Chapter XII: The Sun and the Moon

A huge gate welcomed us, “Aurodon” was engraved at the metal fence that encloses the place in front of us. “Where are we exactly?” I asked Chris, but he walked past me, bringing the bag full of paints. He talked with someone at the gate and I remained standing —  watching him.

Chris is actually tall, probably around 6-foot and has an average weight. He does not look like a guy who always goes to the gym but he has a flat stomach. A plain black iris and hair. His eyes are round which looks very much alive. I haven’t stared at him for that long but his eyes always captivate me, I cannot lie about it. Now that I am staring at him while he is talking with the lady guard, he really looks like some good guy – a guy you wouldn’t date because he’s too good to be true. 

“We just have to sign up, pwede na tayong pumasok pagkatapos.” We walked together to the lady guard to sign up, the lady guard nodded and smiled at us. Chris was the first one to write, I saw him write down his name, address, and birthday which happened to be the birthday of my mom as well. 

Wow! What a coincidence.

He only wrote down “Ariel City” for the address, too bad. I want to know his full address. 

He passed me the pen and the log book. Of course, I wrote down my name, address, and birthday as well. But not the real ones.

The lady guard then nodded at us and gestured us to walk inside. 

“Is this some sort of tourist destination?” Why did we even sign up and write our birth dates? It would be fun if they’ll send us gifts tho.

The place looks like a mini art village. Almost every building has graffiti, there are houses painted in different colors, infrastructure that screams the dreams of architects that makes engineering a bit harder than it already is. I also love that they incorporate nature with all of these modernity and use it to create diverse forms of art.

“Yes, Aurora.” He said, emphasizing the name I registered in the log book. “This is a tourist destination where you can freely roam around and do art. Art galleries, restaurants, and art communities can also be seen here.” He explained that this place is a project built by a group of artists who wants to encourage other people to appreciate or at least try expressing themselves through visual arts. 

Chris and I do not actually have to log-in but since we came earlier than their usual opening, we had to. “Tara na.” Chris said, leading me towards one of the abandoned buildings. The word “Freedom” was painted into different shades of blue outside the building where we stopped. It was amazing inside and outside. It is full of graffiti with “freedom” themed artworks. There are drawings of chains, doves, thoughts, guns, and everything that you could think about that is associated with the word freedom. 

Matagal din namin inakyat ‘yung building na sa tantiya ko ay nasa dalawampung palapag. Bawat hakbang ay punong-puno ng kulay at buhay, maging ang hadan ay mayroong mga drawings. Hindi siya maduming tignan para sa akin, parang ito pa nga ‘yung bumubuhay sa abandonadong gusali na ito.

“Woah!” I was flabbergasted as I set my foot on the rooftop. In front of us is a breathtaking view of nature. The mountains and hills are hiding the sun which is about to rise. I closed my eyes and felt the wind as it hit my skin. Different memories with sunsets and sunrises are in a flashback in my mind. They are coming clearly to me as if I am just browsing the pictures inside my phone which I deleted a long time ago. I don’t want to be emotional but wherever I go, I am haunted by my past. I cannot fully run away from it because it is within me. The only way to end all of these is to end my life. 

The back of Aurodon is actually a protected rainforest which they call Island of Regain. The building we are at is the farthest and the closest to the rainforest. That's why we can enjoy the sunrise. 

Enjoy.

Stupid.

It was an understatement to the feelings that I cannot admit right now. 

I met Chris’ eyes when I opened mine. I don’t know how long he has been staring at me but I fought back and gave him a glare. He looked away. “How did you know about this place?” I asked while walking to the edge of the building. “Internet.” He said, as if the answer is too obvious and I am just too dumb to figure that out. “You know, my mom used to tell me about the story of the sun and the moon.” I said, reminiscing the past again. Everything in nature reminds me of her. The rain, the heavenly bodies, the land and the water. Everything. I sat on the edge of the building. I tapped the space beside me and looked at Chris, “sit here,” which he hesitantly followed. 

“She told me that the sun loved the moon so much he died every night to let her breathe.” I know with that statement, he was easily hooked. I was amused by it too when I was an eight year-old child. Now, I find this story alarming. How can someone love that much to the point that you’ll let yourself be killed, it’s insanity. Another factor why I don’t believe such dramas are about red strings.  “The moon was very beautiful so the sun fell in love instantly. Sadly, they are two worlds apart. The moon is able to illuminate her beauty when the sun is present because of his light, so one night she told the sun, ‘“Go and let me breathe, for you and I have decided fates. You illuminate the day, and I cast a glow on the night. We will never be. Our connection would go against what all the people believe, all they know.’” 

Chris looked at me,”that’s it?” He looks so disappointed. “Of course not, if the moon should breathe why can’t I?” I rolled my eyes. Why do I feel like Chris is becoming more and more annoying in my eyes?

“So, what happened?” 

“During the summer, the sun would stay a little longer in hopes of changing her mind, but her decision was firm. When the moon was about to die, she told the sun, ‘Don’t you dare abandon your blessing of light for my darkness.’ And then the sun decided that he would die each and every night to let his true love breathe, by giving her light for it would put an end to all her misery.” 

A tragic love story of two worlds apart. That’s why I do not believe in fate, because if there is beauty within it there is also the ugly truth that fate can be as tragic as this story. 

Chris could only say, “that’s sad.” He did not comment further and was just staring at the view in front of us. 

The sun is rising. “The moon is resting somewhere, isn’t she? Waiting for the sun to let her breathe again.” He said. I nodded, although I don’t know if he could see that. “I was told a different story.” I was about to stand up but that got me back from sitting. “Sun is a symbol of hope. ‘Kahit gaano pa kadilim ang gabi, sisikat pa din ang araw kinabukasan.’ That’s what I am always told. Siguro nga hindi itinadhana ang buwan at araw pero gumagawa sila ng paraan para magkita.” 

“Eclipse.” He nodded to my answer.

The phenomenon where the sun and the moon get to meet at least once every 18 months.

“The sun and the moon remind me of hope that if I cannot love the person closely, I can love her from afar and wait for the right time for us to meet.” I shrugged, “too cheesy!” I stood up and went to the staircase where the spray paints were peacefully waiting for us. 

I went for the yellow spray paint, “I’ll draw the sun. Malay mo, I’d die for you, let you breathe, and give you my sunshine.” He did not respond to my joke. Okay. See, one second he’s fun to talk with, the next second he’s not even responding. I started drawing the sun while he was watching me. “This is not vandalism.” We should have painted the walls of a government official or a public establishment in the City then run away from it. It’ll be more fun to do that, “no. We’re not going to break the law.” He said while starting to paint with me. “You’re no fun, I thought you said this would be fun?” 

Chris started to throw the acrylic latex paints on the rooftop’s floor. “Hey, you’re ruining my art here!” Hindi niya ako pinansin at ipinagpatuloy lang ‘yung ginagawa niya. He’s throwing the paints on the floor so I ran into him and spray painted his shirt. “Leira?” I bit the insides of my cheeks  “what? You asked for it!” Before he could even come at me, I immediately ran downstairs. 

Chris followed me and as soon as he catched me, he put paint on my shirt and hair. Before I could fight back, he already ran upstairs. I look like a total mess!

I rolled my eyes, I know I cannot fight back anymore. “Let’s finish this. You’ll be painting the moon!”