The Ember and The Queen

Kai's POV 

The shadows stretched long over the road as the afternoon sun dipped lower into the sky. The light was golden, warm against the windshield as I drove toward Aldeguer Cemetery. It was quiet on the streets, the way small towns always got in the late hours—like the world was taking a breath.

I stopped by a small flower shop, picking up white lilies and sunflowers—Mom's favorite, and Keith's too. The old woman behind the counter didn't ask questions. She just wrapped them gently, like they deserved to be handled with reverence.

By the time I reached the cemetery, the sun was already casting an amber glow across the grass. I walked slowly toward the familiar plot, each step feeling heavier than the last.

Their graves sat side by side, beneath the old acacia tree. Its roots were starting to curl around the edge of the plot like protective arms. The headstones were simple. Clean. The kind of simplicity that didn't need to explain the depth of the love that once lived behind the names.

"Hi Ma... Hi Bunso," I said softly, kneeling as I placed the flowers down.

I brushed away the leaves that had gathered, tracing the names with my fingertips. "Kamusta kayo diyan? Pasensya na kayo, hindi ako nakadalaw agad pag-uwi ko."

The breeze picked up, soft and cool.

"Bunso... gusto ko sanang ipakilala sayo si Ate mo Rain," I said with a quiet smile. "She looks like you sometimes... 'yung paraan ng ngiti niya, lalo na 'pag hindi niya alam na tinitingnan mo siya. Mama thought ikaw siya nung una niyang makita." I swallowed hard. "She would've loved you. You would've driven her nuts—but she would've loved you."

I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath.

"Ma... I saw Rain again. She's a doctor now too. Like me." My voice trembled. "I wish you could've met her again, Ma. Keith... she saves people. She's still Rain—even after everything."

A lump formed in my throat. "Ma, muntik na nga siyang mawala ulit sakin, eh. Pero ayaw ko pa siyang sumunod sa inyo. Mamahalin ko pa siya. Hindi pa ako tapos."

I sat back, hugging my knees to my chest.

"But I don't know if she remembers me, Ma. Or maybe... baka nakalimutan na niya ako. Baka ayaw na niya."

The breeze rustled the leaves above us, and I let the silence fall between my words. This place didn't need noise to understand sorrow.

"I think I'm falling apart," I whispered. Tears slid down my cheeks, quiet and unrelenting. "I'm trying to stay strong but... everything hurts. She looks at me like she doesn't know me. And if she does... maybe she's just too tired to fight for us."

I picked at the edge of the grass, eyes locked on the earth.

"I saw Chesca today," I said bitterly, the name sour on my tongue. "Can you believe that? After all these years... after everything she did. She was there, smiling like none of it ever happened."

I looked back at the headstones, at the carved names that still carried my heart.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Ma. I feel so lost."

The sky was shifting to soft pinks and lavender, the kind of sky Mom used to call "God's watercolor." I tilted my head back, watching the clouds dissolve into twilight.

"But I'll try," I said quietly. "I'll try to keep going. And if there's still a space in Rain's heart for me—kahit maliit lang—I'll fight for it. As long as it's there, I'll fight."

I reached out and touched the headstones gently.

"Please watch over me. Please... help me not give up."