Eternal Promise: Fragments Of Us

SIDAPA

“WE’RE here, my beloved,” I told Libulan. I made him lie down just beside the tree’s protruding roots.

The tree was glowing from all sorts of directions. I left it unattended for a few hours and many souls had died during the time I was away. They must be so lost right now. And newborn sous were scattered everywhere, flickering like fireflies. A weak smile flashed on my face as I watched them dance in midair.

“What’s the point of being born if we are just going to suffer?” I asked myself, then I saw Libulan move a little.

I quickly moved to his side. A restricted groan escaped from my mouth when I felt a sting on my chest, the very spot where I was stabbed earlier by Kaptan’s bare hands. It hurt like hell, but Libulan mattered more.

“Si…dapa…” Libulan called out so weakly. He raised his hand trying to figure out if I was there. I grabbed it and held it tight.

“I am here, my Libulan,” I reassured him, and Libulan smiled in relief.

“I am glad that you’re safe,” he said before shedding his tears.

“Please don’t cry,” I begged, and I gently kissed his hand that was in my grip. “Are you okay?” I asked him.

“I don’t have much time left, my beloved,” Libulan revealed. “After Kaptan took away my powers, I became a mortal, Sidapa. In this mortal body, I am more than 500 years old and should be dead by now,” he explained.

“No! I can’t let you die! We made a promise, Libulan!” I exclaimed. But as I closely looked at his hand, it already started to age rapidly. He was basically transforming into an old man.

Libulan sniffed. “I am very scared, Sidapa,” he admitted. “I don’t want to be separated from you,” he added. “But… if this is our destiny… I want you to know that I will forever love you.”

“No!” I growled and cried in despair. “I can’t accept this, Libulan. And I won’t!” I refused, but Libulan was determined.

“Weren’t you the one who taught me that I shouldn’t change what I believe in just because I heard somebody else’s ideals?” he said softly, and it hit me so hard. “I am doing just that but it doesn’t mean that I will stop loving you,” he added. “There are some things in this world we can’t change, my beloved. Maybe our time wasn’t now. Maybe it’s in the near future.”

[You’re mistaken, my Libulan! There is no longer a future for us!] I screamed in my mind. [We committed a formidable crime that was punishable by death and we are bound to go to Magwayen’s realm and wander the eternal void of nothingness for the rest of our damned lives!]

“You know our last destination, don’t you?” I asked him with a pained expression. Libulan just smiled sweetly. His eyes were already blind at this moment. “Then why are you okay with it?” I asked, then I cried. “I need you, Libulan. Don’t leave me behind. Please stay with me. Don’t leave me behind, Libulan.”

“My Sidapa… My beloved, Sidapa,” he called out my name so dearly. “I want to be close to you,” he requested. To lessen his worry, I mustered to hide the pain I was going through and I lifted Libulan and made him sit next to me. I even rested his back against the tree so he would be comfortable.

“Are you okay?” I reaffirmed as I removed some of his hair strands that were obstructing his beautiful face.

Libulan nodded, and he casually laid his upper body on my lap. “I missed you, my Sidapa.” His aging process was almost at its complete stage. His collarbone down to his feet were already dried out and even started to rot. There was no saving Libulan at this moment, but I didn’t want to give up just yet. “Whatever happens, please don’t do anything reckless,” he said.

There must be something I can do to save the both of us! I thought to myself while holding the delicate body of my lover that felt like if I squeezed it, his bones would literally break into pieces.

“I love you, my Libulan,” I uttered. My breathing became hoarse and the beating of my heart slowed down. “I wish we can stay like this forever.”

When I checked on Libulan, his soul had already separated from his body. The color of his soul was the most beautiful. It had different hues, but just like that leader from that village, the core of Libulan’s soul had black shades. These black taints represented his regret from dying and his hatred towards everyone else that judged us.

Now that he was gone, I felt nothing but numbness and grudge. Why did they have to do this to us? Why did they have to torment Libulan and make him take all the blame? Why did they have to let me see him perish this way?

Why did we have to die like this? Just why?

“If you’re not here, then what’s the point of me staying?” I mumbled to myself as I clenched my fists until it bled.

I gently moved Libulan’s body to the side before I lifted myself up and staggered. My vision was no longer in good condition as my right eye was already blind. The blood in my chest that had a gaping hole had already dried up. Even if I healed overtime, the wound in my heart cannot be mended by time. I was just as good as dead.

I faced the black tree and stared at it for some time. The faint glow it emitted was still waiting for me to collect them. I pressed my blood tainted hand on its trunk before scoffing with sarcasm. I took out my machete that already became a weapon for killing after it absorbed the blood of all those innocent people that I have killed. I pointed the sharp edge at the tree, then I slowly penetrated the tree with it. As I did that with an expressionless face, the tree bled.

All I heard was a gushing sound as I buried my machete deeper into it. I didn’t care anymore. If this was the price for what we did, then I might as well use the last of my powers to cheat with our destiny.

“I won’t let you die, Libulan. I will forever protect you from anyone who tries to harm you. I’d even kill them if I must,” I uttered to myself while looking like a devil. I was aware that I already lost my sanity, but I was desperate to undo everything and start over again.

After carving an opening, I brought my hands towards that hole and slid it in. The blood from the tree dripped on its trunk down to its roots as I forced my hand to fit in that small space. It was like I was robbing the tree of its life.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I heard the pained shrieks of the dead souls that were still stuck inside the tree. They were asking me to stop tormenting them and just send them to the afterlife already.

[Must find the core…] I thought deeply, ignoring the pleading souls.

This tree served as the boundary between life and death; a bridge no mortals or Gods should dare cross. If I took it down, everything would fall into chaos. The realm of the dead and the living would create an imbalance in both existence.

And someone said that the future was already set. No one could alter what was destined to happen or prevent it from happening.

What I am about to do now would be the solid proof that Sidapa and Libulan was no myth.