Secret

When it was finally given to me, I didn't know what to do with it, nor what would be its role in my life. Now standing in front of him, I knew I found my answer.

Regional Hospital - 1998. 12:15 am.

The sounds of the wailing ambulance filled the city as it rushed back to the hospital's
entrance. Immediately, it was followed by hurried footsteps and a loud thud of pulled blue kit from the vehicle. The thing inside was swiftly surrendered to the emergency room.

A heart transplant was accomplished hours after. Weeks passed before I finally woke up. At once, I clutched my banded chest, feeling the pour of constant pain dominating inside me. I made it alive, I realized before another strike of pain crossed my face and put me into a deep slumber.

That night, I dreamt of a young man, dressed in a high school uniform silently taking pictures around the school. Flashes of his feminine face, his big brown eyes, almost frail body filled my visions.

And almost every night, this man haunted my reveries. At first, I thought maybe it was because I had his heart but after meeting the wife of my heart's donor whose name was Joshua Han, and found out it was not the same person, I became really confused

Strange enough, it went on for weeks after l left the hospital and so I was fuelled by an unknown determination to trace 'that' person. I went to the same school the next day and found out from the records about the man on my dreams - Macario Kim.

That day, I also discovered why i was haunted by the images of him.

I accidentally met the image in my dream in an art gallery opening in the city.When I finally looked at Macario, it was truly the same face like that on my dreams - feminine, big eyes, breathtaking. The second my eyes met his, something inside me stirred up. Unhesitant, I approached him.

Polytechnic High School 1976

Out of the hanging pictures on a thin wire clipped carefully to dry inside his dark room, Macario stood awe-stricken by his latest shot of his recent favorite subject.It was glorious. He felt proud that he captured the prominent angle just right. Acctually, all of the images were stolen (which made it sound as if he was a creepy stalker, nonetheless) and his subject, of course, did not know his formidable fondness.

It started when their homeroom teacher introduced a Chinese exchange student and Macario's peaceful world began to go in complete disarray. Nobody knew how he forced his heart to calm down when the new student took a glance of him. Well aside from his glorious features and good posture, his eyes were the ones that caught his attention. They were almost gentle as if were pleading. And when they looked at him something inside him stirred. He smiled warmingly when Joshua, his new seatmate greeted him.

Being the loner he was, he spent his free time alone with his camera, capturing moments as if they would be fading any minute. He was aiming to take a picture of blue-eyed kitten sleeping on one of the benches when someone passed by and changed the photo. Irritated, he glanced at the view menu of the camera. Unknowingly, a small smile was formed on his feminine face. It was a stolen shot of Joshua Han.

Somehow, before Macario had graduated high school, fate decided to play games on him -Joshua became his best friend.

But Macario continued his one-sided affection to Joshua, silently, and pursued
that secret escapade of making Joshua his subject.

So when he was asked to play the piano for his best friend's wedding, he hid his aching heart with a big, fake smile.

"I wish you genuine happiness", were his last words to him before Joshua met an accident weeks after and then died

As fate untangled the pieces of yesterday and laid the last cards on my hands, I pulled a gold, old locket from my pocket and gave it to Macario. When it was initially given to me, l didn't know what to do with it, nor what would its role be in my life. Now, standing in front of him, I knew I found my answers. The small photo of Macario a gorgeous stolen shot was taking pride on the center of the locket.

Before I left, I glanced back to the center of the edifice. A breathtaking shot of a handsome young man, with gentle, Chinese features and an attractive smile became the museum's greatest piece. It was this photo that placed the same juddering heartbeats before.

"A Secret by Macario Kim," the plate said.

l realized that l had given them the ending they deserve.