Destiny In The Most Tragic Situation

By: Kenneth Adrianne Gatal Diego




   As he was walking in the park one afternoon, he saw a young couple by the small trees that stood all over the place. They were hugging and kissing while having a fun time relating from their past experiences. He sat on an old post so troubled and pain circling through his body, feeling the warm air that surrounds all over. Then, clouds gathered around and threw a mighty roar of thunder as it starts to rain. But like the drops from the sky, so were the tears from his eyes, remembering sweet Maria, the love of his life.

   Now, on a stormy afternoon, he looks back and reminisces the past…

   It was a very bright Monday morning; he went home from the market selling oranges. He ate his breakfast with the smell of orange rind in the air and prepared himself for the first day craze. He went to school with his pen and paper as he began his college life. He entered the room and grabbed a seat near the window, to watch the view of tall buildings, and observed his classmates chat and loiter around. When the professor entered and started his introduction, a girl went inside and took her place at the back. (She was the picture of an emote princess wearing black shirt, black pants and pair of slippers with interesting designs.) Her face dried up as the people stared at her with disgust. She left the room and went straight to the gym.

   Day by day, she came in late and sat at the back, other people ignored her for she looked weird. While having a lesson about feature articles, the professor called on Maria to read some lines of a poem by Sarabia entitled: “Deep Struggles”. Emotions lingered around the place as she started to cry after reading the first stanza which read:

“If only the world could see what I feel
Then, would the world know who I am?
I’ve loved, lost and feared the world
For it is sometimes too much to bear”

   The message came clear that she wanted acceptance. She finds love in the wrong places and waits for happiness to come by. Some people felt her sorrow and treated her with goodness.

   One afternoon, while taking a break in the snackhaus, she came by and shared the table with him. She took a bite of her chicken sandwich and scribbled through a page in her newsletter. He couldn’t believe his eyes; he stared at her with amazement. She was a simple girl who looked so beautiful wearing her school uniform. Her short and curly hair smelled so good unlike the other girls he met. Her face looked so happy and her eyes were like two stars twinkling in the night. She started talking to him and replied back but felt shivers down his spine trying to ignore what he felt and thus became interested with her. They started to go on meryenda breaks, chatting and laughing their hearts out when they talked of their funny moments. It blossomed into a friendship that made them closer in the point of telling secrets and hanging out almost anywhere. Her lifestyle made it easy for him to adjust. Despite the closeness, she remained a mystery to him. But what he saw in her made him contented and inspired. When they were together, each moment was full of amusement and the experiences made him fall for her. He took care of her and showed all his concerns. She appreciated everything he does. He spent weekends with her and took her pictures. He regularly gave her a bouquet of flowers. She looked very good when she wore her black dress and a pair of pink sneakers.

   A week hap passed with full of happiness and unforgettable moments, he came to school and there was no sight of her. He waited and longed for her presence as minutes turned into hours and into days until he received a message from her saying, “Please wait”. Then she appeared in the snackhaus looking so happy but felt miserable inside. He hugged her tight with all the people staring at them and kept telling her how he missed her so much. Tears ran from her eyes and promised not to leave him.

   While inside the mall, they agreed upon meeting in the restaurant on Saturday at 6:30 pm. He went home for it was a busy Friday and did his chores. As Saturday came, he got up early as 4 am to help in the market and sell oranges. His parents were surprised upon watching him so happy and full of smiles.  As he went home, he dug through his closet and looked for some decent clothes to wear. He prepared himself for this would be the day that he would propose to Maria and confess his undying love for her. He was so excited that he came to the resto early as 6 pm. He kept thinking of the words to say and how she would respond to it. He felt so nervous and shaking but felt so positive. Time came by so fast that he hadn’t notice the skies decomposed into velvet grey. The stars were shining as the streetlights glowed around the boulevard but Maria was still not there. He waited and waited, glued in this rickety chair, without nothing to enjoy in each space. He went outside and managed to walk in the rain. He went home and thought of this day to be a failure.

   On a Sunday afternoon, as he passed by a street corner, a girl went outside an apartelle and a guy was behind her. He recognized the girl and hid himself behind the bushes that surrounded the parking area. He crept to every tree until he was able to see the couple clearly. They were kissing when they entered the car. His heart broke like pieces of a puzzle as he can never believe what he had seen, Maria and the captain of the varsity team. His world came crushing down on him. He knelt down on his knees and cried so hard. He went home straight to his room and didn’t face reality because the thought of Maria was swirling through his mind as he lay awake all through the night.

   He came to school on a rainy Monday morning and went inside the classroom looking so miserable. His friends noticed his dullness and became so cold-hearted that even people in his surroundings were so terrified with him. He came late to his classes and never went into the snackhaus for it would only make him hurt. He didn’t help in the market and became so morbid. He thought of the captain, who was so rich and had many girls in the campus, being an affable guy and so good in everything. He was always out with some friends drinking and staying in trouble. His colleagues wondered why he transformed into a mischievous one and some would talk cheap about him for they didn’t know the reason of his behaviour. Maria heard the calumny and talks but couldn’t react because she was so guilty. Her conscience drove her to be scared to confront him. When friends would ask her, all she could say was “I don’t know”. She was so troubled while thinking that night in the resto where she didn’t appear but thought of him so happy and excited. She hid in the shadows of her past and wasn’t ready to tell her story. As she had came to know him and spent good times with him, she realized that she was falling for him and it became so hard for her so instead of telling him the truth, she kept her mouth shut because she feared that he might drop her off.

   After a while, he became so uncontrollable and troublesome. He was always in a brawl, on heated arguments and detention. She faced him one afternoon as he was drunk and about to go home. She yelled at him for being so immature and slapped him hard. He yelled back at her, until hurtful words were said as though there was nobody there. Emotions were spilled out as his heart was bleeding deep inside. He told her what he had seen in that afternoon at the apartelle where she and the captain were together. She couldn’t help but cry and remained silent for she knew that she was the reason of his negativity.

   He went inside the campus and looked for the captain. He entered the gym, as the basketball practice was still going on, and found him with other girls at the bleachers. He went straight to the group and punched the captain right through the face. Maria couldn’t stop him because she was so weak and he was so determined for revenge. She walked out of the building, hurting and cried a lot, while he was stopped by the whole varsity team. He went away so disappointed over the whole situation.

   After a few weeks of heartache and pain, he took the courage to go to Maria and ask for forgiveness. She was so happy to see him at the gate but stayed calm and faced him. He apologized and asked for a second chance. This made Maria cry and hugged him so tight. They engaged into a relationship and felt so happy together. His friends knew about this and tried to break them off but still they had strong for theirs is forever.

   But unlike the old stories that made the characters live happily ever after, they were judged by the society. The unending harassments and set-ups they faced were given to a test.

   One day, as Maria went to her friends’ home, some of them brought drinks and company. They drank the bight out and Maria was enjoying. But as soon as she danced, they laughed hard with her sweat, undid her clothes with lust and wrong needs. The company did some nasty things to her but didn’t give in. She took off and went home.

   He was hanging-out with his friends in a local pub and suddenly one of them watched the video of a drunken girl without her clothes on. He didn’t mind their world and just sang. One of his friends noticed the girl and recognized her as Maria. He was shocked and terrified to tell him so he showed him the video.

   She locked herself in her room for days and hid herself from the surroundings. Maria called for her boyfriend on the phone but there was no answer. She got scared and thought that maybe he already knew what happened so she went to his home and faced him. She apologized and explained the truth but he seemed to never care and told her to leave. She did all what she could do but it only made him rock hard. He told her to forget all of what happened between them and he never wanted to see her again.

   Everything wasn’t perfect. It was all what he had hoped for and then, suddenly, gone in a bit. He picked himself again of the tragedy he faced but because of his feelings for her, it was hard to move on. He returned to school and tried to regain his confidence. He pursued himself in academics and joined school organizations. His friends and teachers saw the new beginning. But, at the end, he still yearns for Maria. Wishing to God that in time when they cross paths, they would still be made for each other for she was his destiny.

   All his hopes and dreams came to an end when his friend told him about the death of Maria. His world shook and remained silent. He blamed himself for the loss of Maria and in that day, Maria’s friend told him of what happened that night when they were all drunk. It was so hard for him to hear those words and it made even harder when he didn’t believe the truth Maria had told. He lost sight of joy and wished it was him who died. He instead drank so much alcohol in despair and caused trouble with the folks. He was thrown out of the bar and walked astray. He saw the image of Maria in a street corner and tried to follow but as soon as he reached the place, the image had gone. He thought of it as a reflection from his mind or maybe Maria was telling him something. He went into the park and tears dropped from his eyes thinking of his Maria. The struggles and trials he faced were repaid with hurt and sorrow.

   He visited the cemetery a few weeks after her death and brought her favourite flowers. He lighted a candle and asked for forgiveness. He was sorry for being careless and didn’t listen to her. He stayed until it was almost dark and left the place. Then he passed by another girl who looked like her and smiled back. He was surprised and came near her. They chatted for hours and became closer. It was in that instance, when he realized that this is what Maria has been telling him. He understood the meaning and gave himself another chance.

   As days gone by, he took great care of that girl and never made her feel less important. He thanked Maria and thought of her as an instrument in all of what happened and to discover his self. He made her special and gave her the love which she was really worthy of.

   Now, as he went home from the park, he realized that it was his destiny to live happily with that girl after a tragedy of loss with Maria.




-THE END-

My second feature article about love, destiny and tragedies