SELEN woke up with a jolt when she felt something rough touch her face. She immediately opened her eyes and saw her cat Lulu above her chest, licking her face. When did she get home? She sat up and propped a hand on her forehead. Reinald must have brought her home after passing out last night. Damn her low alcohol tolerance. She could not even stand a can of beer.
She left the bed and headed to the bathroom. Lulu followed her and sat in between her feet as she washed her face.
Mew!
She lowered her gaze at her cat when it meowed. “You wait a little more, okay?”
Lulu rubbed her cheek against her leg.
Selen was gargling when she heard a commotion outside the house.
“Ah… mic test! Hello, mic test!”
She spits the water inside her mouth to the mirror in front of her. It was Sage’s voice, and it was coming from a loudspeaker. What the hell was he doing? Selen ran out of the bathroom and headed to the window.
She saw a trailer truck blocking their street. Sage was on that trailer truck holding a microphone. Behind him was a five-man band with their instruments. What was he planning to do?
Selen bumped her head on the windowpane and immediately hid behind the curtain when she saw him look in her direction.
“Selen, I know you are in there. Don’t be afraid and come out now,” Sage said in the microphone.
Darn, the speakers were too loud. He could be heard in the whole neighborhood.
“Selen.”
She turned in the direction of the door and found Nana Violy beckoning her to come over.
She pulled her curtains close and sauntered towards her grandma.
“What is he doing?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you come downstairs and—”
Their eyes both grew wider when they heard the band start playing a song. Selen could only bite her lower lip when she heard Sage begin singing. Okay, he deserves an Oscar’s for his acting, but he would never make it to Grammy’s. She ran downstairs to put an end to his show.
“I’ll always love you, and make you happy. And nothing else could come between. But if you leave me to love another, you’ll have shattered all of my dreams… You are my sunshine, my only sunshine—”
“Stop!”
“Selen…” Sage raised his hand, and the band stopped playing.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped. “Are you nuts?”
“Well, I’m serenading you.” He passed the microphone to one of the band members and walked towards her. “Did you like it?”
He was grinning from ear to ear.
“You’re…” She heaved a sigh. “Are you doing this to get even with me?”
He caressed his chin and shook his head. “No. I’m doing this because I want the whole world to know what I feel for you.”
“Sage—”
“Wait, okay? You haven’t my side yet.” He jumped down from the trailer truck. “Please, give me a chance to tell you… If you still hate me after this, then I will stay away from you.”
Selen looked at him and sighed. Of course, she wanted to hear his side. She had been dying to know what he has to say.
“That day when you trespassed at my place, I already knew that there was something in you that no other girl in the world possessed. You caught my attention. That is why when I learned about that favor your grandma asked Marceline, I didn’t hesitate to participate.” Sage held her hands. “Because there’s this voice at the back of my head telling me that I wanna be with you. I never believe in supernaturals, superstitions, witchcraft, and other things with backup from Science. But with you… I learned to believe in the things that I couldn’t see. For whatever reason we met, it doesn’t matter to me, Selen…”
Her eyes were suddenly wet with tears. Sage’s words made her heart ecstatic, and the feeling was too overwhelming for her to contain.
Sage pulled her closer to his body and wrapped his arms around her waist. Not only that, he pressed their foreheads afterwards, leaving a small space between their lips. And just like that, the butterflies in her belly woke up and started chanting, circling her stomach non-stop.
“I’m not fond of fancy words, Selen, but let me tell you once… You don’t need any potion to make me fall in love with you. Because by simply being you, you found your way to my heart. And you planted a seed called love…”
“Oh, Sage…” She felt her cheeks burning. “You’re embarrassing me in front of these people.”
He raised a hand and cupped her cheeks. “You look pretty when you blush, and I like that…”
Sage crossed that little distance between their lips. His soft, luscious lips seemed to be a remedy that cured her broken heart in an instant. If not for the people watching them at that moment, she would clutch her legs on his waist and wrap her arms around his neck.
“Do you love me, Selen?” he asked after the kiss.
“And I said yes?”
He laughed heartily and pulled her for a tight hug.
“Ah, Selen… what will I do to you?”
“Just love me for the rest of your life.” She buried her face on his chest and breathed on his invigorating scent.
“Am I forgiven now?”
“I let you kiss me. Do you think I could still hate you after that?” She distanced herself a bit. “But I still wanna know why you didn’t answer my call last night…”
“I’m sorry. Believe me, I didn’t mean that. I left my phone at home out of panic when I rushed Sean to the hospital—”
“Oh, God! What happened to Sean?” She clenched the sleeves of his shirt.
“Well, it turned out he has VSD. But he’s okay now.”
“Oh, that poor little thing…”
Sage caressed her arms. “Shall we go to the hospital?”
“Of course, I’m his mom now. He needs us by his side.”
“Thank you, Selen…” He kissed her forehead. “Thank you for loving me and Sean.”
THE END
EPILOGUE
After one year…
“HAPPY birthday to you… Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday, dear Sean… Happy birthday to you…”
“Make a wish and blow your candles,” Sage told their son.
Sean clasped his hands above his chest and closed his eyes. His lips moved as he uttered a silent prayer. When he opened his eyes again, he blew the candle.
And then…
“Sage!” Selen grasped her husband’s arm. “My water broke…”
“Oh, God…” He carried her to his arms abruptly. “Nana Cora, please look after Sean.”
Nana Violy appeared from upstairs with a bag and opened the door for them.
Selen was brought to the hospital, where she gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. She was groggy and exhausted from childbirth. She fell asleep right after.
“Miss… where is my husband?” she asked the nurse when she woke up.
Her eyes wandered around the room, but there was no sign of him, even Nana Violy. It made her feel anxious. She was so scared that Sage might be dead because of the curse. She covered her face with her palms and cried.
“What’s the matter?” the nursed asked. “Don’t cry, Ma’am. I’ll call them. Wait…”
She did not know what to do if she were to be a widow at a young age with a newborn baby and a five-year-old kid to raise. It was so heartbreaking that they only got a year together as a family.
“Sage…” she cried.
“Hey, what happened?”
She raised her head and looked in the direction of the voice. Selen found her husband sitting on the edge of the bed, caressing her head. She sat up immediately and hugged him as tightly as she could. Letting him go was the last thing that she would want. She feared that something bad might happened to Sage.
“Selen…” She felt his lips on her temple. “Everything is fine. There is nothing to worry about.”
“I was so afraid when I opened my eyes and you are not here beside me. I thought something bad happened and—”
“It didn’t happen… Calm down now.”
She distanced herself from him. “This is not a dream, right? You’re still alive…”
“Of course.” Sage smiled and kissed her quickly on the lips.
“Then where is Nana Violy?”
“I left her at the NICU. We were looking at our baby girl when the nurse told me that you’re awake and crying.”
Selen let out a sigh of relief as she leaned her head on his chest.
“The curse must have been revoked… because you love me for real…”