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Isagani didn’t know how to feel anymore. The lamp, the river, the wedding, it all felt like it was something that had transpired years ago. Yet, it was only merely a night before. It certainly was a night to remember. Isagani could never forget about the fear he felt when knowing that his dear Paulita, even though she was in the arms of someone else, would perish a tragic death. He could remember Basilio, his best friend, someone who he held so close to his heart, ran away with fear in his eyes that Isagani used to only see hope from.
He quickened his pace, he had no idea as to where he was going but he didn’t care at that moment. All that he felt was sorrow even as his lips grazed into a smile. In the distance, he saw a carriage, in it there was Paulita and Juanito with her wrapping her arms around his arm. Isagani balls his hands into a fist as his nails dug in his skin, that should have been him. Yet, despite all that, he didn’t want to live in jealousy or hate anymore. He takes a deep breath as the carriage moves past him. He doesn’t look back and instead does what he has always feared and moves on from Paulita.
“Paulita, my love, my world, Someone who I treasure more than the soil I stand upon. I know that I cannot have you and that aches me to my core. When it comes to it, the pain in my heart is real, knowing that you will be standing beside another man.” Isagani, the boy talking to where the carriage once was, paused, thinking about the actions he had done. “I regret what I have done and if I knew what Simoun was doing, even though I loved you, I would have-” He stops once more. “I was the icarus who flew too close to the sun. My mind is hazed of what I should have done, what I could have done. However, I’m just glad you’re still smiling. The sweet smile that would resemble the purest of angels.” He doesn’t know if he can move on from her. Will he ever move on from her? He thinks about Basilio again. His close friend had no idea about how he was or if he was okay or even alive after what had happened. His smile grew. “My heart aches and yet, I am excited for what tomorrow will bring. I cannot change the past but I can make the future better.” A better home for his people, for his loved ones, for her, for his uncle, for Basilio. “Goodbye, my sweetheart. May our paths cross once more and may you look at me with the same smile again.”