Song: I Turn To You- Christina Aguilera 

Move

Zach and I stayed up late that night. Sa veranda nila kami nanatili buong gabi ng araw na iyon. 

He's looking at the moon while I'm looking at him. He's my moon because without him, there wouldn't be light in my darkest days. And sometimes, I also consider him as my star. Whenever I feel like my darkest days envelops me slowly, he makes sure that he's the star that will shine the brightest. 

But Zach, he's also my whole damn sky. 

Lumingon siya sa akin at nang makitang nakatingin ako sakanya ay ngumiti ito sa akin. I can't help but smile back. His eyes lowered on the necklace that he gave me a while ago. 

"Do you like it?" he asked. 

"I love it." I corrected him.

I think that saying I like it isn't enough. Because I love everything that he's giving me. Kahit na hindi materyal na bagay, gustong-gusto ko ang mga binibigay niya sa akin. 

I love it that he's trying to give him all to me. 

Bumaba ang tingin ko sa kwintas na iyon. Kinuha ko ito at pinagmasdan. Zach pulled me closer to him. I chuckled. 

"Since when did you have this?" I asked. Nilingon ko siya. 

"I was supposed to give it to you when we were in Maldives. But you know how fucked up I am that day, right? So... hindi ko nagawa ang lahat ng plinano ko." 

My mouth parted at his confession. 

"But what matters is that I was able to give it to you now. On your birthday! Your first birthday that you will celebrate with me." ngumiti siya sa akin. He rubbed my waist using his thumb. 

Ipinatong ko naman ang ulo ko sa balikat niya. He shifted from his seat para magkaroon ako ng mas komportable na pwesto. He kissed the side of my head before he proceeded to look at the moon and stars again. 

I flipped the necklace over, tiningnan ko ang nakaengrave dito. I find it really sweet that he made an effort to engrave both of our name initials on this necklace. At ang mas nakakagulat pa... hindi pa kami noong pinagawa niya itong kwintas na 'to! 

Lumingon muli sa akin si Zach. 

"Did you know that you're the reason why I started believing in love again?" he asked. I smiled a little at hinayaan siyang ipagpatuloy ang kung ano mang gusto niyang sabihin. 

"Losing Cindy was the most tragic thing that's ever happened in my life. It causes me to give up on love. It made me believe that love doesn't exist anymore. But then you came, you made me believe that there's love. Hindi ko alam na ganoon na pala ang nararamdaman ko sa'yo dahil ang tagal kong hindi pinaniwalaan iyon." 

"You made me love you because you showed me how strong you are and I admire you so much for that. And whenever I see you cry, it always reminds me of how I wanted so bad to take care of you. And I'm sorry that I'm one of the reasons why you cried." 

Tumawa ako. 

"Be over it." sabi ko. 

"I will... and I'll make sure you will not cry because of me anymore. Except," 

Kunot noo ko siyang tiningnan. 

"Except what?" 

"When you're going to cry out my name when we're going to ha-"

"Oh my god! Stop!" Tumawa ako. He did the same. 

"But seriously... I love you so much, Sam." 

I smiled genuinely at him. He traced my jaw using his index finger. Inangat ko naman ang ulo ko para matingnan siya sa mata. 

"I love you, too. Soooo much, Zach. And thank you for making this birthday so wonderful." 

He nodded his head. I saw his eyes lowered on my lips. Unti-unti akong ngumiti. Parang alam ko na ang binabalak niya...

Kaya ako na ang nagkusa. Lumapit pa ako ng husto hanggang siya ilang centimeters nalang ang pagitan namin. 

Sa tingin ko napigtas ang pasensya niya nang siya na mismo ang lumapit ng husto para magdikit ang labi namin. I chuckled in between our kiss. 

He held my jaw into place while he's kissing me softly and sweetly. His tongue asked for entrance and I gladly let him. 

This is the kind of moment that I love to treasure forever. Because these are the things that people won't be able to take away from me. 

And I also think that this is the best time to tell him. Though I just decided a while ago, ayoko nang patagalin pa ito. It's better to let him know as soon as possible. Ayoko nang patagalin pa ang mga bagay na pwedeng sabihin na agad. 

When our lips parted, I grabbed both of his cheeks and I rested my forehead against his. I smiled. Sinubukan kong ngumiti kahit na naiiyak na ako. 

I'm still the emotional Samantha who always cry about everything. Kahit maliit na bagay iniiyakan ko. Hindi ko ba alam. But right now, I know that I'm crying because of so much happiness. 

"Why are you crying?" He asks. He tried to wipe away my tears. 

Sinubukan ko namang tumawa kahit na naiiyak ako. Zach gave me a worried look. I calmed myself first before raising my gaze at him again. 

I pressed my lips into a thin line and took a deep breath. Then I look at him in the eye again. 

"I'm ready." I whispered. His mouth parted. 

I know I don't need to tell him where I'm ready. Alam kong alam na niya iyon. Alam kong matagal na niyang hinihintay na sabihin ko ito. He's been patient enough to wait and hear this answer. 

Unti unting napapaangat ang kanyang labi hanggang sa hindi na niya mapigilan pa na mapangiti. 

"You don't know how much that makes me happy," he pecked my lips again and then another. Hanggang sa hindi na niya alam kung paano maipapahayag kung ganoo siya kasaya ngayon. 

I laughed. 

"But I won't propose yet." pagbawi niya pagkatapos niya ako halikan ng ilang beses. 

"Why?!" I pouted. Disappointment is evident on my face. 

He pinched my cheek gently and caressed it afterwards. Inipit niya ang takas na buhok sa likod ng aking tainga. He smiled at me again. 

"I want a proposal that you won't expect. I want a proposal that everyone will know." 

Kumunot ang noo ko. Ah! Kaya pala hindi siya nagpropose sa akin kanina kasi sobra akong nag-eexpect? Okay, sige. Next time hindi na. I will just calm myself down and not expect at all. I'll let him work on his own ways. 

He wants to surprise me huh?

Then surprise me, baby.

"Okay, then..." 

Kinaumagahan ay pinaghanda kami nila Tita Carmel ng breakfast. Hindi naman kailangan pero they initiated. Sabi ay birthday brunch ko na raw ito kasama sila dahil mamaya ay aalis kami ni Zach at may pupuntahan daw kami. 

Hindi ko naman alam kung saan dahil hindi niya naman sinasabi sa akin. 

Nang matapos kami ay agad rin naman kaming tumulak doon sa pupuntahan namin. We ended up in a parking space. Hindi ko alam kung anong ginagawa namin dito. 

"What are we going to do here?" I asked him once he stopped the car. 

"Just wait and see." He smirked bago kami tuluyan bumaba sa kotse niya. 

Okay... I promise I will not expect at all. Kaya... wag ngayon. 

Nagulat naman ako nang bigla siyang huminto sa paglalakad. I stopped, too. Humarap siya sa akin. 

"Do you mind if you'll just stay here for a while and not move at all?" aniya. 

Kumunot ang noo ko. What is he up to? 

"I-I guess?" tumango siya at tsaka umalis na sa pwesto niya at iniwan akong mag-isa doon. 

I probably look stupid here while waiting for him to come back again. I left my phone in his car kaya wala akong source of entertainment habang wala siya! 

After a minute of standing there while doing nothing, I saw Zach coming back. He was smiling while he's walking towards me. Ang mga kamay niya ay nasa kanyang likod, tila ba may tinatago. 

My forehead creased again. Ano ba ang binabalak ng isang 'to? 

Nang makalapit siya ay huminga muna siya ng malalim. "Close you eyes." 

"Zach, what is this?" 

"Just close your eyes, Samantha."

Wala akong nagawa kung hindi ang sundin ang utos niya. I closed my eyes. I felt him move. 

"Open now." 

I slowly opened my eyes. And when I did I was actually surprised what was placed in front of me. 

I smiled and started crying again. I told you, I'm still emotional. 

Zach bought me a dog! A dog that I've always wanted. 

"You like it?" he asks. I hit him playfully on his arm.

"I love it!" 

Like is an understatement for this very very cute dog! 

I grabbed the dog from him. Sobrang cute! I started petting him. The dog hid himself in me. I wanted to cry again. 

"Happy Birthday!" 

Ngumiti ako at lumapit sakanya upang patakan siya ng halik sa kanyang labi. 

"But I just told you yesterday what kind of dog that I want." I pouted. Ang bilis niya namang makakuha kung ganoon! 

"I have contacts, Sam." he smirked. Lumapit siya sa aso, he caressed its head slowly. 

Nasa daan kami patungo sa isa pa naming pupuntahan nang tinanong ko siya kung anong pangalan ng aso na ito. 

"That's up to you. He's yours." ngumuso ako. 

I still haven't come up with a name yet. I kept thinking a while ago pero wala talagang pumapasok sa isip ko. 

"How about Zachy?" I smirked. Nilingon ko siya. 

I saw him glaring at the road pero alam ko na para sa akin talaga ang tingin na iyon. I laughed. Saglit siyang lumingon sa akin. 

"Parang ginawa mo naman akong aso nun!" 

"Okay... I'll just think of another!" 

"How about... Bear?" tiningnan ko ang aso. He wiggled his tiny tail. "He likes it!" 

Tumawa ako at binuhat ito upang ilapit sa akin. "You like the name Bear, huh? Is it because you look like a bear you tiny dog!" 

I pressed my nose to his. Nakakagigil talaga! I heard Zach chuckling. 

Huminto kami sa isang bahay na hindi ko naman alam kung kanino. I didn't know that we're visiting someone today! 

Bumaba kami at sinundan ko naman siya habang karga parin ang aso na ibinigay niya sa akin. Hindi na siya nagdoorbell pa at agad rin naman siyang pumasok sa loob. 

Walang tao nang pumasok kami. The house is huge and I wonder who resides here. 

I turned to close the door. Mamaya maya pa ay may naririnig na akong kumakanta ng Happy Birthday. Mabilis akong napalingon dito. 

Ryan, Tony, and Caitlyn are walking towards us while holding a cake. My jaw dropped. Kailan pa nakauwi sila Ryan at Tony dito?

When they finished singing, they told me to blow the candle. They shouted when I did. Caitlyn immediately enveloped me into a hug nang makitang may hawak akong aso ay nagulat siya. 

"Oh my god! So cute!" kinuha niya sa akin ito. Nagtungo naman ako kay Tony at Ryan at niyakap sila. 

"Happy Birthday, Sam! Musta ba ang mile high-" hindi na naituloy pa ni Ryan ang sasabihin niya dahil tiningnan ko siya ng masama. 

Tumawa naman si Tony sa narinig.

"Your fiance put me into a lot of trouble!" I rolled my eyes.

"Why? Isn't true? You did it, right?!"

"Oh my gosh! We didn't!" Agap ko.

Nilagay ko naman ang mukha ko sa aking palad dahil sa kahihiyan. Naramdaman kong lumapit sa akin si Zach. He pulled me close to him at sakanya ako nagtago.

"It's her birthday today. Stop teasing my baby." Umirap naman ako kahit hindi niya kita.

I can hear a humor in his voice that why I doubt that he's serious about that! Inalis ko lang ang mukha ko sa aking palad nang may napagtanto.

"Where are we by the way?" I asked. I turned to Ryan and Tony. "Is it your house here?"

Agad rin namang umiling ang dalawa. If I will ask Caitlyn if this is hers, parang imposible naman ata.

Walang nag-salita ni isa sa mga kasama ko. I actually waited for anyone to speak but unfortunately they chose to keep quiet.

Binasag lamang ni Ryan ang katahimikan nang mapunta ang tingin niya kay Bear.

"Oh, look at this dog!" He grabbed Bear away from Caitlyn at tsaka binuhat ito. "Who will take care of this? Bawal ito sa condo, Sam."

My jaw dropped. Why didn't I realize that?

"Shit. I didn't realize that until now." I bit my lip. I turned to Zach to ask for help.

He smiled at little bago inangat ang tingin kay Ryan. "It doesn't matter."

My forehead creased.

"She's moving in with me. We'll take care of Bear together."

My jaw dropped again. Lumingon siya sa akin na parang wala lang sakanya 'yung sinabi niya. Na para bang maliit na bagay lang iyon sakanya.

Which is not. For me probably! That's really a big thing! It's probably one of the steps that we have to encounter on our journey before we get married!

May kinuha siyang box sa bulsa niya. He is definitely not proposing to me today.

I will not expect. I will no-

He opened the box at bumungad sa akin ang isang susi.

Told you, I didn't expect! Buti nalang! Kung nag-expect siguro ulit ako, baka nahopia na naman ako!

Inangat ko ang tingin ko sakanya.

"Will you move in with me? This is going to be our house. And if you don't agree everything will just go to waste."

"Kinokonsensya mo ba ako?" Niliitan ko siya ng mga mata. Nagkibit lang siya ng balikat.

"Of course I will!" I happily answered his question. Nagbuga siya ng malalim na hininga.

"Ah! Thank God!"

I can't believe that this is our house. It's huge! Kailan niya pa pinagawa ito?

We celebrated after that. I roamed my eyes around the whole place. I can already imagine the both of us once we live here together. I smiled.

I think this is definitely my best birthday ever!