“Timezone”

By: Layla Sevilla Grade-9A

My Ideal Married Life My story starts with my husband and I. I had just started my eight grade in De La Salle Zobel and I was kind of depressed as I went to school on my first day. The class I was assigned to had none of my close friends in it. I was sure to be lonely that year but then… Some of my classmates began to talk to me as the day passed on and soon they became what are now my closest friends. One of those friendly people was my future husband, Enrique Perlas. I didn't know during that time that he would become one of the most important people to my life.

When I was first introduced to him, I bet I gave off a weird impression. I was talking and laughing loudly and I regretted it too late that I was acting all crazy like that to some stranger. Surprisingly though, he wasn't annoyed at me like most people would have been and he was really nice. He attempted to start a conversation with me and I found out that he liked anime, just like me. Knowing that, I started to be able to talk to him a lot more often since we had a topic we could both relate to. We became more casual to each other as the months passed by and he would start to tease me a lot. Even with all of his teasing like pulling my hair down countless times, I still thought of him as one of the nicest people I met. I knew that he was a caring guy with a lot of heart and that opinion of mine never changed. Years passed by and I was already in my third year of high school but Enrique and I were still very close friends. He would still tease me but I was fine with that. I actually found it fun whenever he did. 

One day, some of his friends told me that he had a crush on me and I couldn't help but feel awkward about it. Knowing that, I made a distance between each other because I was a coward and didn't know how to deal with it. After that time, him and I hadn't talked to each other but once Valentine's Day came by, he approached me. He confessed to me and gave me chocolates. My friends and his supported him as the scene unfolded and during that time I knew that I couldn't escape from the matter any longer. The truth was that after I had found out his crush for me, I started to have a lingering feeling on me. I suddenly became aware that I came to like him as well. That the feeling harboring within me was actually my feelings for him. I came to like the way he would cheer me up whenever I was down and help me whenever I needed it. The times when I was bored and he would tease and play with me so I would feel energized again. When he asked me that one question, "Will you be my Valentine's?" I couldn't say no. After that day, I became his girlfriend. I will admit though, not much changed after that. We would still talk and tease each other like we did in the past but one thing did change though. The feeling of awkwardness was replaced with an aura of what seemed like peace. Even with the sarcastic talking and playful fighting, we shared that aura of peace and happiness because we were finally together. 

We were together in a way we thought would be eternal happiness...but that was what we hoped for anyways. You see, we hadn't thought much of the future those times. We were too distracted to remember that our paths were destined to separate. While we were dating, we would sometimes hang out together in ATC with my close friends. Sometimes, my friends would pretend that they had to leave early and Enrique and I would be left alone together. We didn't mind it that much though. We'd go to Timezone and play games a lot. I remember those *somewhat* embarrassing moments where we would play those horror arcade games in the arcade and I would become scared and so he would bring me closer to him. I would feel better after he did that then we would continue to shoot down the zombies. Those times were one of my best but unfortunately, it had to end. We were dating for a year and a half already but sadly, we had to end it. It was not like either one of us wanted to end our beautiful relationship but it had to be done. 

We both aimed to go to different universities and we didn't want to suffer a long-distance relationship. We both had an understanding that it wouldn't work, that we didn't want to burden the other with a problematic relationship like that so we took off into our own paths. Naturally, we were both depressed but we had to move on. After what seemed like an eternity, I graduated from college with my blood, sweat and tears and I was ready to make my own difference into the world. I had made a small business after a few months in Philippines that was similar to Comic Alley. It sold anime merchandise like cosplay, manga, accessories and etc. It soon became very successful and I was incredibly happy but I still felt a small part of me missing. I didn't know what was missing until he came. One day, I was managing one store of my business and I heard someone come in. It was Enrique and my heart fluttered as my eyes came upon him. He looked different but I knew he was still that nice, caring boy I met during my younger days and I was right. He approached and talked to me like we used to do. Like we never even separated and lost contact with each other. 

Apparently, he heard about my up-and-coming business and couldn't help but search for me in every shop of mine. He told me that he couldn't bear with it anymore. He couldn't bear living without me in his life and I was touched. With those words, we decided to meet again and see if we can continue from where we left off all those years ago. We met countless times after that and soon, we continued our relationship and I was truly happy again. The missing piece to the puzzle was found. A year later, he proposed to me while we were on our trip in Japan. We were at the top of the Tokyo Disneyland ferris wheel when he proposed and I cried tears of joy. I hugged him and told him yes and soon enough, we announced to everyone that we were to be married. We made plans to be wed in my local Catholic Church, Resurrection of Our Lord Parish, in BF. We arranged our marriage to take place in nine months since we wanted time to decide if we really were ready for the next chapter in our lives. As time passed, we finally had our wedding and under the blessings of the priest, we officially became a married couple. Mine and Enrique's close friends and family celebrated with us throughout the whole night after the Mass had ended.

I remember how fun it was, seeing my friends laugh and congratulate me. How my mother and father looked so accomplished and how my diamond ring glistened in the room's light. I thanked God that in the end, me and Enrique were able to stay together. Through times of sickness and health, we would stay and be faithful to each other. Life continued to become better as I lived with him in our simple house located in Ayala Alabang Village. We chose to live there because we truly valued our childhood memories and that a lot of our friends lived there as well. We had two children during our marriage, one boy and one girl. They both resembled us and loved anime as well. My son, Storm, was the older one and was very protective of his younger sibling. He would always look after his sister since he loved her as much as we loved them. He took on his father's caring and sports-loving personality while he also took my playful attitude. My daughter, Yuuki, got my shy personality when it comes to strangers and Enrique's love for video games. 

Since we all loved anime, we would visit conventions and cosplay as our favorite characters together. We didn't travel that much because of mine and Yuuki's hate for planes but when we do, we would go to Japan and Europe and create lots of happy memories. We would also visit the Church every Sunday and prayed together as a family before we slept. I became a happier person and I will never regret meeting and being together with the people I love the most. Reflecting on what my ideal married life is, I know that being married is an opportunity to have a lot of happy moments together with people I love. Marriage can give me the best times of my life, as long as I am responsible and only faithful to the one person who I know is my soulmate then I would be living a great life without much regrets. I will do my best and face all the obstacles with the one I am fated to love because I now know that this kind of thing is a jewel that God generously shared with us. I also know that the sacrament of Matrimony is also a vocational sacrament so I would be teaching my family to help them grow under the Christian faith. I would most likely choose Matrimony as my type of vocation since I always feel better when I am with someone else. I know that I would be able to serve God's ministry better through this type of vocation. With the support of my husband, I would help my children mature and become the next generation of Christians who would contribute and become stewards of God's beloved world and creations. I will cherish my life with the people I love the most, the people God destined me to be with.