Intramuros Read online

Intramuros

  J. X. NULUD

  Copyright 2016 J.X. NULUD

  Thank you for the support

  DISCLAIMER

  Although I have drawn my emotions from my experiences, this is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

 

  In his eyes laid a familiar sight, a spectacle he has not seen for years, and now it was in front of him. He stood still, his eyes as wide as the ocean, his feet unmoving, his thoughts scrambled and his memories came back one by one, each savoury detail, still thick in his skull.

  "Julia!" he exclaimed. Julia looked at him and for a few seconds she called to mind who the man was. She smiled her alluring smile, knowing it was Charles.

  "Of all places, I never thought I'd see you here." She nervously acknowledged his presence while she waited in line to order her food at one of the hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Intramuros' Muralla Street. It was a December Friday but the weather was hot as the steam coming out from the kitchen. It was vacation time for the colleges inside and so the ancient walled city was nearly empty of its usual sounds - the laughter of students walking, the chattering of street vendors, and the bells of the schools that would ring at each end of a class, only the Calesas touring foreigners were present and a few horns from cars. The sun was unforgiving, it glared the earth like a mad king and scorched the asphalt.

  "This is where I used to eat when I was in college and I just thought I'd visit Intramuros, kind of missing this place for some time now." Charles was excited, he felt the sweat drip from the back of his head. "It's been a long time, Julia." He said her name and it felt good. "Are you with somebody right now?" he asked, hoping that she would invite him to join her.

  "Yes, three years did fly by. I still remember bumping into you at Jones Bridge. I'm alone, I just thought I'd tour around these walls, look for something to inspire my painting. Do you want to join me for lunch?" Julia invited Charles and he happily agreed.

  "So you do some painting now?" Charles queried as he quickly seated across the table."I've been doing it for a long time, it's actually my favorite hobby. I just didn't have the chance to tell you before, you know, we spend just a few hours together that day." She felt anxious, and she looked at the counter and followed up her order, but it wasn't even five minutes since she placed her order. Charles looked at her with thrill, he terribly missed her.

  Muralla Street was always windy, the road snaked around the walled city and the buildings drifted the wind to the length of the street. Both Charles and Julia were silent, trying desperately not to look into each other's eyes. A definite awkwardness filled the atmosphere of their universe. They questioned the world in their thoughts why they met again - of all places why on a Friday of December? Was it purely coincidence, divine intervention, or has fate played its way to draw them back together, again.

  Their food had arrived - two sizzling plates of boiled and chopped pig ears and cheeks, which were seasoned in vinegar, Philippine lemon, chopped onions and chicken liver. "No, don't tell me Sisig is also your favorite?" Charles asked, hoping that they have something more in common with, other that broken hearts when they first met in Escolta years ago. "Yes it is, pork Sisig, I also read that this place was the best place in Intramuros to eat it." She replied dismissively and without emotion, it brought further awkwardness between them. They waited who would make the first move to grab their utensils. Julia looked at the Sisig slowly cooking the egg and Charles looked to the heavens as if asking cupid to fire the arrows already. The sizzle of the plate became the only noise that saved them from deafening silence until the oil of the pork meat propelled into Julia's arm and she shrieked in pain, in a spark of the moment they looked at each other and both of them smirked, trying not to acknowledge the discomfort of being at each end of the table. But Julia couldn't hold it anymore and she busted into laughter and Charles soon followed.

  "Come on, let's eat already!" shouted Julia while still laughing.

  Charles couldn't help but remember how they first met and how she captivated him with her wide, bright eyes; how the sun kissed her radiant skin. He remembered how he became curious when he saw her walk into the art fair - he remembered the grand, red dress Julia wore and how it draped the curves of her body. He watched how her long hair with curly tips flawlessly flung against the wind. And Charles best remembered her soft, thin, pink lips that killed his senses when she pulled the trigger and planted a bullet kiss that sealed his heart in reserve for her. And ever since that night in Escolta, there wasn't anybody who could make him forget her.

  Julia looked at Charles as he prepared condiments for their food, she could still remember that second Saturday of April when she bumped Charles at Jones Bridge. She reminisced how Charles shared about his broken past and how he professed being quickly she captivated him. Julia too, was broken when she met Charles. She was soul-searching that day and in Charles she found herself. They had shared much with so little time together that night. They understood one another because they were connected to each other. And the kiss they shared, she truly felt the honesty and sincerity of his lips. It was in the kiss that she knew he may be the one. But she didn't want to waste him, she didn't want to be with him while they were both emotional wrecks - instead she put a bet on fate to bring them back together if indeed they were for each other. And now, and always, fate won.

  "Is it your first time to eat here?" asked Charles.

  "It's my first time to be here in Intramuros, actually." Julia replied as she took a bite from her food and tasted the wonder of the savory meat titillate her senses. She closed her eyes in consent and admiration to the sizzling sisig. Charles quietly smiled across the table, knowing that she still had the radiant smile that caused him sleepless nights.

  "So what's your plan after this? Going somewhere else?" Charles fished for an answer, but he really hoped that Julia would say that she had no other plans after lunch. He had missed her and he didn't want to end their reunion over plates of garlicky meat.

  "I don't know where else to go. I haven't been anywhere other than Fort Santiago." She explained. But she too hoped that Charles had something in mind as she missed him too.

  "I can show you my favorite places, the ones close to my heart." Charles teased.

  "I'd love that." Julia answered as they both gazed into each other's eye in astonishment of the chance fate has given them.

  Charles looked at the dress Julia was wearing, it was bright and the cloth was thin, he watched it flow through the contour of her body. He imagined how it felt to be the fabric draping over her curves.

  "The last time I saw you, you were in a red dress. And now, you're still in a red dress." Charles expressed as he smiled and drank the bland, free iced tea from his glass.

  "And you're still in a blue shirt, seems like nothing changed at all." She replied.

  They had finished lunch and the sun finally hid behind the thick clouds, Julia lighted two cigarettes and handed the other to Charles just like before. Charles smiled and in his smile he knew that they were still connected, that there was a part of him still inside Julia's memories because she too still resided in him. They sat and smoked under the old acacia tree to which its roots had busted out the concrete. Charles and Julia's chemistry had not faltered after all those years of being away from each other's comfort as they tried to catch up for the years that had passed.

  Charles then walked Julia outside the gates of Intramuros where they hailed a Jeepney for short ride. He had asked Julia to be blindfolded as he wanted to surprise her to where they were headed to and Julia liked t
he idea and so she agreed. As they alighted the Jeepney, they entered the building used by the old senate during the 1930s in Pre-war Manila - Neoclassical in design, its pillars rivalled that of the post office building. They soon entered the hall and Julia felt the air condition cool her body. She shivered and Charles felt this and held her hand tighter, Julia drew closer to his arms and wrapped her hands around it and she felt his warm muscles. Charles placed her at the center of the hall.

  "Are you ready?" he asked while he stood before her, he felt elated that after all those years, he was finally reunited with Julia.

  "Of course!" Julia replied. Charles ogled into her desirable lips and was tempted to kiss her but he succeeded in controlling himself.

  Charles removed the blindfold and when Julia opened her eyes she was