Two personalities from different worlds. Can the troubled pasts that brought them to the same place bring them LOVE? Can love endure their troubled pasts?
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Meet AYA. A 23-year-old cashier in W Supermarket. After getting dumped by...
She was my rock: my life and the love of my life. I promised to love her until my last breath. We promised to be with each other forever.
Just when we were living our dream with our 12-year-old Cid, her sudden death broke us forever. I'd been a dead man walking for years. Nothing was more painful and heartbreaking than losing the only woman I have ever loved. It felt like half of me died with her, leaving an enormous space in my heart.
When we got married, I worked hard to build the W empire. Each step she took was beside me. Her encouragement, praises, and love helped me overcome all the challenges. When I made her my wife, I envisioned us with our children. Our happy family enjoyed the financial success of a business we both worked hard on. Together we dreamed of witnessing our son get married, have his kids and be happy. We were looking forward to getting old together as we enjoyed our grandchildren.
Nothing can ever prepare someone to lose the one he loves. From the moment I promised to make her my wife and the mother of our children, I only envisioned happy times and glorious memories. No one will prepare himself for the death of his other half after getting married. So it left me alone to care for our only son. I tried, but it was hard to comfort someone while also grieving. I had no one to turn to. That's why I cope with the loss in the best way I know. I ensured I could provide for our son through long work hours away from home that reminded me of her. Ultimately, it was the same reason that made me regret the times lost between us, our time as father and son.
How I wish there were a time frame for grieving. Whether someone likes it, the clock will stop, and the pain of losing will suddenly go away on its own. And it will make one renewed and free from all the regrets and longing. So one can be ready to face life again like no one or nothing is missing. But that isn't how life is. I thought before that words of comfort are enough, but when you go through it, nothing, no words, can ever. The reality is when the heart loves; the heart should be ready to get broken. It should prepare one not to receive anything in return when giving. Happiness comes with sadness. But always, when one thing ends, another begins.
Never doubt that every ending means a new beginning. My only regret was I realized it was too late. I missed a decade of moments to be present in my son's life. We lost the chance to grieve and let go of sadness together. My opportunity to prepare my son for the world and get him ready to face it failed. I thought having the means to give him everything could make up for what I lack as a father. I was wrong, and I regretted it.
The longing and love for my wife woke me and made me find myself. I realized that grieving alone, working myself to death, gave me nothing in return. It only pushed my son further away from me. It hurt him so much that the only way for him to live is by killing himself with alcohol every day and being with different women every night. I was so ashamed of myself for seeing what I had made my son become. That's when I decided I had to do what a father should do. Put an end to his unhealthy lifestyle and make him live again.
Choosing a place to send him to was a challenging task. I knew then that with my decision, Cid wouldn't be happy. I hoped he would realize that everything I did and still is doing was in his best interest at the end of it all. After meeting Aya and seeing how she had changed Cid and made him happy every day, I knew I had made the right choice. I believed they were a match made in heaven with the help of my wife and Aya's parents.
In the end, our experiences healed us. We both got what we wanted all along. I got my son back, and he got the family he deserves. Though I'd regret not being with him after his mom's death, I can only move forward. I can't dwell on the regrets of the past all the time. But this time, I'm given a chance to make recent memories with him and his family.
I will ensure that, unlike before, they will always feel my presence. I only have one life to live, and I intend to use my remaining days to leave a legacy that my grandchildren will be proud of. Spend moments together that they will cherish and remember, even when I'm gone. Be the father Cid can look up to and the father Aya never had. The grandfather that Angela and El Cid can love.
Looking back on everything that transpired, life is a mystery we can only realize as we live through it. One can only unravel the mystery it offers by going through its challenges, surviving it all, and appreciating the person we have become after.
I can say that though I regretted hurting people around me at the beginning of my solving life's mystery, I value all the lessons I've gained. Surviving all the tests my way through the years made me realize how strong I can be in times of adversity. Ultimately, I replaced my regrets with the special people in my life, the source of my existence and happiness- my family.
I bid goodbye to all my regrets. It's a time in my life that I would want to embrace all the chances of being with my family and enjoy all the surrounding love. But, thankfully, I've turned all challenges into wisdom and all regrets into realizations.
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