𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍:
You are loved
(1972)

"TABI TABI PO," Corazon says out loud with a confused Jasper beside her, holding her hand as Corazon guided them in a field of wild grass and banana trees, "It's excuse me in English, so you don't accidentally step on the elementals or unseen spirits of the earth dwell in the ground. so that you will not accidentally step on them, hurt them, or grievously offend them. If you do, they can punish you," Jasper thoughtfully nods.

Before them was an old ruin of a red house. Corazon's steps halted, and she had hesitancy in her eyes as she eyed up the structure. "We don't have to," Jasper assures with a light squeeze of his hand.

"But I want to, it's been so long. I have to pay my respects." Corazon looks at him with a tight-lipped smile. "It's in the past,"

"But it holds heavy memories," Jasper says as he looks back at the house with a hauntingly commanding presence. Its red hue is reminiscent of the bloodshed. As the sunrise casts its golden hues upon the crimson facade.

"Yes, it does. Horrifying ones, but I'm alive, and many aren't to tell the tale," Corazon continued her steps. They stopped in front of the house, and Jasper couldn't help but release a heavy sigh. "It's surprising that I could still feel the weighing emotions that happened in this house," Jasper says as if he's out of breath.

Corazon blinks rapidly as if she was transported back in time, the screams, the pleads, the billowing smoke, the creeks of the wood, the heavy footsteps—Jasper places a hand on the small of her back as his thumb soothed her. "I don't think this is a good idea,"

"It's uncomfortable, but it's what I have to do," Corazon shook her head, "The emotion you're feeling right now, it's the spirits who never left this place, forever bound in the horrors of the past, they never found peace," Corazon kneels down by the wooden porch as the creaks of the old floorboards echoed around them. Corazon took the candle from her purse and placed it in the middle, lighting it with a match. "All I can do is pray for them,"

Corazon made the sign of the cross and muttered a prayer as she stood up from her kneeling position and started tracing her fingers on the house's front walls. Jasper watched her movements observingly as he buried his hands in his jeans pockets. It's a different aura; it felt like he entered a different time, and traces of the past linger in every corner.

Corazon never thought that she'd be back here, where it all began and where it all ended. It's almost taunting her. Being in this house is a lingering reminder that everything was taken from her in this house. Then she looked behind her shoulder. She sees him, eyes trailing over her, watching her, worrying over her. She felt her body at ease, that she wasn't alone anymore to visit the horrors of the past, that there was someone holding her hand that was grounding her back to earth and not pulling her to the endless void of the past. Jasper's here with her, and that made her feel grateful.

"I think we should go before the groundskeeper arrives," Corazon says mindlessly, placing two fingers against her lips and pressing them on the wall. Jasper then walks towards her, intertwining his hand with hers, then placing a kiss on top of her head.

"I'm proud of you,"

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

KIDS LAUGHTER GREETED THEM when they got home. Kids with grinning faces are very sweaty when playing on the streets. Children dart across the road, their bare feet patter softly against the ground as they chase and evade each other with gleeful expressions. Their voices, a chorus of joy, echo off the walls of the surrounding houses, carrying the spirit of innocence through the morning air. Playing a game of langit lupa, a timeless game of tag.

Corazon smiles as she leans against the side of the window, crossing her arms to her chest. She thinks this is one of the moments that she had missed as a kid with her siblings, playing until they were called inside for lunch or dinner. They paused the game to either take a quick sip of water or wipe the sweat off their foreheads; being a kid is something she deeply misses; there's something pure about naivety. The only thing one looks forward to is seeing their friends in the early morning to play a game in the streets and, when the sun sets, do it again the next day.

Corazon's eyes set on another group of children playing another familiar game, tumbang preso. Tumba, which means 'to fall,' and preso, which means 'prisoner,' translates to 'fallen prisoner.' The children gather around a makeshift court drawn in chalk upon the pavement. At the center stands the preso, a tin.

One child steps forward, a worn slipper held firmly in hand. With a practiced flick of the wrist, they send the slipper hurtling through the air, aiming for the elusive target that stands before them. Cheers erupt as the slipper strikes true, sending the preso clattering to the ground in a triumphant crash.

"Look what I got here," Jasper's voice caught her out of her own bubble. He stood a few steps away from her with a wooden board with a cup of small white shells. Jasper sits by the dining table, and Corazon follows suit. "Mind telling me what this is?"

With a patient smile, Corazon gestures toward the board, her fingers tracing the intricate patterns etched into its surface. "This is sungka," she explains softly. As Jasper leans in, his eyes alight with curiosity, Corazon begins to demonstrate the game's mechanics. She scoops up a handful of shiny shells with deft fingers, placing them in the divots along the board.

"With each turn," Corazon explains, "You'll take the shells from one divot and distribute them counterclockwise, dropping one into each subsequent divot until you run out. The goal is to capture as many shells as possible from your opponent's side, gathering them into your 'store' divot here." She points to the larger divots at either end of the board, where the spoils of victory will be gathered.

As Jasper watches, his brow furrowed in concentration, Corazon continues to guide him through the game's nuances. With his keen intellect and quick grasp of new concepts, Jasper listens intently, his eyes focused on the board's intricacies. With each instruction from Corazon, he nods in understanding, his determination to master the game evident in the furrow of his brow and the set of his jaw.

"I think you're getting the hang of it," Corazon releases a small giggle as her eyes glance towards Jasper's face, who's quite serious with the game.

"We're definitely bringing this home with us," Jasper mumbles under his breath, and Corazon laughs softly but nods nonetheless.

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

IT'S MIDNIGHT. It's been nine days since Corazon's mother passed away. She wanted to visit her mother's grave. She and Jasper will be leaving tomorrow, after all. What she didn't expect was to see her father kneeling in front of her mother's grave. It's an empty graveyard in the middle of the night. Corazon knew her father well and knew how hard he had taken his wife's death; he couldn't sleep at night, so he went for a walk to visit her grave.

Corazon took silent steps to her father; he'd grown so old since the last time she saw him, and she was still as youthful as the last time he saw her. "Tatang," Corazon calls his attention. Startled, her father looks up with wide eyes and mouth agape.

"Corazon," His father rasps with disbelief. A hand went over his mouth, and he stood up with shaky legs, "If you're here to take me to the next life, then I am more ready than ever." Corazon shakes her head as she steps forward, placing a hand on his shoulder and helping him steady himself. Her father flinched at the coldness but didn't mention anything. "Mano po," She took his hand and brushed the back of his hand against her forehead, brought it down and held it closely.

"I'm not here for that, tatang," Corazon replies in her mother tongue. "How is it possible? To be able to touch you? Are you not a ghost?" Her father placed a frail hand over her cheek as his thumb brushed her jaw.

"I'm not a ghost," Corazon chuckles, "I'm here,"

Her father blinks rapidly, still in shock, "After all these years, you still look the same the day we lost you, how is that possible?" Her father then brushed her hair, eyes examining the condition of the daughter he thought he lost so long ago.

"I can't tell you," Corazon looks at him with sadness, her father nodding thoughtfully, "Are you okay? Is someone keeping you captive? Are you in danger?" Her father looks around with worry; Jasper isn't with her after she told him that she wants to go alone.

"I'm okay," Corazon assures, "I'm safe, you don't have to worry,"

"Where have you been all these years, anak?" Her father looks at her as tears start to gather in her eyes, Corazon purses her lips into a thin line as she hugs her father; her father doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her as he rubs her back with so much tenderness. Corazon started to sob, but there were no tears for her to shed.

"Shh," Her father wraps his arm around her, "Don't cry, anak. You know I don't like to see you cry." Corazon pulls away, "I missed all of you so much,"

"There's not a day that goes by that I have not thought of you," Her father tells her as he grasping her hand, "I never stopped looking for you, anak. You must know that, I never gave up,"

Her father started to cry, "I never forgave myself for not being able to find you, I'm so sorry," then he cupped her cheek with his hands, "I'm so sorry for failing to protect you," Corazon shook her head with disagreement as she places a hand on top of his.

"You didn't fail. I wouldn't like for you to carry the burden of my disappearance, it's not your fault." Corazon assures with a sad smile. She then took a handkerchief and wiped the tears from his cheeks as her father wrapped a hand around hers.

"Your siblings would like to see you, come," Her father started to tug her hand, but Corazon stood still, "I can't, tatang."

"Why not? They will be so happy to see that you're still alive," Her father reasons. Corazon took a deep breath and mustered up a smile, "I know they will be, but no one can know that I'm still alive."

"It won't be safe for all of us, I'm sorry." Corazon tells him, "But you won't remember that we had this conversation," she says as she places a hand on his cheek.

"Whatever do you mean?" Her father questions.

"You won't remember what happened in the past few minutes. You will forgive yourself and relieve yourself of the regret of not being able to find your eldest daughter. You will continue to live knowing that you are the best father a child could ever ask for," Corazon looked deeply into his eyes as her father stared at her blankly.

"To know that your eldest daughter loves you very much. To know that she knows that she is loved," she said, standing on her tiptoes. She placed a kiss on his forehead; with a heavy heart, Corazon left her father behind in the graveyard.

Corazon's father blinks rapidly. Looking around in confusion as the midnight breeze swept the trees. He looks down at the grave of his late wife. He felt a tear drape down his cheek and instinctively wiped the tears; he furrowed his brows; he didn't remember bringing a handkerchief with him; he looked at the cloth as he blinked in surprise at the initials sewn in the brown patterned cloth.

C.C.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

━━ I am establishing a new rule that I won't update any chapters until the previous chapter I posted isn't receiving the amount of attention/hype (comments & votes) I would have preferred, so this time I know that ya'll actually want to read my updates. This might get a weekly update if I am satisfied with the feedback!

━━ OKAY, I AM SO SORRY for the painful chapters😭 I can't say it ends here though...

━━ Does anyone support my urge and hyperfixation for Cha Eu Woo? Or should I focus on my Original Book instead because the MMC in my book has the same mannerisms as Do Kyung-seok, LOL.

━━ Unfortunately, no updates next week cause I start my midterm exams from the 6th to the 9th, yes, Saturday exams. What even?!? I'd like to rest for a bit. After that, I'll continue!