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
Reaching home, my legs subconsciously brought me to Rai’s room. There were still some of Rai’s shirts left as I asked Damian not to return all of Rai’s belongings to his parents. I changed into one of Rai’s shirts.. to feel him. I sat on the bed, leaning back against the headboard, and took out everything Rai had given me from the paper bag. I lined the boxes and opened them. They were the ring I wanted to buy and a beautiful rose in a dome. It brought tears to my eyes. Rai always bought me things that I loved. I took the letter out, wondering if I had the strength to read it yet, knowing that they were Rai’s last words to me. I looked at the letter in my hands for quite some time, and with my hands shaking, I opened it. It was quite a long letter; there were pages of them. I took a deep breath, and I began reading his letter. “Kat.. Katarina.. My Princess..
I took a few deep breaths.. And fixed my eyes on the letter as I continued reading them.. "Do you remember when I told you that I will prove my life to you till the day I die, Princess? I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise, but trust me that I have, Princess.. I have given you everything I can - my heart, body, and soul. I hope you can feel my love for you; Ilove you with my whole being. Princess.. You must be wondering why I bought a ring to wear on my ring finger. I noticed you looking at a ring - You know that I always noticed you, my princess. When you went to the restroom, I bought it for you, and I hope you'll wear it always.. I asked the SA to find me a rose gold band that matched yours, but there was none.. So I bought the closest that resembl
Staying in Rai’s room proved to be more difficult than I had thought. Most nights, I couldn’t sleep at all, just sobbing quietly, thinking how usually Rai was there to hold me. The time I could sleep, I always woke up frantically looking for Rai, thinking that his passing away was just a nightmare, and I’d go to Damian to wake him up to tell him about ‘the dream’. Damian had to tell me that it was all real, not a nightmare, and I would break down and cry, and he’d comfort me. Other times I would wake up with so much anguish that I screamed out Rai’s name hysterically. Then Damian would come to my rescue again. With me unable to sleep properly, Damian asked me to sleep with him instead in Rai’s room. I agreed with him, so I never spent the nights in Rai’s room anymore. I thought sleeping with Damian would help, but it wasn’t the case. I still couldn’t sleep properly, and I couldn’t eat because
After getting out of the hospital, I still slept with Damian. I still had nightmares and everything, but Damian was always there to soothe me, and everything would feel better. One night I longed for Rai so much that I asked Damian to touch me. “Damian.. Touch me.. Please..” I begged him. “Are you sure, Baby girl?” He asked with hesitation in his voice. “Yes.. Please be Rai tonight.. I need Rai’s touch..” I said as I began to kiss him passionately. He only hesitated for a second before he kissed me back and touched me tenderly; he even called me 'Princess'. But I didn't want it. No matter how hard he tried to be Rai, their touches were too different. His touches ignited every fiber in my body that I always felt my inhibitions slipped away from me, making me wild with passion. In the end, I asked him to call me 'Baby girl' because I wanted him to love me as himself. He u