Stories from the wires: To beleive or not to you'll be the judge...





part 1 My cellphone's beeping sound woke me up one night.
Used to receiving important messages only, I grabbed my cell and
sleepily
pushed
the keys and read the message.

"Hi there! Care 2 b my txtmate?" Not knowing who the sender was, I
deleted
the
message right away and placed the phone on my bedside table, I tried to
go
back
to sleep.

I had just closed my eyes when I heard the message tone again.
"Hi there, again! Care 2 b my txtmate?" again, the message said.
"Who the hell could this be asking for a txtmate at the wee hours of
the
night?"
I asked myself. Again, without bothering to reply I deleted the
message.

I was never a 'textmaniac' - someone who enjoys texting anyone
andeveryone
even
at the wee hours of night, not to mention during the day. My parents,
who
were
always out of the country forced me to own a cellphone. They told
me that having one was more convenient - they could monitor me even if
they're
miles away.

I wanted to turn the unit off, but since my mother was fond of calling
meat
night, just to check if I was safe at home, I decided not to.

Just as I was to close my eyes and return to my dreamlesssleep, the
phone
beeped
again.

Same number...Such determination!
"Pls reply 2 dis msg & b an angel & save me frm dis abyss of
emptiness!!!" I never knew why, but the message struck me. I got up and
pushed
the keys...
I just realized I was replying to the message.

"Im not an angel, n f u want som1 2 save u, m not superman... I'm just
a
simple
prson who u wake up at dis r of my nyt!!! Nway, do I know u?" I typed.

Seconds later came the reply.
"Nope. U don't know dis lonely soul. Nor does she know u. But I want 2
bur
frnd.
I'm Mikaella Cervantes. U?"

"Just call me Julius. How'd u get my no.?" I sent back.

"Hi Julius, nice 2 meet u. Just shuffled the last two digits ofmine,"
she replied.
That was the first and maybe the last time I met someone over the
cellphone.
We exchanged messages and learned so much about each other that night.
We
only
said goodbye when my alarm clock rang at 5:00 AM! I had to preparefor
school!

And that was also how it all started. A day would not pass without
itloving
and
thoughtful messages from her. It was only then I had learned to
appreciate
text
messages and become eager and excited everytime my phone beeped, hoping
it
would
be her.

Mikaella brought out something about me that I never knew I had; I
realized
I
could also be a romantic person... even if it's just through text
messaging.

"Keep me as a frnd & I will keep u in my heart. Lock it up & throw
away d key so dat no1 can evr tke u away from me..." One day, she sent
this
message
to me.

I replied: 'In life, we seldom find a true prson & f u evr find 1,
hold on & nvr let go... value dat prson coz it's lyf's gift worth
keeping &
holdin on..."

I never knew why, but her response sent shivers to my spine, " Value d
pipol
hu
hav touched ur life bcoz u will never know just wen dey will walk out
of ur
lyf
& nvr come back again."

I couldn't understand what I felt that moment, but one thing I was sure
though... I could not go on a day without a single word from her. I'd
become
used to having her, eventhough we had not met personally. But truly,
she
already occupied a space, a large one, in fact in my life.

I texted her back. "Dont come close f l8r ull jst pass by; don't touch
me f
l8r
ull jst let me cry; dont luv me f l8r ull jst leave me and won't
stay..."

I didn't know why I sent her that message, but somehow I felt, every
word
came from my heart. In the short span of time we were sending
messages to each other, I knew, I was starting to keep her in my heart.

I called her once. The voice on the other end was like an angel's.
Soft, kind, full of love. Yet, there was something in it I couldn't
define.
We only talked for a few minutes. Before she hung up, she told me not
to
call
again. According to her, it would be better if we would just text each
other.

But the voice kept ringing, not only in my head, but in my heart, I'd
long
to
hear it once more. I tried to call her again, but she never answered
the
phone.
She just kept on sending messages and quotations, which I copied in
a little notebook.



Hopeless romantic? I didn't know. All I could say was
that all the messages she sent me were wonderful, they came from the
heart
and
cut through the heart.

"Though we r miles apart, u r always n my heart. I close my eyes & der
u r.
Even f I'll see u never, I'll always b hir 2 care 4 u, far longer dan
4ever..." One December night, she sent me this message. By that time we
had
been
exchanging messages for more than a month. God knew how happy I was.
She was right. Although we had not seen each other, what we felt was
enough
to
make us both realize what was keeping us together.

I sent her another message, "Loving u secretly is a hard thing 4 me 2
do,
hoping, wondring that u will feel d same way 2, but I can't read ur
mind f u
luv
me 2. But whatever it is, I'll still be loving u."

"How I wish I cud really tell u how much u mean 2 me, but m afraid 2
love,
scared 2 get hurt... I hope dat u will wait 4 me & pray dat u will not
get
tired
of loving me...=)" was her reply.

And then I replied again. " The reason y I met u is bcoz of destiny but
f
destiny will suggest dat I'll live w/o u, den, I'll lie not by destiny
but
of
free will."

Whenever I asked her when we would meet personally, she always
answered,
"Soon...soon, love...soon."

Not seeing each other did not lessen, even a bit, what I felt for
her...rather, it even grew deeper and stronger each day. And I was
sure,she
felt
the same way, too. Love messages continued to flow through our lines,
between
our hearts, which made us go on each day with the thought that sooner,
we
would
see each other, face to face, heart to heart.

Just a few days before Christmas. She stopped sending messages. At
first I
just
though she had ran out of prepaid. but there was something that kept
bothering
me... I couldn't understand what was it, but it made me fell
nervous. I tried to call her but she wouldn't answer. Nevertheless, I
continued
sending messages.

Suddenly one night, just three days before our Lord's birthday. I
heard my phone's message tone again... at last! It was from her!

"Oftentyms we say gudbye 2 d 1 we luv w/o wanting 2. Though dat doesn't
mean
dat
we stopped loving dem or we stopped 2 care. Sometyms, GOODBYE is a
painful
way 2
say I LOVE YOU."

I was dumfounded. I didn't know what to think of. What did she mean? I
texted
her back, searching for answers, but found nothing. I called her but
she
would
not answer.

For the first time in my life, I felt so miserable...desperate...
empty. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to lose her. I had
learned to
love her. And I wanted to be with her forever.

The following days I felt nothing but emptiness. It seemed that
Mikaella took the life out of me. I missed her so much...her
messages...The
tones that would tell me she'd sent another loving message. Nothing
around
me
could feel the emptiness I felt.

Tut...tut...tut...tut...tut...just a day before Christmas, my cell
beeped again. It was her!

"Meet me at d cafe, 10 AM 2day," I read aloud, making sure the message
was
true,
then I jumped with joy upon hearing from her again. Hurriedly, I got
myself
ready and I went to the mall. I knew it was still early, but I wanted
to be
there before she arrived.

I arrived at the meeting place ten minutes earlier. I was surprised to
see her already there, smiling at me. She was very beautiful, Black,
deep-set
eyes that spoke a thousand words; small,kissable lips; a nose
perfectly chiseled and long black hair - everything in her was
beautiful.
And
yes, her eyes radiated kindness and love...but there was a flicker of
something
in them...sadness?

"Hi, Julius," said the angelic voice I had been dreaming of each
night. The voice that I had waited to hear for so long. "Please sit
down."

"I am very pleased to meet you, Mikaella," I said, as I took my seat
and
gave
the roses I brought for her.

"Thanks, Julius," she smiled, obviously pleased with the roses. I knew
she
loved
pink roses.

"You are always welcome, Love"

"Julius, I can't stay," she said, sadness in her voice, or was it
tears? "I
really must go."

"But we just met, Mikaella. Can't we talk a little longer?" I asked,
pleadingly.
"I can't really. I just came here to see you and thank you for the
time you shared with me. Thank you for everything, Julius. I will never
forget
you...you will always be here in my heart." She was looking at me
straight
into
the eyes, and I could really feel the sadness in her voice and I swear,
there
was something in her voice and I swear, there was something in those
lovely
yet
lonely eyes...

She got up and smiled at me, lovingly. "Tomorrow morning, please come
and
visit
me," he said and gave me a piece of white linen paper.

I read what was written and when I looked up, she was gone.

The following day, Christmas, I woke up early and excitedly readied
myself,
thinking of her. I hurriedly went to a flower shop and bought a dozen
pink
roses
- for Mikaella.

They lived in an exclusive subdivision. Upon reaching their house, I
told
the
guard who I was and that I was looking for Mikaella.

The guard stared at me, sadness and amazement in his eyes and told me
to
wait as
he called the owner of the house. As I looked at him while he was going
inside
the house, only then I noticed that the house was brightly lit.

A woman went out and walked towards me, smiling sadly.

"Hi, I'm Maria, Mikaella's mother. Please come inside, Julius." While
we
were
walking towards the mansion, she explained to me why she knew me very
well - Mikaella had always been talking about her friend, Julius. I
hardly understood what she was saying.

I was busy thinking why Mikaella's mother was crying while talking to
me. As
we
came near the great hall of thehouse,
it dawned on me that there was a wake inside, Maybe, a relative passed
away,
I
thought. But deep in my heart, I was trembling and afraid.

As we entered the hall where so many people were silently mourning
while
others
were praying, shaking, I asked her mother. "Where is Mikaella?"

She held my hand and silently, led me to the coffin which was
surrounded by flowers - pink roses, nothing but pink roses.

No words could explain how I felt when I gazed at the coffin and saw
who was
lying there. The same beautiful girl I met...

A man came beside me, I knew he was Mika's father.

"We are so glad you came, Julius. Mika talked of you all the time. She
even
asked that her phone be buried with her. She said that in that way, you
could
still send her messages and you would always be with her."

I couldn't believe everything...My mind was in limbo.

"But how can this be? We just saw each other yesterday."

"That can't possibly be. She passed away three days ago. She had been
suffering
from a heart disease since she was a child," said her father.

"But..." I couldn't find the words to say.

"She told us not to bother reaching you, "her mother said, still in
tears,"
she said you will come, and here you are.

Pain and bitterness overwhelmed me. I cried silently beside her,
staring at her lovely face, memorizing every line of my friend's face,
a
face I
knew I would never forget while I was still alive.

After the internment that afternoon, I went to the chapel she had told
me
she
went everyday.

Sitting there praying and crying to God, I held my phone and typed: "U
taught me
how 2 care; u taught me how 2 b kind; u shwd me how 2 lyk som; u
shwd me how 2 luv; but ders 1 thing u didnt teach me & it hurts mor - u
didnt
teach me how 2 let go. I LOVE YOU"

I sent the message, and though I knew she wouldn't be able to hold her
CP
again,
I knew in my heart she would get my message. I never expected a
reply, yet as my phone beeped again, I felt a shiver down my spine.
The sender's number did not appear on the screen, and tears rolled down
my
cheeks as I read the message.

"Let go of d hand of d prson u love, but dnt let go of God's hand. 4 if
u
hold 2
his hand. He may b holding d prson u love n d ader hand 2 let u hold
each
other
again
"I will never forget you, Mikaella and I will never let go..." I vowed
to
her
and to myself as I left the church.

Then just before I exit the gate, someone in a hurry approach and grab
my
celphone!

LOVE IS forever.