A New Day Worth Living: Matutay [a short story]

A New Day Worth Living

Posted by Matutay on Aug 31, '08 9:52

The dawn is breaking. She’s breathing a new day for a new life. She stood barefooted behind the window where she’s staring at the sunrise absorbing every color that formed illuminating the sky. The wind contoured her face like the velvety hands she longed to feel. She stood in silence for a while. Only her sobs were to hear if you were on the same room with her. Her fists were clenched as the tears slowly traced down to her cheeks----- and the eyes that wore the weak pretensions before, are now crying and stronger than ever.

She moved in silence to fix her bed. A new day has come. A new day to live the life she chose not only for herself. It is only when she’s alone that the masquerade stops. The faint smiles and doubtful people eying her were gone. The endless dances to meet new acquaintances were not present. She needs no make up. She needs no beautiful dress. She feels secure to herself. She’s at home. Though not literally alone, no one can touch her. In her place right now, no one knows her so no one can judge her. But there’s no one to watch and comfort her either.

The sun is now finally up and it gave her warmth for her dose of real awakening. She no longer shivered. She went back to take on a slice of white cheese and read the newspaper. As she sips from her coffee, she suddenly she felt bored and nostalgic. The borrowed life she knew she had is taking its toll on her. She felt hollow inside but she let it penetrate her. That way she believes, it would be easier for her to detach herself from the pains she acknowledged. She flipped the pages of her diary---but no, she did not write. She just read some of her previous entries that reminded her why she’s there…

On a small municipal in a country side, she finally said her vows. The traverse of finding someone meant for her was finally over and it was an overwhelming moment that she got married after all. The celebration ended on twilight and everything was kept simple from the guests up to every detail of the event. She fell on her husband’s arms with complete surrender and she never thought she could feel protected like she’s a queen with thousands of guards to save her. The months have passed and their dream house up on the hills was almost finished. The bungalow resembled exactly the way her husband had designed it years ago—he said he had envisioned it the moment he saw her. He kissed her tenderly every morning with promises of a bright tomorrow--- growing old and staying strong together. The next day, Ben met a tragic accident when a bullet landed on his chest originally intended for his client. His candle has suddenly lost its flicker.

The light and the darkness fought for a place in the sky as the surrounding lost its colors and the clock stopped ticking when she found out about what happened. She lived on stillness for months until she felt sick and realized that Ben did not leave her alone… From that day on, she knew she had a life to live, a life to push through, a life to breathe and a love to share.

She closed her diary and let the feeling of missing someone penetrate her. However, she did not felt alone and she thought she never would be as she puts her palm over her stomach and sang a lullaby to her little Ben..