaba ang matalik na kaibigan.

In his dashing white suit, Elrond looked really constipated. His hands were slightly trembling. He was also getting cold sweats. He couldn't relax and stay in place.

"Why are you looking so nervous?" Cooper curiously asked his friend, but there was a ghost of a smile on his lips. "It's not like Elora's going to suddenly run away from you on the day of your wedding."

Triggered by his playful comment, Elrond snapped his head to look at him. His eyes were piercing through him like he was cursing him hard in his head.

Cooper laughed at his best friend's entertaining reaction. "Dude, are you seriously thinking that will happen?"

"Shut up, Coops."

"Elrond, I'm telling you, that's close to impossible. You two have been through a lot. Kahit sa susunod na buhay natin, alam kong kayo pa rin ang magkakatuluyan. The love you have for each other can even go through a whole ass different dimension," Cooper whispered the last sentence so that only he would hear.

"What did you say?" Elrond asked.

Not planning to tell him about what he just discovered from Sanjay's report, Cooper just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing."

His answer piqued Elrond's curiosity and interest but before he could press him to repeat the last sentence, the double doors of the church closed to prepare for the entrance of the bride. The feeling of nervousness took over him. Naglaho lahat ng mga iniisip niya tungkol sa sinabi ng matalik na kaibigan. Muli siyang hindi makapali sa kinatatayuan. He held his breath while his eyes were glued on the doors, waiting for his beloved.

Everyone inside the church also kept their silence as they waited for the start of the wedding procession. Even Cooper became serious as he stood beside Elrond at the altar. He only smiled again when his eyes met Lois who was lined up at the end of the red carpet along with the other bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Not long after, as soon as the hired pianist started playing the keys of Bridal Chorus, the guests all stood up in anticipation for the entrance of the bride. Elrond stood up straight with one hand in his pocket. Beside him, Cooper watched Lois as she walked with her partnered groomsman. Even though her arm was linked to another man, her eyes were all on Cooper until she had to take her eyes off him and walked to her designated seat.

Elrond's parents were the last ones to walk down the aisle after the bridesmaids, groomsmen, and the maid of honor―Elise. Lumapit muna ang dalawang nakatatanda kay Elrond upang yakapin ang anak bago pumunta sa kanilang kinauupuan. And once everyone was finally settled on their seats, all eyes were focused on the closed double doors.

As a cue for the entrance of the bride, the pianist began playing an instrumental piano arrangement of "I Won't Last a Day without You" by The Carpenters which holds a special meaning for the couple. The doors slowly opened which revealed the bride with her parents on both sides―and that was the only time Elrond relaxed. Tears gradually pooled inside his eyes as he stared at the woman he's about to spend the rest of his life with.

The bride―Elora―looked very beautiful while wearing a traditional white wedding ball gown. The raining petals of white and yellow roses made her look like a princess straight out of a fairytale. And just like the man patiently waiting for her at the altar, her eyes were already filled with tears. Her vision was murky but that didn't stop her from keeping her eyes on the love of her life.

In the midst of the emotional and romantic scene between the couple, Cooper couldn't keep himself from smiling proudly at his two close friends as he recalled the usernames of the two individuals under investigation on Alter who lived in two different, but parallel worlds.

lord_elrond01 and eloramariz.