PROLOGUE - Misa de Gallo

He got hired on his job at the famous and prestigious Golden Lotus Hotel as a new manager in the team, for it was vacated by his friend who went to the United States and had a new job at Marriot Hotel in Salt Lake City. It was indeed a huge task for him, for it was a Holiday rush at that time.

He accompanied his team outside the main door and lounge in entertaining the guests, and he was astonished at the look of a middle-aged young lady who arrived from the US just to celebrate Christmas - with her 3 kids and her husband, and he greeted with "Mabuhay po and Good evening! Welcome to Golden Lotus Hotel", and many guests arrived of different nationalities from the recent flights of both from Paris, Rome, Budapest, Seoul, and Beijing - for the hotel is near the Manila International Airport.

As he rests on his office, it was dawn, he came across to a picture on his favourite prayer book - it was his former professor, and he found there in his cabinet - her letters to him inside a yellowed envelope, a journal scrapbook and a box containing her gifts to him. He sobbed as he embraced her picture and the journal that she gave to him...along with his favourite prayer book, as he remembers his most favourite professor. He wrote his letter in a yellow pad paper, placing a picture of him in an envelope, sealed it and placed on the sling bag that he used since Senior High School years as his only school bag before he went home in Concepcion, Malabon.

It was December 16, at the break of dawn, he wore his favorite slacks that he used during the most memorable Promenade night and a red polo shirt (a gift by his friend last Christmas) that he wore on the Fiesta of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila, and went to the church of La Purisima Concepcion, where he used to pray the Rosary with his nanay, as he prepared for Misa de Gallo.

He arrived at 4: less than 30 minutes remaining before the sung mass began.

As he was walking towards the church entrance, he stopped at the familiar corner of the patio - a bench underneath a mango tree, where he felt nostalgic about the things that he cherishes the most ever since his childhood and even his first date to his first and last woman of his life.

He sobbed silently as he closes his eyes - and then his nanay (who went to the church just an hour before he followed there) who went out to buy Putobungbong and Bibingka for their breakfast after the mass, saw him, saying;

"What's wrong, 'nak?"

He smiled at her while he wiped his tears, said;

"I'm just remembering something here

Her nanay narrated something as he accompanies her in buying these Christmas morning delicacies;

"Mind this, my son, I used to be here when I was a young maiden, it is here where I met your dada and this park, and also, this church - became the lone witness of our love story...those were the best moments indeed that we savoured. And then I brought you there at the patio playground near the monument of the venerable patroness and taught you how to pray here in this church. It became the place where you were baptised. Also, when you completed Junior High, we made a bonding together here as a whole family and dada bought 2 buckets of your favourite Chickenjoy and your sister gave you a new smartphone bought from France and had been with us that time."

As they were walking towards the entrance of the church, stopping by that tree, he replied with a smile on his face, saying;

"I miss this place where I brought my first and last love there - where we carved something on that trunk with these initials, and still, we see the scars of it"

He pointed on that part of the mango tree that states the following;

TDM 💖 MFA

I 💖 U

12-16-2011

And nanay smiled back at him, and they were both filled with heartfelt silence.

The bells of the church began to rung - to the tune of the famous carol - Adeste Fidelis, a sign that the dawn Sung Mass began.

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During the offertory, as he gets his wallet, the envelope containing his letter to his first and last and a souvenir photo of him was slipped out of his sling bag, it was noticed by his nanay with the initials at the front of the envelope

M.F.A 💖💖💖 12-14-22

She said frankly with a smile to him;

"you never forgot her so much about her, 'nak"

"indeed nay, she's the one who made my heart beat loudly and she was the one that I found - my life's missing piece...and now she occupies the largest space in my heart," he replied

And he silently spoke these words...

"Forever I love you so much, Maribel"

Who is Maribel?