"Now she can!" Triple-A smiled at Chris and tapped him on the shoulder. "Miss Bermudez was always destined to have a broken life, that is, until you came along. You returned to her, the missing half of her existence. The same way she brought back your missing heart."
Chris's features softened, but also became chaotic. Triple-A smiled at Chris before stepping away. "You all might want to take a step back," he said with a wink.
He crouched low on the observation deck, his black wing stretched wide like a sleek jet wing cutting through the air. His tailored suit hugged his form perfectly, tie fluttering slightly in the rising wind. With a sharp intake of breath, he pushed off the ground with explosive force, launching himself forward and upward in a smooth, controlled arc. His wing beat powerfully, slicing through the sky as he soared higher and higher, leaving a faint shimmer in his wake.
Chris looked over the rails at Cecilia, traipsing joyfully with her mother by her side. Somehow, what Triple-A brought him was a sense of peace.
Cecilia's arm was wrapped tightly around her mother as she gave her a tour of the Twilight. "This mom is the bar of the Gold deck, this is where I sing, I am their star," she bragged to her mom.
"Of course, you are my darling, after all, your father and I trained your vocal prowess," Selina declared with pride. Her demeanor soon turned sad. "I'm sorry that you had to go through Tatay's (Tagalog for father) passing all by yourself. It must have been so tough on you," She lamented the thought of her daughter going through another funeral all by herself.
"It was hard, but I didn't go through it alone." Her mother saw a smile form on her face when she saw Chris, discussing something with Chief Bustamante. Chris saw them as well, and he waved at them.
Cecilia waved back, then she saw her mother looking at her with a raised eyebrow and grinning at the same time. "What?" she cautiously asked her mother.
"That's how your father used to look at me when we were just starting," Selina teased her daughter. "So, what kind of man is the captain of the barge of the dead?"
Cecilia took a deep breath and dreamily glanced at the captain. "He is an asshole who will test your patience and sanity."
Selina pouted her lips, and her eyebrows furrowed at the description. "Those are interesting words to describe someone you look at with googly eyes."
Cecilia pouted her lips as she continued describing Chris. "He is also the kind of man who will always be there to help me, to protect me, to hold my hand and offer a shoulder to cry on."
"When did my darling little girl grow up to be a lovely woman with twinkling eyes?" Selina planted a kiss on Cecilia's forehead and hugged her tightly
"Don't do that in public, Mom, people will think I'm a Mama's girl." Cecilia looked around to see if anyone saw her receiving a motherly kiss.
Just then, a young crew member approached Cecilia's mother, "Miss Selina? Is it okay to get your autograph?"
"Hey, hey, hey! Didn't I tell you guys no autographs, selfies, and no asking for her number?" Cecilia protested, getting in between her mother and the crewman.
"Oh dear, lighten up, it's just an autograph." Selina signed the crewman's notebook
"Mom?" Cecilia protested, stomping her feet like a little child. She glared at the crewman, decided to give him a piece of her mind, but then she recognized him, "Wally?"
Wally gave her a shy smile and an awkward wave, "Hello, Miss Cecilia."
Cecilia hugged the young ghost. "I thought you were going to watch over your father for a while?"
Wally hugged Cecilia back. "Well, my dad and mom got back together, and they are expecting," he told her excitedly. "So knowing that my parents are in a good place right now, I thought it would be best if I moved on, but when I talked to Chief Murillo, I was convinced to serve on the Twilight so I could assist my family!"
"You two know each other?" Selina curiously asked her daughter.
"Mom!" she tugged on her mother's sleeves. "This is Wally. He was the witness to what happened to Pops, and he was instrumental in getting justice for Pops."
Selina hugged Wally in gratitude. "Oh my god…thank you, thank you, for giving my father justice and peace"
"You know, Pops helped his dad get out of a dark place," Cecilia added
"Really? Tatay helped your dad?" Selina surprisingly asked as she shook hands with Wally. "I guess good karma really does go around."
"Yes, ma'am!" Wally answered, "My dad, Andres, was depressed and blamed himself when I passed away. But with your father's help, he was able to turn his life around."
"Oh my, are you really Andres' son? We used to play together as children," Selina excitedly told Wally.
"Really, you two were playmates?" Wally asked, excitement lacing his tone, "Can I invite you two ladies for coffee?"
"It will be our honor," Selina said, accepting the young crewman's invitation.
Minutes later, the three were laughing heartily in the coffee shop as Selina regaled the two with stories from their youth. "I swear, your father was overprotective of us girls, that all our suitors thought he was our brother." Cecilia and Wally laughed at the revelation.
After the laughter died down, Selina said another fact about Andres: "Did you know that your family was not originally from Nasugbu?"
Wally nods at the question, "Yes, Dad told me that our family originated from Dingalan and not from Batangas."
"Really? So your family hails from the same town as Chief Bustamante," Cecilia informed Wally.
"Well, my dad told me that his Lola (grandmother in Tagalog) decided to leave Dingalan when her entire family nearly drowned from a vicious storm." Wally casually told them
"A storm?" Cecilia thought to herself, "Why is that story so familiar?"
"They stayed in Manila for a while before settling here," Wally continued, his story about how they arrived in Nasugbu.
"By the way, do you know your great-grandmother's name?" Selina asked Wally.
But instead of Wally, it was Cecilia who came up with the answer. She suddenly stood up, her eyes wide and bright, her expression a mix of surprise and excitement. "Ysadora! ¡Ysadora Bustamante!"