Infinite World

***This was originally posted from my Tumblr account with a little bit of tweaks here and there. ;)
***My moon sister also created her own short story about "infinity". Check it out here. :)

Before you read this short story, I advise you to listen first to the song that inspired it. "For You" by Duncan Sheik

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"Come on, sing me a song. Just like you always do." She nudged him playfully, as they sat side by side on a bench at the park drenched beneath the pale moonlight. It’s midnight, and everything’s quiet except for their hushed conversations and the sound of cars passing by. Grabbing the case leaning beside him, he took out his guitar and started picking the strings softly as he tuned it. The familiar sound of his fingers strumming sent a wave of calmness into her being. As always, she wrapped her arms around his body and laid her head against his back. She loved listening to him singing like this. With her palms against his chest, she felt the steady beating of his heart as he started to sing a song. Pressing her cheek against his shoulder blades, she closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the sound of his voice.

"For you I'm gonna sit and patiently wait

It's great if you're early but it's fine if you're late

For you I feel love and I just wanna show it."

"You're a beautiful girl, and I want you to know it

You’re a beautiful girl, and I want you to know it

You’re a beautiful girl, and I want you to know it

It’s an infinite world, and I want you…"

She gripped him hard, wanting him to feel everything she had to offer. She couldn't help feeling giddy when she felt his pulse begin to race, yet still beating in time with hers. It made her think, "This must be how happy really feels like." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before he continued picking the strings. But this time more slowly, as he let the sound echo around them.

"For you I want to sing a happier song

For you I want to try to right all my wrongs

For you I’m gonna break my bad habits…

There’s a golden ring, and I want you to have it

There’s a golden ring, and I want you…”

He kept on playing the last few remaining notes as tears began to form underneath her eyelids. She felt his heart beating faster and faster as if it's trying to pound it's way out of his chest. She was surprised though when she realized that hers was also doing the same thing. When he's done, he put down his guitar and started to remove her firm grip on his chest. She still could not open her eyes, half afraid and half excited on what's going to happen next, until she felt him turn around and one of his hands cradled her cheek. With eyes still closed, she turned her face and pressed her lips on his palm, planting a soft kiss there, her lips lingering on the warm feel of his hand. She felt him shiver, which made her think "I guess he's also affected by this moment as much as I am." and that's where she gained the strength to face her future. 

When she opened her tear-stricken eyes, all she could see were his, just a couple of inches from hers. "I could just drown in them forever", she thought. The intensity of his gaze pinned her on her seat and left her paralyzed, as if her brain short-circuited and all that's left was a deep-fried mush. She felt him move, so she forced herself to look away and, that’s when she noticed that his other hand was holding on to the necklace he was wearing, the one that he always kept inside his shirt. He pulled it out expecting to see his mother's locket, but she lets out a gasp instead when she saw that it holds a ring - a golden ring. 

Dozens of thoughts flew on her mind at once. "What happened to your mother's locket with a picture of her and your father? The one he gave to her on the day they were married. The one she kept close to her heart until the day she died. The one you lost when a mugger took it away from you. The reason you chased me on the subway because you saw me wearing it around my neck a year after I bought it from a pawn shop. The one that kept me wondering why the hell did I bought it even if I know that I'm flat out broke, and yet I still couldn't say no because their pictures made me wonder about their story. The one that brought me to you..."

She was still wondering about these things when he let her go for a moment as he struggled to remove the necklace around his neck and the ring from it. This snapped her back to the present and a new, and welcoming thought flitted across her mind. She couldn't help but smile when she saw that his hands were shaking, making it harder for him to remove the ring from the chain because she's never seen him this edgy before. When he finally did, he took another deep breath before he took her hand and looked at her again. Even if she already had an inkling as to what he was going to say, his next words still took her breath away…

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"Can you be my Alice? I’ll be your Hatter and I promise, we’ll get crazy together. Forever."

Tears that were once threatening to fall down, finally did. She wanted to scream "YES!" out loud but her voice couldn't get over the lump on her throat. All she could do was just grin widely, her Cheshire Cat smile - as he fondly calls it, and nod her head wildly until it almost broke her neck. His breath left him out in a whoosh! and for him, her answer was more than enough and so he slipped the golden ring on her finger.

It’s a perfect fit. They’re the perfect fit.

He stood up, scooped her in his arms and whispered into her ears "Dance with me." Fitting her body against his, they held on to each other tight, the warmth of his body sending shivers down her spine. "Are you cold?", he asked. She shook her head no, she wanted to tell him that it's alright but still, he let her go as he opened his jacket. She thought that he was going to shrug it off so he could let her wear it, but was surprised yet again, when he suddenly grabbed her to him and wrapped her inside the jacket that he was still wearing. Wrapping his arms tightly around her he swept her off her feet while singing the song his parents were always dancing to when he was a kid. 

"Hold me close and hold me fast

The magic spell you cast

This is La vie en rose

When you kiss me heaven sighs

And though I close my eyes

I see La vie en rose

When you press me to your heart

I'm in a world apart

A world where roses bloom

And when you speak, angels sing from above

Everyday words seem to turn into love songs

Give your heart and soul to me

And life will always be...La vie en rose"

They danced until he was no longer singing the words and was just humming the tune. At last, when the final notes start to drift away, he pressed his forehead against hers and said "Promise me, that even if all the music would seize to play, you’d never let go of my hand no matter what. Could you?" His voice was quivering as he spoke the words, sounding both hopeful yet afraid at the same time. Moving her arms from its grip around his back, she took hold both of his hands and twined her fingers through his, their foreheads still touching, she whispered back, "I promise".

True to their words, they continued dancing underneath the radiance of the full moon and the blanket of stars, even if the only music that’s playing was the sound of the still night and that of their heart beats.

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***THE END***

Sweet Cakes and Milkshakes

It has been another weird week for us (me and my moon sister Rhio) as the universe sent us tons of signs and messages these past few days and, we're getting a bit anxious and excited about it because the last time it happened...well...let's just say something quite extraordinary happened. ;)

So last Saturday night, we spent it by watching a movie that has become a part of my favorite list - Before Sunrise - while munching on pancakes and chicken wings she brought home from Slappy Cakes (which was by the way...a-ma-zing!) 

Okay, so enough with my senseless blabberings, now I'm gonna blabber about how I fell in love with the movie "Before Sunrise". The whole time we were watching, we can't help but gasp and giggle all throughout the movie as Jesse and Celine traversed around the streets of Vienna. We are hopeless romantics by default which means we tend to get "oooohhh-ing and aaahhhh-ing" over some of the cheesiest stuff that cross our paths. And this movie has lots and lots of it. 

Back to the movie (by the way, just in case you're not familiar with it, I guess it would be better if you read the synopsis here, or better yet, you should just watch it first.) I've been wanting to watch this movie way, way back, but somehow was discouraged when my sister told me that she found it boring. Now I realized that maybe the universe just made me wait for the right moment to watch it. ;)

Can the greatest romance of your life last only one night?

The thing that I love the most in this film is the idea of opening up yourself to a random stranger, in a no-holds-barred-tell-all kind of way. The conversations that my sister found boring were the ones I found so engrossing and romantic. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy did a great job on their roles as two strangers who crossed paths by a twist of fate. Everything felt so real as if I was watching a real life conversation between two random strangers instead of two actors who just memorized their lines. The backdrop was so subtle and they didn't focus on the scenery and grand views, instead they made use of the culture and the history of the place. And most of the scenes revolved around the two characters only, which lent it an air of intimacy. It gave the audience a sense of feeling as if they were given a pass to eavesdrop on these private conversations. 

Between the two characters, I found myself relating most to Jesse. Deep inside, he is a hopeless romantic but chooses to mask it with his cynicism. I can't blame him for wanting to protect himself from heartache. He's experienced things that tend to make you doubt if it's really worth the risk to fall in love - his girlfriend, whom he crossed oceans for, dropped him like a hot potato, the moment he got there. I guess it really would make you more cynical because for starters, you were already a bit skeptical about it and yet, you still gave romance a chance. You tried to believe that it could possibly work because you're a hopeless romantic by heart. But in the end, it just failed you.

Maybe that's why I'm fascinated with the idea of a "One Day/Week Love Affair" just like in this one and many other stories I've read and movies I've seen (i.e. Just One Day, Casablanca, An Affair to Remember). I find it appealing to just open up yourself to a random stranger who is interested enough to listen to all of your thoughts (and rants) without the fear of getting judged because you're not going to meet each other again and, they wouldn't meet the people you were complaining about. Here's the thing why I sometimes find it hard to confide even with the people closest to me, especially if it involves my problem with other people. For example, I'm having a conflict with a member of my family and I just want to blow off some steam by confiding it to a close friend. I'm not afraid afraid that they wouldn't side with me, but rather I'm afraid that they would judge these people I was having problems with just because of my rants. And I wouldn't want that to happen because no matter what, these people are still important to me. 

So off we go and meet a random stranger. Just let them not be a serial killer or a psychopath. And you two would find a special connection in an instant. You would walk around and talk about anything and everything under the sun. You'll just enjoy the moment and not fear how tomorrow will be. I would want that. To think that the magic would last for the whole day and you'll leave it at that. No strings attached. No tomorrows. No talks of future together. Just the NOW. 

For me it's like keeping a firefly in a jar but the difference is, it's light would never die out. The magic of that day would always remain with you till the day you die. The hardest part though would probably be the "WHAT IFS". What if you just stayed? What if you gave it a chance? Would it have worked out? Would it have been worth it? But I don't want that. What I want is to live the moment as it is. To be content of the now than long for the promise of forever. I know people would see it as a sign of weakness. That I'm just afraid of commitments, that I'm afraid of taking risks. That I'm a scaredy-cat. So what? At least I got the chance to have that great escape. I wouldn't mind even if the greatest romance of my life would only last for one night. At least I had it, and will always have it safe in my firefly jar.

So enough about my mindless blabberings and let me just share another list (yep, I love making lists so just deal with it) of my sawoon-moments from the film:

1. The Trains - If there's one reason why I want to backpack through Europe, it's because of trains. I want to travel cross country by riding these choo-choo-ing cars. If I were to choose between airplanes and trains, I'd pick the latter wholeheartedly. I don't know why but I just love the idea of railway stations and subways. Maybe you should blame it on my love for Harry Potter and his yearly journey to the Platform 9 3/4. And now you could add to that the scene when Jesse convinced Celine to delay her journey to Paris and just get off the train with him right then and there in Vienna.

   

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2. Theme Park - Of all the attractions on a theme park, I'd say that the ferris wheel is my most favorite of 'em all. So that moment, when they got off the train and they walked around until they arrived on a theme park and they rode the ferris wheel while watching the sunset (and ahem! where they shared their first kiss), was an uber-sawoon-worthy moment for me. 

   

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3. Slow Dancing - call me a hopeless romantic, but if someone who's as good looking as Ethan Hawke suddenly grabs you to him to slow dance on the side walk while someone was playing the harpsichord, and you won't swoon over it, I'd seriously think there's something wrong with you.
   
4. Moon/Star Gazing - I've always wanted to sleep on a field of grass underneath the shadows of the trees and the open sky, while watching the moon and the stars work their magic. 
   
5. Milkshakes - I love milkshakes, but this one doesn't refer to the creamy-goody-drink but rather to the poem that was supposedly written for them by a penniless poet they encountered while walking along the Danube river, in exchange for some loose change. 

Delusion Angel by David Jewell

Daydream delusion,

limousine eyelash,

oh, baby with your pretty face,

drop a tear in my wineglass,

look at those big eyes,

see what you mean to me,

sweet cakes and milkshakes,

I am a delusioned angel,

I am a fantasy parade,

I want you to know what I think,

don't want you to guess anymore,

you have no idea where I came from,

we have no idea where we’re going,

launched in life,

like branches in the river,

flowing downstream,

caught in the current,

I’ll carry you, you’ll carry me,

that’s how it could be,

don’t you know me?

don’t you know me by now?

Time vs. Happiness

This is all about a children's book I stumbled upon awhile ago at my favorite second-hand bookshop. (Yes, I'm a huge fan of second hand bookstores.) Well, the title caught my eye because just about a week ago, me and my moon sister Rhio posted on our blog about our personalities wherein we described ourselves - her as  a Gypsy, and me as a Traveler. So when I saw this book - which is by the way titled as "The Traveler" - I took it as a sign from the universe (and in case you're wondering - yes we are huge, HUGE believers on signs, fate and destiny. Don't judge.) and picked it up immediately without reading the synopsis because yeah, I also like to live dangerously. haha! :P As soon as I got home, I read it and got goosebumps in an instant. 

Basically, it's all about a kid named Charlie who was at first contented with his life at home. He had family, friends, a pretty friend and his dog. They all loved him. Everybody loved him. But the problem was, he felt that he was wasting his time because nothing felt perfect at home. Because even though he knew that they all loved him, they weren't perfect. His parents made him do chores, his friends sometimes broke his toys and so on, and so forth. So he decided that he'd leave home to find that "something perfect" to spend all his time on. He packed his suitcase, stuffed it with all of his precious time then said his goodbyes and off he went. 

Charlie packing all his precious time in his suitcase

He traveled far, far away, and on all the places that he went, he would always find something that will make that place imperfect. 

Time flew past and he grew old and weary, so he decided to make his way home. When he got there, he met his pretty friend and told her that he finally decided to spend all his time there with them. The problem though was when he opened his suitcase, all he had left was... 

"one, square mushy month" 

He felt dejected, but his pretty friend lead him inside to their circle of friends. They talked about how they spent their time, how Charlie didn't spend his time, shared jokes, and they laughed together. 

Until the month came to an end... 

"And as Charlie spent his final itsy-bitsy 

seconds on his friends, 

he was loved. 

He loved. 

It may not have been perfect...

but he was happy. :')

(p.s. all of the illustrations are taken from the book.)

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I guess you're wondering why I had goosebumps. If you are, check out my first post (also titled The Traveler). I swear, I only learned about this book after we posted our story. Coincidence? I think not. A message from the universe? Most probably.

I love how a simple children's story could put a huge dent in your way of thinking. It may only seem simple at first (given that it's just a 42-page storybook and most of the pages were occupied by illustrations) but it packed a huge amount of mind boggling thoughts to ponder on. See, Charlie lived an ordinary life. He had everything he needed, but he was not contented. He wanted everything to be perfect and to be special, for him to think that it's something worthy to spend his precious time on. This made me realize that in actuality, you are wasting more time in waiting for that one perfect moment to happen, instead of just enjoying everything that you have right now.  If you want to be happy in life, look for the things that could make you happy right at this moment, and not for "what could possibly make you happy in the future." Come to think of it, humans are fickle minded. What we thought could make us happy now IF ONLY we have it, could make us miserable tomorrow WHEN we have it. Truthfully, if you spend your time just waiting for that one perfect moment, you would only keep yourself from being happy. You'll be miserable. But you shouldn't be. 

Happiness is everywhere. 

You just only have to learn to stop, look and listen for it. It doesn't matter if it's something shallow, at least it made you happy. Happiness isn't about receiving something special or over-the-top. It isn't about how much money you have or how many countries you've been to or how many presents you received on your birthday. These things could be part of it, but these aren't everything. 

Happiness is as simple as looking at what's in front of you and appreciating it for what it is without any expectations. By really, really looking at it and making it special  in your own way. 

I know life is not all unicorns and rainbows. Sometimes there are witches and Grinch-es waiting to steal your Christmas. It doesn't matter though. Because in the end, happiness would always be yours if you choose it. 

Let me share with you a list of the things that never fail to make me happy everyday:

1. I was able to wake up for another day. - This is one of the most underrated of all the things that we usually take for granted. Seriously? Won't you be glad to be given another chance to live, even just to make yourself look stupid and act like an idiot again. ;)
2. Meal time with my family. - My family isn't perfect, we always butt heads with each other. But if there's one thing I wouldn't regret, it's the time I spend with them. Long hours spent on the table, sharing stories, arguing, making jokes, laughing out loud. We sometimes find ourselves sitting there for a long, long time before we realize that it was almost time to start preparing for the next meal. It's always, ALWAYS a time well spent for me.
3. The looks on our dogs' eyes whenever I play with them. Their puppy-eyed looks gets me every-freaking-time. You know that they love you even if you leave them for hours because it doesn't matter to them just as long as you come back. 
4. Spend time window shopping for books. I swear, I could spend lo~~~ng hours on a bookstore just by browsing rows and rows and rows of books, sniffing the pages of both the old and the new and arguing with myself that I don't need a new book. Sometimes I win, but most of the time, I find myself going back the next day to purchase the book that I refused the day before.
5. The DJ playing my favorite song on the radio. I don't care if we have MP3s now that you could download anytime. Because this girl, grew up in a time where the only chance you'd get to hear your favorite song was a. buy the album (that is if you have the money, which I didn't) b. wait for it on MTV (back when they were still playing music videos) c. wait for the DJ to include it on their playlist, and d. (the most exciting one) call the radio station a thousand times until you could squeeze in the line and ask the DJ to play it specially for you. ;)
6. Caffeine-and-sugar-induced-coma. 'nuff said
7. Bedtime. To cuddle with my current read under the comfort of my sheets and a cup of chamomile tea on my bedside after a long and busy day. Aaaaahh...this is life.

There goes my list. How about you? Why don't you also try to make a list of uncomplicated things that make you happy. Wish for things that you want, but appreciate first what you have. :)

"Living and loving is a time well spent." - Daren Simkin, The Traveler

The Traveler

Hola! this was originally posted from the Moon Sisters' blog The Chronicles of Luna - (The Gypsy and The Traveler) a few days ago. Now I'm just sharing my side of the story. If you're interested about the "other story" - check out my moon sister Rhio's Gypsy-side here. :)

Traveler. Foreigner. Explorer. Sojourner.

pair of clothes, a couple of paperbacks, and guitar...we're good to go

I want to travel the world. That's one of my main goals in life. See the world with my own eyes (not just through somebody else's camera lenses). Set foot on foreign lands. Taste exotic foods and relish its' pungent aroma. Listen to the stories shared by the people I'd meet in my journey. Absorb everything life has to offer. Be anything I want to be. 

Be everything and nothing, all at once... 

Here are some of the things I'd definitely do once I get the chance:

"To taste the stars" - by drinking Champagne straight from the vineyards of Champagne, France. To enter jazz clubs in New Orleans. To hitchhike across the loneliest road in America - US Route 50. To write stories while munching on freshly made macarons in a patisserie in Paris. To get lost through the maze of subways in London. To watch Broadway performances in New York. To enjoy a cup of cappuccino in a cafe in Italy. To ride the bullet train in Japan. To waddle with the penguins in Antarctica. To climb and shout at the top of Machu Picchu in Peru. To enjoy the crystal blue waters of the sea while sailing across the Caribbean. 

I want to do all of these. Thinking that someday I would be able to, excites the heck out of me. Just writing about it now makes my palms all sticky and sweaty and my heartbeat go crazy. I love the adrenaline rush I get from trying new things. Most of the time, I follow the rules. But sometimes, my daily routines tend to get too boring for me. So just to break the monotony of my life, I'd do random things I've never done before. I would not think about the consequences, I'd just follow my instincts and do whatever it is that my mind's decided to do. Lucky for me though, most of the time it ends well. But for those times that it didn't, it's fine just as well. At least I got to try something new. ;)

To think that being born, raised, grew up, and still living in the same place for all of my life - one would think that it would make my feet itch to run away as far as possible, as soon as I can and never come back. But in truth, it's quite the opposite. I'm like a ship traversing the endless ocean. I could be thousands, millions, or even billions of miles away. I could be sailing around, taking my fill of uncharted territories. But at the end of every journey I'll take, I'd always lay down my anchor back in the only place I'd ever call home. 

Yep, that's me. The scaredy-kid who easily gets fascinated by new, glittery things at the beginning - but when the sparkle of it all starts to fade away, begins to cry and longs for her mum to carry her back home to the comforts of  her old, musty, security blanket. Just add a bit of thumb sucking and good ole' Raggedy Ann to cuddle with and we're all set. Back tokilometer zero. Far away places could lure me to visit their wonderful views with their beauty and charm. It might even be (almost) able to make me want to find my own place to call home. But at the end of the day, I'm just like the sun who never fails to set on the  same spot on the horizon after a long, long day of sightseeing. *^o^*

Find a pair of ruby slippers. Click your heels three times. Repeat after me.

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home..."

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