The following day - the morning before Rai needed to go to Bali, he woke me up and informed me that he needed to run some errands, but he’d be back soon. As I had not slept much, I slept a little bit more.
When I woke up, Rai was still nowhere to be found, but Damian was. This is the time to ask Damian about last night, I thought.
I went to sit on the sofa with Damian; as usual, Damian circled his arm around me, kissing me on the cheek.
“Damian?” I asked while finding comfort in his arm.
“Hmm?” He caressed my hand with his thumb.
“I think Rai is overwhelmed by the businesses he needs to take care of. Last night he cried and said that it hurt,” I said, sighing, pulling myself closer to Damian.
“Rai cried?” Damian asked, shocked; his thumb stopped caressing my hand.
“Yeah.. Could you maybe call his parents about it?” I asked h
Going to the beach with Rai was indeed awesome. The beach was not sandy. Well.. The sandy part had been closed, but there were pathways along the coast. There were many stores and restaurants along the path, so we bought food and drinks before walking down the track. We walked hand in hand. Rai picked me up and twirled us around. It was just like in the movies. Many people were looking at us. They were not used to public display of affections, but we didn't care. As long as we didn't do anything too lewd, we would be alright. We shared stories, and Rai told me about his time in the U.S. He was more talkative than usual, and I loved it. I knew much more about Rai while walking on the beach than any other time we had ever spent together. I asked him a question that had been bugging me too. “Rai, why are you single? I knew that Damian was hurt before, but what about you?” I inquired. &nb
We reached home just as dinner was served. We were famished from our walk on the beach, so we ate straight away with Damian. Rai was still the same Rai that was at the beach; open, laughing a lot, talking a lot. I could see that even Damian was amused by this Rai. After dinner, Rai asked me to come with him to the bedroom. “Enjoy, guys,” Damian smirked as he left the house. I raised my eyebrow in question but followed Rai. Rai stopped in front of the bedroom door and opened it for me. I walked in, and I was awestruck. The room was decorated in such a romantic setting. There were rose petals thrown around the floor and on the bed. Candles of all sorts were placed on every surface of every table, giving a very romantic vibe. Rai entered the room, closed the door behind him, and turned on the music. “Surprise, Princess?” He asked as he hugged me from
The next day was the day Rai needed to go to Bali. We were standing on the front porch, readying to say our goodbyes. “Rai, we will keep in touch like when you were in the US, right?” I asked. “I’ll try, Princess. Though I might be very busy, I’ll always chat you up when I have time,” he said, convincing me. “Okay, then. Come back soon, Rai. I need you here with me.” I hugged him tightly, not wanting to let him go. “Princess, I love you.. With all my heart.. With all my life.. More than life itself.. I’m so glad that I found you. Remember, Princess.. I love you till my last dying breath, till the day I die..” And with that, he kissed me deeply and hugged me so tightly like never before. “Ready to go, Rai?” Damian asked. “One moment,” Rai said as he hugged me again like there was no tomorrow. “Till we meet again, Princess.. A
More than one month had passed since Rai went to Bali. I received lesser and lesser texts from him, though he kept sending ‘I love you’ every day. He sent me two voice notes, one singing the song he sang to me on our last night together, ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ by Oliver James. Another one was also of him singing the song ‘I Do’ by 98 Degrees, the song that he sang on the piano, and a text saying that those two songs represented his feelings for me. He really had a great voice. I kept playing the voice notes repeatedly every day, just to hear his voice. One day, around two months after Rai left, I got another voice note from him. “Princess.. Always remember that I love you, and nothing in this world can change that. There are no words to describe how much I love you, Princess. I am so glad that you came into my life. You’ve shown me that love can be so beautiful, and I thank you for lo
Then came that dreadful day - the day when my greatest love turned into my worst heartbreak. It was around a month after Rai’s last texts. “Ring ring”.. “Ring ring”.. I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I looked at my alarm clock and saw it was only 4.30 am. Who would have called this early in the morning? I thought. Looking at my caller ID, it was Damian. I picked it up, still groggy from my sleep. “Damian, is there something wrong? Where are you? Are you not home? You do realize that it’s only 4.30 am, right?” I yawned. “Kat, Baby girl. Wake up. You need to come to the hospital as soon as possible.” He said hurriedly. I could hear that he was distraught. I bolted up so fast on the bed, not feeling sleepy anymore. “Damian, are you alright? Where are you?” I asked again as I started to panic. “I’m alright, Baby girl. Please be ready. I’ll pick you up soon.” With that, he hung up the phone. Oh my God, is there something wrong with Damian? That was my first thought a
I couldn't really remember what happened after that. It all seemed like a dream - hazy and blurry. All I knew was Rai was no more. No one to love me as much as he loved me. I remember weeping all the time. I never left his side. I remember watching them bathe him. Rai.. Why did you have to leave me so soon? I was in agony. I never thought I could feel this way - it was excruciating. My greatest love was gone, leaving me forever. Standing beside his coffin, I saw them clothed him in the Dior suit, with the white shirt, his top three buttons unbuttoned. He looked so peaceful, just like when he was sleeping. The peaceful face that I’ve seen hundreds of nights. The difference was now he looked so skinny and pale and wouldn't wake up anymore. “Rai.. I’m so sorry that I wasn't there for you.. I’m so sorry I didn't know..” I whispered, sobbing while reaching out my hand to hold his.
On the second day, nothing changed much. I stayed by Rai's side, leaving only to use the restroom. I didn't cry as much but cried I still. I managed to eat a few spoonsful, but Damian had to force-feed me. Nat tried to talk to me, but I still wouldn’t.. I couldn’t speak to anyone. More people came to the funeral home. They offered me their deepest condolences. After that, they will chat with the other guests. They laughed and all, just like nothing happened. It was just like a gathering of friends and families. How could they laugh when Rai is no more? I thought as I stroked his hair. The third day was when my heart was really broken into pieces that I thought I might not live again. I remember it was in the afternoon. I was feeling sick, so I went to the restroom to throw up. Damian was always with me, taking care of me, although he just kept qui
The funeral was held on the next day. It was simple. It was beautiful. I didn’t even cry anymore. I felt as though I have no more tears. I just felt numb, empty. When the funeral was done, I didn't say goodbye to Rai. I still couldn’t say goodbye. I didn't want to. So I left with Damian without saying anything. During the drive home - I still called Damian’s place ‘home’; Damian told me that Rai’s parents wanted to see me later. But we needed to make a quick stop home, take Rai’s stuff there, and give Rai’s things to his parents. When we arrived home, Damian needed to take a call, so I went to Rai’s room alone. Opening the door and stepping into the room brought back many memories. I didn't realize that tears started to stream down my face. I touched the bed where we spent every night sleeping together. I touched the desk where Rai first touched me. Nothing in the room had changed, except that Rai wouldn’t be