"I think I'll have one regret forever..." Althea casually mumbled.

"And that will be...?" Analyn asked though she had a few guesses.

"I wasn't able to know how 'Love Is...' ended."

"Maybe, it didn't have an end. Maybe, it's forever... Just like us." Alon said jokingly.

"Maybe." Althea and Analyn spoke at the same time.
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Some years had passed away and everyone was getting steady in their lives. War was already finished and Alon had ascended the throne as the new Datu and the country was growing more beautifully than ever. Especially Alab and Chesa. They had lost so many years due to their circumstances and emotions. But now, they were going to mend things in a proper way. Today, they were going to get married.

As an archipelago of over 7,000 islands that served as home to a variety of peoples and cultures, there was no single template for a Filipino wedding. However, every unique tradition was reflective of a deep sense of family and community. And Althea was going to enjoy every moment of it.

Their wedding preparations began months ago. The two families were going to greet each other in the very first step. Known in Tagalog as pamamanhikan, this acted as the first official step in a Filipino wedding. It traditionally symbolized an official proposal to the bride and the bride’s family, thus combining their families together. Chesa had no parents alive for this custom so, Analyn' family took it in their hands to take care of everything in this wedding. They shared sugarcane wine and played drinking games for the families to get to know each other.

Wedding announcements were made and everyone busied themselves with the preparation. Finally, it was happening today. Chesa and Alab were already in the middle of performing the rituals. During the ceremony, the couple asked for blessings from their parents by touching the back of their hands to their foreheads.

Then, their respective Godparents draped a ceremonial lace veil over the bride’s head and the groom’s shoulder to symbolize being clothed as one. A ceremonial cord called a yugal was wrapped around the couple in a figure eight. This symbolized an eternal bond of fidelity.

Two wedding sponsors each lighted a pair of candles located at each side of the bride and groom. The couple later was going to take a candle each, and light the unity candle together, signifying their union, as well as the union of their families. Their wedding was almost going to end and Althea was feeling a different sort of happiness.

No ceremony was finished here without Rice as it was the sign of blessing. Grains of rice were thrown over newlyweds as they exited from the church, symbolizing bounty and rain—commonly read as a sign of good blessings.

Someone, she loved was getting married to the love of her life. And, Althea couldn't find a greater joy. It amazed her how she wasn't getting irritated over the word 'love' anymore. It was as if this word had become a part of her day-to-day life. She wanted to capture these precious memories and keep it alive in her heart forever. It was that magical.
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"Belle âme..." Althea subconsciously said looking at the retreating figure of guests. The wedding had finished and all that was left was cleaning the area. Chesa and Melchor had a very private wedding so, it wasn't something that could classify as a heavy work.

"What does that mean?" Melchor asked from behind. He was going to help clean things later, alongside Althea.

"Beautiful soul... Aren't we?"

"We are... After all, we managed to take our lives away from someone else..."

"It was tough but, it may be tougher. I don't know what the story ahead of us is, so things can get a bit unpredictable."

"Isn't that something that makes life and us, 'belle âme'?" Melchor' words made Althea come up with her own smile.

Of course, things would be unpredictable and whatnot but, everyone was prepared for things. It was their life after all. And, they were going to make it amazing with their 'belle âme'...
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Number of words : 691
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It's finished!!! I can't believe I was able to do it today. It was seven updates in two days. The deadline is tomorrow after all. A very hard milestone to achieve. Thank you so much who read and gave this book a chance. I'll be forever grateful.

Hopefully, we would be able to ascend to the Heavenly Realm with this. Thank you once again.

And.... (Edit : 28th February 2022)

And... (6th June 2022)