Crossing the River

It was a dark and stormy night; the electric power from Meralco was turned off for safety purposes. The headlights of automobiles were turned off too because everyone were stranded for three hours with other motorists, commuters and passengers. Inside the jeep that I was riding on were wet and chilling passengers.



            Three hours was too long to wait and yet we did not move not even a single inch. My bump started to numb and I was no longer able to hold myself so I ran down and looked for a place to pee. It was really dark and it was so hard to see with my eyes blurred. I continued walking slowly and carefully.



            Oops! I almost slipped! Thank God I was able to balance myself and prevented from falling. I continued walking until I found the place that I was looking for and started pouring out.



            As I was about to return, I saw commotion of people, I was not sure but they were staring at something down the river. I did not bother because of the rain, so I hurriedly returned on the jeep.



            When I returned on the jeep, I noticed a young lady who was sitting at the end. She was still and alone. She was covering her mouth with a handkerchief, her eyes were sparkling in the night and her fingers were trembling. ‘She’s cold’ I told myself. I felt something that pushed me beside her. The girl was still chilling and trembling; I could even hear her teeth chattering.



            “Miss, are you ok?” I asked.



            She just stared and took a deep sigh.



            I was worried because she looked so frail. I took off my jacket – it dried already – and put it on her. She did not refuse and hugged herself even more. “Warm yourself.” Her eyes looked weary and troubled. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t cause you any harm.” She did not say anything; she bowed down and leaned on the side.



            While she slept, I stared at her face very carefully, memorizing every single detail. She has the beautiful face I have ever seen, the angelic face I never dreamt. I never believed in love at first sight, but that very night, I felt the magic of love struck.



            4 long hours had pass, I did not notice that I had also slept; it was too late when I realized it. When I woke up, I saw my jacket beside me but the lady was no longer to be found. She may be tired of sitting all night that she went out for stretching. The sun was already peeping behind the clouds, the rain stopped already, the wind was already still and the traffic jam started flowing.



            “Poor young man,” I heard someone saying from outside. “He should have been saved if it was not too dark,” someone added.



            I was curious and started wondering, our jeep was not yet moving so I asked the driver, “Sir why aren’t we moving yet?” but he did not answer. He went down and walked towards the crowd.



            To satisfy my curiosity I went down and followed him. I saw the lady, she was sobbing and it caused my heart into breaking. I draw nigh unto her but she kept on ignoring me. Her sobbing turned to mourning when 4 men brought up the dead body from the river. I felt strange – I was feeling so insecure because of the lady’s reaction upon seeing the dead.



            I glanced and stole the chance to see the body. I felt lost. I could not feel my body; I could not even swallow the warm liquid in my mouth. Something was pulling up the warm thumping thing inside me. I would like to scream but I could not hear myself. I started trembling then I fell down on my knees. “How?” I asked myself. “This could not be,” I whispered on myself. The lady I saw came close to me; she tapped my back and hugged me tight. She was still crying that I could not understand why.



            “Why?” she asked. “This is no joke Lucas, please wake up now.”



            “How did you know my name?” I asked so confused. I waited for an answer but she did not respond. She was still hugging my body. “How did you know me?”



            The girl’s locket suddenly fell on the ground. It opened and… “NOOOOOOO!”



            “Miss, do you know him?” huge man asked her.



            “H-He is my husband sir,” she answered between her sobbing.



            I was shocked. I was her husband and she was my wife. But why did I know nothing? What happened to me? Does a dead person forget everything as if nothing did really happen?



            If I died on that night, why could I still read and write? And if you are able to read this, maybe you are like me. Are we dead for real or are we alive only in our minds?