When I woke up, everything seems blurry for me. I had to wait for a few minutes before I could get a good grasp of what was happening. My body wasn't hurting, I don't feel anything on me, actually, I feel a bit better.

I stared right into the ceiling and recognized I'm inside of a hospital room. The smell of the medicine lingered and that only tells me that being here wasn't a coincidence that I was the one laying on this bed. I raised my left hand and a dextrose is injected into me.

Was it that bad? What happened?

"Mister Alejandria." Napalingon ako sa bumanggit ng pangalan ko. I saw the doctor and a nurse standing beside my bed. "Glad to see you awake. How are you feeling right now?"

"Uhm..." I muttered as I'm still confused. "I'm... I'm okay..."

"That's alright. Good to hear that from you. You're doing great and you'll be better enough soon... do you need anything from us?" the doctor asked.

I looked around the room and the person I wanna be with somehow cannot be found.

"Where... do you know where's the girl I'm with? If you know..."

"She's outside waiting," the doctor said. "If you may, I'll meet her outside and send her way to you. Does that sound good to you?"

I nodded. "Thank you..."

The doctor left and the nurse made a quick check on me before she left the room as well. While I was waiting for her to come, I was thinking of something else to do and I thought it would be a fun thing to do to her. Naiisip ko pa lang kung anong gagawin ko, I know she would hate me for it.

But there's no fun if I won't try it.

While waiting for her, may mga sumasagi sa isipan ko na hindi ko maalis. What if I really died today? I've still got a lot of things in mind that I wanted to do. I don't know what it felt like for Cory, but that was scary as fuck. Thinking how it all end could be the end of everything. I hate thinking about it that's why I don't want to think about it.

I wanted to forget it.

Not that long when I heard someone coming in through the door and saw her walk in. There was so much going on in her face, confused, scared, and all, and all I could show to her was a blank reaction looking straight at her.

She might have no idea what I'm into. She might not like it or not, but it's our way to move on from it. Well, my way to move forward because I'm still glad that I'm alive and could see the wonder of who brought me here in El Nido.

"Hey..." I muttered.

I furrowed his brows. "Were you... are you... are you my wife?"

I tried so hard to sound like I really don't know her and I hope she bought it.

I noticed how she swallowed hard. I creased my forehead, questioning her presence in the room. Even though I was just portraying I don't know her, it seems like it was working. Ilang hakbang pa lang din ang nagagawa niya at hindi pa nakararating sa atin and then she stopped. I feel like she wanted to run away and forget about me.

Does she want to forget about me?

Or maybe she was traumatized and I'm adding more pile on it?

I noticed her hands were shaking and I feel like I couldn't handle seeing her anymore in that kind of situation. I broke out in laughed and her shoulder dropped when that happened. I'm not sure if she was happy and relieved about it, but she didn't show any reaction other than that.

"You should see your face, Cory..." He laughed.

She walked towards me and she hit me softly on my hand where she almost hit the dextrose and quickly apologizes for it. I feel like what I did to her is something I shouldn't have done, but it looks like she didn't mind.

She exhaled and in the way she did that, I could sense a depth of sadness.

"But Douglas... you should've seen my face when you almost died there earlier..."

I stopped laughing when she mentioned that and I regret the thing I did which in the first place, I should've thought about it. I slowly get up and reach for her hand, I hold it and squeeze it just to make her feel that I don't feel good about it, too. But she looked away and avoided any glance at me. She was quiet and her breathing seems to be going fast.

"I'm sorry..." I muttered.

"It's okay..." she replied. "What's mattered now is that you're here..."

"Yeah... so what really happened there? Naalala ko lang na tumalon ako saka lumagapak ang mukha ko sa tubig. After that, wala na akong maalala. Nagulat na nga lang ako kanina na bakit nandito ako... so I drowned? For real?" I wondered.

"For real."

"Hinalikan mo dapat ako. 'Yong CPR mo talaga ang magliligtas sa akin, e," pangbibiro ko pa.

"I did, Doug..." she uttered, and the way she said it, I couldn't believe it. I look at her face, it was sad. "I thought it will... but it did not. But I'm... I'm happy you're still alive..."

She wasn't able to continue her words when she quickly come and hugged me. I was surprised when she did that and the way I hurt her in the dumbest way I thought would be fun, it was stupid. I put my arms around her and hugged her tightly. Her body was shaking and I felt so bad.

She slowly parted herself away from me. "Tama na... abuso ka na." 

I laughed at what she said.

"Mahal mo talaga ako, 'no?"

"Mahal ka riyan, assuming ka." Ngisi pa nito. "Sabihin na lang natin... you're someone I don't wanna lose."

I smirked, shaking my head. "Ayaw na lang diretsyuhin pa. Gano'n lang din naman meaning no'n."

"Bahala ka sa buhay mo. Basta happy ako na... basta."

"Ito naman nagbibitin pa," aniko. "'Di bale, saan na tayo? Tutuloy na ba tayo sa Big Lagoon? May Secret Lagoon pa tayong pupuntahan."

"Hindi na," patapos niyang tugon. "Hindi na tayo tutuloy pupunta sa mga binanggit mo. You'll stay here tonight untilo tomorrow. Aalis lang tayo just to go to our next flight. Magpahinga ka lang. Saka sabi ng doctor, you can't do any extreme activities for now. That cliff diving almost took your life. Diver ka nga, nalunod ka naman."

"Iba kasi sinisisid ko, babe..." I winked at her.

"Mukha mo sisid. Basta, dito na lang tayo muna. After this, bukas dadaan tayo ng hotel para kunin natin 'yong mga gamit natin pero mamaya baka pumunta ako para kumuha lang ng ibang damit. Magpahinga ka lang... sa Cuyo na ulit tayo maggagala. I just couldn't lose you..."

When she said those words, I felt something there so I reached for her hand and tightened the way I am holding her. I pulled her in and then she lay down next to me and she used my other arm as her pillow while we both decided to watch a movie on the hospital television. 

"'Wag mo sasabihin sa parents ko na na-hospital ako kapag nasa Cuyo na tayo, ha?"

Napakunot ang noo niya. "Bakit naman? I think they deserve to know naman. I was about to give them a call nga... nakalimutan ko lang gawin."

"Basta, ako na. Basta."

"Okay..." Kibit balikat nitong sagot.

Habang nanonood kaming dalawa, I asked her if I could watch the video on her camera and if there was anything saved on it after the accident. She said it did save. She hesitated at first if she would let me watch it as it could be traumatizing for me. Kung na-trauma na siya sa nakita niya, baka iba pa lalo ang maramdaman ko.

When she played it, I laughed for the first few minutes until the time I jumped and hit the water and nothing happened after that. Natulala na lang ako dahil wala rin akong maalala sa nangyari. All I could remember, I was falling from the cliff and after that, it was all blank in my head. We're both silence after watching it. 

She suggested we should delete the video, but I didn't let her do it even though it shows vividly what happened there. Napabitaw na lamang ako nang malalim na hininga at itinabi sa gilid ang camera.

I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath and let it go out of my mouth. I focus on watching the television instead, but I know the person next to me was watching me.

"You know Douglas... when I came here, I felt like nothing's gonna stop me. When we met, nothing's gonna us. We're free to do anything we want. My ex-fiance doesn't even last here. It's not someone who can split us apart, not a person, but this kind of wonder... the wonder we're after, we're up against the wonder and you almost died for it."

"There's always a risk in everything," I uttered, I don't want to be emotional, but I guess my voice decided to break this time. "But we can't be free if we're not battling every fight we encounter. The wonder is there already, we just have to find a safe place to do it. But it's not always safe... and I'm one of the unfortunate ones. I'm the casualty, but I'm still free..."

We're both in silence thinking of how everything went. The only noise that kept the room alive is the sound from the television.

"We're not Jack and Rose..." I uttered and she looked at me with furrowed brows. "You're Cinderella and I'm the Prince Charming... we'll have our own happy ending... we will..."

We don't know how we'll do it and how this trip is going to end, but we're still positive that everything will come to fall into a good place, especially for Cory. She doesn't know it yet, but there are wonders awaiting her in Cuyo and I can't wait for her to witness it.

For almost an hour and a half, we're watching the movie, and when it ended, Cory turned the television off.

"Matulog ka muna. Magpahinga ka."

"Ayoko nga."

"Mukha mo. You should be resting. Ang sabi ng doctor ay nagkaroon ka ng mild concussion, it wasn't that bad—pero siguro deserve at ngayon na naalog na ang utak mo, titino ka na, 'no?"

I laughed at what she said. I grabbed her and enclosed her in my arms and wouldn't let her go.

"Naku, Douglas! 'Yong dextrose mo, magdudugo 'yan dahil ang kulit-kulit mo." Pinagpapalo-palo niya ang kamay ko para lang bitawan ko. I did and she quickly move away from me. "Napaka mo."

"Are we going to stay here for the night?"

Tumango ako. "Yes, kaya nga kailangan mo magpahinga. 'Wag na matigas ang ulo, please?"

"Sige... ibang ulo na lang ang titigas," bulong ko.

"Ano 'yon?" pamaywang niyang tanong sa akin.

"Wala, a?"

"Bababa lang ako... bili lang ako foods natin—food ko.  May libre ka namang food, e. Idedeliver nila rito sa kwarto mo. Mas bagay sa 'yo, 'yon."

"'Yong totoo, saan ka pupunta?"

"Sa baba nga? Anong akala mo sa akin? Sinungaling?"

I shook my head at napangisi. "No... baka kasi iwanan mo ako rito, e. Wala akong pera pambayad saka malayo ang Coron. Mahirap lumangoy pabalik do'n."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it. At saka hindi kita iiwan dito. Hindi rin ako pupunta sa hotel natin kahit mas comfortable ro'n matulog. Hindi kaya ako mang-iiwan. Hindi ako ghoster."

"Well, let's see..."

She grabbed the pillow on my side and throw it on my face. She quickly run her way towards the door and walked out avoiding my revenge.

I lay down on my back and let out a deep breath. I stare at the white ceiling and took a deep breath and let it go slowly.

"Well, life sucks, but I must continue... thank God, I'm still alive... and I'm here to live for it..."

I smiled and imagined wonderful things with Cory.

***