guys , my apologies in advance…very little sex on this post , but please do read …
The Treasure of You
By Rhyme Lopez ([email protected])
”Everyone settle down please , I have an announcement to make. As all of you know , I’ve been in the company for more than half my life…the journey hasn’t been a prowl in the park for sure , but it’s nothing short of an exciting adventure , and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else…(deep sigh) …Today marks the end of this journey. I’m stepping down as chairman and president of Vedasco Enterprises”. Mr. Lyndon Chua addressed his subordinates for the last time.
A sudden hush filled the room . A few sobs were heard. All eyes wet as everyone in the party from the executive office to the rank and file came over and gave the man they’d known to respect and love a farewell embrace , a solid grip in the hand as if to say , “job well done”,some murmured praises and gratitude . All proud of the man who steered the company to successful heights and improved the standard of living of everyone on board.
His family lovingly gathered around him , his wife in hand and three grown up kids.
Mr. Lyndon Chua , in his sixties , sporting a gray lock hair , legs a bit heavier now , was giving up leadership position of the company he’d led successfully for years. He was a picture of a proud and content man . Everyone was wishing him well.
The following day Mr. Lyndon Chua came to his office to gather the last of his personal belongings – family photos , plaques , trophies , many other mementos of his long , storied career with the company now neatly stocked in boxes. He noticed a crumpled letter fluttered in the air. He studied the piece of paper , he thought it familiar. Then just like the first time when he first got hold of that letter he got weak . Nostalgia bit him like annoying buzzing mosquitoes. He took the letter , folded it and put it in his pocket , resisting the urge to read it right away.
With the help of a few staff he put the boxes at the backseat of his LEXUS SUV . That day he decided not to rush home. Whatever plan he had was suddenly altered by what he thought was strange reemergence of an old letter.
Today he was going to the old park , the only place which hadn’t changed through the years. It had been decades since he’d been there. The letter he found will now let him confront a phantom from the past he had chosen to ignore , but he knew in his heart there was no escaping of it one day. That day was today .
Mr.Lyndon Chua sat on a concrete bench that seemed to have welcomed an old friend. He observed the people on the park . Fewer kids now than what it used to be , he saw a couple of young lovers wrapped in each other’s arms oblivious to everyone around them , an ice cream vendor serving a little kid and stray mongrels fighting over some thrash .
A deep sigh escaped him , then he pulled from his polo’s pocket that old familiar piece of paper he had only read once…
Dearest Don ,
No apologies can ever give justice to the pain I’ve caused you. Believe me I’m suffering too. Last night when we talked , I thought it would provide some closure , but it did not. If there was one thing it did – it only made me love and miss you more.
When we made love , each kiss …each caress …each embrace – special. I loved it when you undressed me , your eyes wanting …there was so much love there , Love that I now have forfeited, love I could no longer claim to be mine.
Will miss your mouth exploring every estate of my body …from my lips to my bosom to the deepest part of me … I have never before experienced such joy… you had made me come so many times I’d lost count. And when you parted my legs and placed your family’s jewel on the portal of my womanhood , I knew then that I was in for more pleasure , more ecstasy , more love…as only you can give.
But what can I do Don ? We are both very poor. And a poor person just doesn’t have the right to follow his/her heart. Poor people have no business falling in love lest they want to perpetuate themselves in poverty. I know you meant well when you told me that we could conquer the world together , and while in my heart I believe that you are destined to achieve great things , I also know that I’m not brave enough to wait for that .
I know I’m gonna be miserable for the rest of my life for pinning my hope on someone who doesn’t even come close to the love I have for you , please forgive me.
The day will come when we will be together again …I will be there Don…I will be there…
Olive
A blast of lightning painted the sky in flashes of yellow forks ,thunder roared like a caged beast struggling to let go as droplets of rain began to fall , Mr. Lyndon Chua walked back to his LEXUS head down and shoulder slightly hunched forward , the pain he had as a young man resurfaced , and hit him like a dagger once more . He couldn’t breath . He could only inhale a scream. Inside the SUV he felt his heart beat faster , he knew where he wanted to go – to confront her once and for all.
He drove a few miles and stopped at a quiet and peaceful village. A guard met him at the gate , Mr.Lyndon Chua asked him if he could lead him to someone , the guard gladly obliged.
”Dito po sya sir “, the guard stopped and gave him a little space.
”Salamat at nadalaw mo na rin ako Don , akala ko kasi nakalimutan mo na ako”. There she was Olive in her youth , flashing that smile and love in her eyes that he knew so well. He wanted to say something but decided against it.
They hugged as tears fell freely from their eyes . The love they had rekindled one last time.
”I have never stopped loving you Don ….never…”
Mr.Lyndon Chua found himself alone crying … she was no more…gone was the hatred he had for the woman who never gave him the chance… The cobblestone read :
Rest In Peace
Mrs. Olivia Perez – James
1950 – 2009
He came home late that night , his wife of 30 years puzzled why he was all drenched. She studied him , then he hugged her the way he had never hugged her before. Her wife surprised hugged him back. Their eyes both moist , then she said a silent prayer of gratitude in her heart for the man she’d spend the rest of her twilight years with….
End.