Dear Diary,
The day Lito left, I woke up to find the letter he had left for me, the words echoing in my mind: "If you still love me when I return, I'll accept your confession." My heart dropped as I realized I had missed his departure. I slept too long. Now my heart feels empty, the weight of my unspoken goodbye pressing heavily on me.
To clear my mind, I decided to take a walk in the forest. The familiar paths and the soothing sounds of nature were a small comfort. As I wandered, I found a quiet spot and sat down, my thoughts drifting back to Lito and the uncertainty of his journey ahead. Exhausted, I dozed off under the canopy of trees.
Suddenly, a voice jolted me awake. A strange cloaked man stood before me, his face partially hidden by the hood of his cloak. "Excuse me, young lady," he said in a gravelly voice. "Can you tell me the way to the village?"
I pointed in the direction of Tañong Bayan. "The village is that way, just follow the path through the trees."
"Thank you," he replied, his tone unreadable. He glanced at me one last time before disappearing into the forest.
Feeling uneasy, I tried to shake off the strange encounter and closed my eyes again. I must have fallen into a deep sleep because the next thing I knew, it was late at night. The forest was dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of the moon. I stretched, ready to head back home, when I noticed something that made my blood run cold—smoke rising from the direction of the village.
Panic gripped me as I ran through the forest, my heart pounding with each step. The closer I got, the stronger the smell of burning wood and ash became. When I finally broke through the tree line, the sight that met my eyes was nothing short of a nightmare. Tañong Bayan was in flames, buildings crumbling, and smoke billowing into the sky.
"No!" I screamed, rushing towards the chaos. "Why would anyone want to destroy our small, insignificant village?"
I searched desperately for survivors, calling out for my family and neighbors. The air was thick with smoke and the stench of burning flesh. Everywhere I looked, there were bodies—charred, lifeless bodies. I stumbled through the destruction, my eyes stinging with tears and ash, my heart breaking with each step.
"Papa! Mama!" I cried, my voice hoarse and desperate. "Toto! Anyone!"
Finally, I reached our home—or what was left of it. The walls had collapsed, and the roof was gone, reduced to smoldering ruins. Amidst the rubble, I saw them. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as I fell to my knees. There, among the debris, lay the bodies of my family—Mama, Papa, and my brothers. Their lifeless forms were barely recognizable, their once familiar faces now twisted in pain and fear.
"No, no, no," I sobbed, clutching at their burned clothes, my tears mixing with the ash on my cheeks. "This can't be happening."
I cried and cried, the sound of my wails lost in the crackling of the flames and the stillness of the night. My body shook with grief and exhaustion, my heart shattered into pieces. Eventually, I collapsed beside my family, my strength utterly spent. I fell asleep on the cold, hard ground amidst the burnt rubble, the horror of the night searing itself into my memory.
When I woke up, the fire had died down, leaving only smoldering ashes and the faint glow of embers. The village was silent, a haunting reminder of the life that once thrived here. I felt a deep, gnawing emptiness inside me, a void that nothing could fill.
As I write this entry, my hands tremble with sorrow and rage. I don't understand why this happened, why our peaceful village was targeted. All I know is that everything I loved has been taken from me, leaving me alone in a world that feels suddenly cold and cruel.
Until tomorrow, Diary.
Lia