Every Autumn Fall (Youthful Series 1)

Prologue

August

Five years now.

Within the years since I left this place, a part of me always dreamt of living here in the province.

August's salty wind blows right through my body where my skin adores the fresh breeze that lit up my soul inside. My hair dances playfully from the air and the golden sunlit atmosphere along the road made this tour even more memorable.

Nagpatuloy lang ako sa pagpidal ng aking bisikleta habang tinatahak ang daanang katabi lamang ng dagat. Huminto ako sa katabing plasa para iwan dito ang aking bike at magpatuloy sa paglalakad sa malawak na buhanginan.

Tila ba walang pinagbago ang lugar, ganoon pa rin gaya ng dati. Maaliwalas ang paligid, marami ring mga taong nagtatampisaw sa tubig habang ang karamihan ay mga magkasintahan na magkahawak-kamay at mga magkakaibigan na naghahabulan. Bigla kong naalala ang mga panahong ganito rin kami kung pagmasdan.

This province became even more industrialized. Maraming nagbago sa daan, mga lugar na dati ay kahiligan namin na pinupuntahan, at mga gusali na kanilang naitayo. Ngunit kahit limang taon na ang itinagal, wala pa ring pagbabago sa mga alaala na mayroon ako. Malinaw pa rin ang lahat. My past remained clear like it was just yesterday.

I continue biking to the roads of trees that I usually bike to whenever I have go to my university. The leaves are all brown, a reason why the main road is covered with dried leaves.

Nostalgic as it seems, I breathe deeply to inhale the provincial air and let this wind refresh me. This is a great way of decluttering and removing all the exhaustion from my city life.

Madalas kong nakakasama ang aking mga kaibigan dito, kaya ngayon na nagbalik na ako, gusto ko rin sanang makasama sila ulit, pero ang iba ay wala pa rito sa probinsya kaya hindi kami kompleto. Abala rin sila sa kanilang mga trabaho at sariling buhay sa siyudad, kaya nagpatuloy pa rin ako na dalawin ang mga natitira kong kaibigan dito.

"Malamang, ang tagal mo kayang nawala, dapat lang na magcelebrate tayo ngayon!" masayang sinambit ni Eli. Umupo ako katabi si Zee, ang isa ko pang kaibigan na nagmamay-ari ng restaurant na aming kinakainan. Dito rin kami madalas na magsama-sama, at halo-halong emosyon ang nararamdaman ko dahil sa laki nang pinagbago ng lugar.

Hindi ko inakala na ipagluluto niya ako nang ganito karami. Abala nilang inihahanda ang mga putaheng kaniyang iniluto. Sa aming magkakaibigan, si Eli ang mahilig na magluto sa amin. Ano mang klaseng pagkain ay pinagkakaabalahan niyang aralin para lang amin itong matikman.

He's always the cook of the group, like a mother to all eight of us. And until now, he still remained the same caring Eli.

"Baka sa susunod na linggo uuwi si Lara at Lexi," pagbabanggit ni Zee. Napatingin ako sa kaniya at doon ko na lamang tuluyang napansin ang talagang pagbabago niya. Tumangkad siya at mas lumaki ang kaniyang pangangatawan. Same with Eli, their faces grew more mature than we were in college. It's vaguely sinking-in that we really changed.

Tatlo lamang kaming nagsasalo-salo sa iniluto ni Eli kaya amin na ring sinimulan itong kainin. Mahaba ang naging aming gabi dahil marami rin kaming hinabol na mga kuwento matapos ang ilang taon na hindi kami nagkita ng personal. Matapos ang hapunan ay nagtungo kami sa balkonahe nang kanilang resto.

Zee is busy washing the dishes now from their kitchen sink, while Eli and I sat relaxingly from their balcony. I remember, this is the place where we truly love to hang out. We can see the trees from here, and the city road lights, while if we look from afar, we can gaze upon the sea.

"Kamusta naman ang pagsusulat mo?" tanong ni Zee habang nilalagyan ng red wine ang aking baso. Ipinaliwanag ko na matagal na rin simula nang magsimula akong sumulat ng libro. Inihinto ko ito matapos kong pagtuunan nang pansin ang aking trabaho.

Since I was in high school, writing is my plausible way of escaping from my very own reality. It seems that I didn't really like my life back then. Too chaotic, too stressful and too tragic. Even looking back now, it still pains me.

So I wrote stories where I can alter all the things that I want in life and live with my fantasies.

But at first, I really hated it. I don't like writing romance. I don't love romance at all. It's boring, too cliché and cringe. I hate meet-cute scenarios or even the idea of having a first kiss. I find it very uninteresting, very fiction, and idealistic. But from the time that I realized more about it, I really didn't hate it because I am bitter or hopeless in love, I became resentful of romance because I haven't experienced that yet.

And when I did, it was the best thing that happened to me...

A greater part of myself loves having someone to be with. Someone where I could lean on whenever I am at my lowest point, someone that I can share with my thoughts and rants about how my life sucks, someone to be with in boring and exciting days, and someone that I can truly love, care and kiss all the time. And just when I thought I was hopeless enough to not experience this in my youth, I met him.

He has dark hair that turns slightly brown when sun shines upon it, with teenage manly facial features, dark brown eyes, thick brows, a not so narrow nose, defined cheeks and his sweet smiling lips. I am five and a half inches smaller than him which I never grew taller, because yes he is really tall with his broad body. He loves anything that has something to do with art, reading books that I recommended to him, watching the Ghibli Studio Films, Marvel Cinematic Universe and Harry Potter series, never complains about food and basically eats anything that tastes good, like the beach, loves the autumn trees, and loves me.

Everything about him is what I love the most. He's the man I always think of whenever fall comes and the autumn wind rises.