// 25 March 2018 - Sydney, Australia //
Anthony was in the sink lathering up his face with a shaving cream as I sat by the window near the bath tub, dealing with the rage of my own emotions. I am grateful that it’s a Sunday morning and that Anthony is not leaving for work today.
Last night's argument with mom made me miss my father more. I wondered, if he was still alive, would he ever agree with my marriage to Anthony and accept him as his son? I know my father. He was happy when I was happy. And sad when I was not.
I reached out to my phone and browsed through the gallery, glancing on father's old photos. I missed him terribly, and the words he’d speak each time I am troubled. Now I understand more why I was always a headache to him.
I shifted my gaze to Anthony, and the pale light of early morning flushing through the side of his face made it clearer I'm falling deeper and deeper in love with him. Then a hasty flashback of my failed engagement with Ethan stroke me, all of a sudden. Fear rushed in like the stream of water when Anthony turned on the faucet, rinsing his razor after each swipe.
I should be happy at this point of my life. Didn’t every newly engaged woman float in the air after the proposal? I reminded myself of this as I pacified myself.
Watching Anthony, I tried to imagine my future with him, what our house would be like. How many floors? What color would be the paint? Would it overlook the ocean? The lake? The river? How many dogs and cats? Should we call them Van Gogh? Earhart? Or simply Choo Choo? And would it even matter if we fill the house with glass walls because I like the sun, to watch it rise and settle everyday on a deck overlooking a green lawn, and a cup of hot choco on the side. And our kids playing under our watch.
Anthony was now wiping his face with a towel, and was about to face me. Undeniably, he looked amazingly clean and relaxed.
“Hey there, love.” Playfully, Anthony winked and sat beside me. I could smell the scent of his after-shave as he gathered me in his arms. “How’s my fiancée this morning, huh?” Softly, he planted a kiss in my forehead and observed me.
“Something wrong?” He gazed deeper as I swayed my head in denial. A lot of things conspired to trouble me at the moment and attempted to ruin my bonding with my future husband. Topping the list is my mother’s disapproval. Till now, I do not know how to respond back to her. All I know for sure is that I’m now bound with uncomfortable choices. And my heart tells me to love Anthony forevermore.
***
// In the afternoon - Coogee Beach, Australia //
In the first week of March 2018, a global news broke out that the oldest message in a bottle was found on a Western Australian remote beach, nearly 132 years after it was thrown into the sea.
Any Australian beach reminded me of my first kiss with Anthony, at the Coogee Beach, in the sunset, the day after we met in the BridgeClimb.
I asked Anthony to come with me to Coogee Beach before we fly to Manila in the coming days. I haven’t told Anthony yet that my family has already known about our engagement, but he must have known it already through my gestures and facial expressions. Apparently, I was hanging in the balance.
“There’s something special about beaches,” I said as Anthony and I were sitting on the seashore, our feet washed over by the cold waves. Anthony was looking far in the sea, his mind somewhere deep.
Today, we visit the place once again, but now as a newly engaged couple. The first time we came here, we were complete strangers.
"What about beaches?" Anthony turned to look at me.
“The beach is special because it is where the ocean embraces the land, where the wreckage of the storm is washed into, where the ripples end.” I shared a look with Anthony after that, then passed a fond look like I wanted to kiss him again, more than the first time we kissed in this very beach, where our fairytale started.
Anthony granted it by kissing me. The taste now is different, sweeter than the last time, longer than ages I wished it wouldn’t end.
Shortly, Anthony got up to get something he wrapped in his towel, something I did not expect he’d bring: a dark bottle, like that of whisky.
“Are we allowed to drink here?” I asked, my voice revealing a blend of worry and thrill.
“No,” Anthony replied, smiling, and spoke excitedly, “I’m throwing a message in a bottle.”
I was bewildered upon hearing it, didn’t expect that Anthony could be this sentimental and romantic.
“I wrote something before we left the apartment,” Anthony said, and I was excited to receive it in my hand and read it.
Anthony brought out a small piece of paper and handed it over to me. There, I read the finest calligraphy that says,
HERE LIE TWO SOULS, ONCE SEPARATED BY OCEANS, UNIFIED BY LOVE FOR ALL ETERNITY. - Anthony Evans & Natalie Park-soon-to-be-Evans
I cried upon reading it. I didn't know Anthony could be this sweet. I wanted to read it over and over, and asked him why he came up with such an idea.
“I noticed in your Google history you visited numerous websites about the oldest message in the bottle. And I thought, why don’t we make our own history? Here, in another Australian beach.”
I couldn’t deny the amazement I felt in that very moment. Anthony keeps on surprising me. He keeps showing things that would only make me love him more and more everyday.
After we both signed on the paper and made sure there's a date and location written, Anthony rolled it inward, like a cigarette, way too careful, laced it tightly with a scarlet ribbon, and then slid it inside the bottle.
I watched Anthony seal the bottle with an insoluble top, making sure it can endure the waters and various phenomenon. With all his might, Anthony threw it into the sea, the waves carrying it slowly away from us.
We watched the bottle drift away from the shore until it was no longer visible to our eyes. Anthony and I only wished the bottle will stand through time, and the message be picked up by those who share our story.