“Enrique?”
“Come on, let’s go.”
He helped me ride a horse. The fear I felt earlier disappeared and was replaced by excitement when I got on the horse. He also followed while sitting behind me.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
“YAH!” he shouted and then pulled the rope. The horse began to gallop as Enrique pulled from time to time.
I don’t know if he did it on purpose or if it was just a coincidence. His chest is touching my back and I can feel his hot breath on my neck and nape. I felt like all my hair stood up including the pubic. Better that I already shaved.
But I really feel like I’m secretly being molested. Maybe he thought I didn’t notice, but it’s obvious that he’s in simplify move forward in me. I can’t concentrate and I don’t know where we are because I feel his simple attachment to me more than the surroundings. Until I saw that we were in the middle of the jungle.
Little by little, the horse’s pace slows down until we can just walk.
“Enrique, where are we?” I’m nervous because we might take a wrong turn suddenly. That’s still a trend and then we will be caught and offered. Never mind, maybe we’re still in Bulacan, it’s just not obvious.
“Relax, this is still our property.” OUR?
I see nothing but big trees. It’s not a plantation because it’s literally a jungle. But later I saw something like a hut.
“What is that?”
“That’s where we’re going.” He pulled the horse’s leash and it stopped at the side of the hut. He got down first and then helped me down.
“Enrique, it’s scary here.” It’s really scary. Quiet, nobody. What if there is a snake, lion, tiger, or any other wild animal here? Well, we haven’t eaten anything in time and died without anyone knowing.
“Don’t worry, I’m here.”
“What is this place?” I can only see different mountains except for tall trees, so I don’t know what’s here.
“When I was young, my dad always brought me here. Come.” He opened the door and then exposed the dusty things to me. “This is too old but everything here is fine. Its wood is made of narra, so it’s not easily damaged.” He explained and went in first while holding my hand.
It’s nice inside. It’s literally just a hut but it looks sturdy. There is only a pallet and then there are kitchen utensils on the side. So when you get tired, you just make it a place to rest.
“What is this?”
“This is where we go when we go stargazing.”
“Stargazing?” I asked in surprise. “Don’t say you plan to spend the night here?”
“Chill. Don’t be exaggerated.” He patted the pallet and then sat down. “This is also where we put our stuff when we go camping. But Ervic and Daddy are often here when we hunt.”
“Hunting?”
“Yes.”
“What are you hunting?”
“There’s a lot out there. Boars, deer, goats, we also have pets but they are released here in the forest.”
“How wide is it?”
“More than 25 Hectares.”
“25 hectares then no benefit?” But he laughed and tapped his side so I sat down. We also see the way out from here. It’s not that dusty. It looks like someone is still cleaning. He handed me the water but I refused. “If you had sold it, It would have done something with it. Or you can have them build buildings.”
“They are useful, everything you see here is useful.”
“What’s the use? Those are just tall trees. If you had sold those trees to make lumber, you would have made more money.”
“Come, I’ll show you the use of them.” He stood up and took my hand.
“Where are we going again? We have just arrived.”
“I will show you the benefits of those.” I stood up and we went out holding hands. We left the horse at the hut and started walking.
“There is still a stone. Is it going to the underworld?” I asked when we entered the boulder.
“It just is. Just don’t be noisy and you might be enchanted.” He said laughing.
“Crazy.”
“Kidding.” We went out to the other side and then climbed another big rock. “Careful and you might slip.” I slowly climbed up without looking back. Enrique was behind me supporting me until I could climb up and standing on the big rock he climbed up.
“What’s wrong with this? I still see full.” I look at the tall trees in front of me.”
“Look down.” I turned around and looked down. I see a lot of houses down. Maybe this is the other side of our part. It seems to be opposite the city and the road is different. There are small houses at the bottom and there is also a stream. Maybe more than hundreds of houses are also there. “Do you see those?”
“I’m not blind, of course.”
“Their lives down there depended on those trees.” He pointed to the trees in the forest. “When those trees are cut, there is no root to absorb the water every time it rains here. There are no roots to stop the force of the water current. The ground will soften which can cause a landslide. Who will be affected by chance? Those people down there.”
I couldn’t answer what he said.
“Money is useless if you put other people’s lives in danger. You have money, but many have perished because of you.” Ok fine, I look like money. But I haven’t ruined anything because of money! I only suggested it because I thought those were just apparitions.
“Did you bring me here just for that? To show me the forest, and whose houses are those down there?”
“No, I brought you here to relax. To see the beauty of the world. To see the lives of those people down there. I want you to know that compared to them you are lucky. You have no reason to think negatively because you have everything you need. You can have everything you want without working hard just like them. Luxury, foods on the table, family, and loved ones. People are the only one who creates their complicated life.”
“But not everything comes through money, Enrique. I have a lot of money, but I don’t have peace. They at the bottom, their lives are simple but they are content.”
“How sure are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“How sure are you that they are satisfied? They are not contented, they just learned to be contented because they have no choice. They just learned to accept what is there because they don’t see anything else and if they do see something they know they have to go through the hole of a needle before they get what they want. So the best way for them to be happy and have peace is to pretend that they are contented because as I said they have no choice. Unlike you, you have a lot of choices.”
I look at the people who are doing different things.
“I didn’t say you should compare your life to theirs. It is God’s plan for each one of us. That is God’s plan for them and this is God’s plan for us.” And he came closer to me. “This is where God put us. You, to be my wife, to be Ixora’s mom. You have us, me, and I will never leave you.”
“Enrique.”
“Whatever negative thoughts you have erase it. Look at the beauty around you. This is not the only beautiful thing in the World and we can see more here. Just stay positive and focus on the positive. Soon, you will be there, ’cause I, I am already there.”
And he stands closer to me. As in we are very close to each other.
“The true beauty for me is the one who stands right now in front of me. I hope this beauty will see her reflection so she can see how beautiful she is.”
“Enrique.”
“You will be there soon. I won’t stop until you recover, until you realize how lucky you are, and how happy I am to have you.” I bowed but he lifted my face. “Just always remember that you are loved by everyone, including me.”