I have grown very fond of this place. It holds a lot of memories that I would never want to forget. However, whenever I am here, I am always crying. Like that first time we met.

It was a fine summer day back when I was six years old. My mom told me I could go to the beach to play since there were no classes. Excited, I picked up my plastic shovel and bucket. I went to this spot right here. It was the only empty portion in the beach. Everywhere else were other kids making sand castles. I started digging into the ground to make my own. Shovel by shovel, I filled my pink bucket happily. I'm going to make a big castle for me, mommy, and daddy! I thought. Then, I heard snickers from behind me. Suddenly, I was pushed into the sand by a group of boys just a bit older than me. Sand got into my eyes. One of the bullies chuckled while repeating polka dot , polka dot . Then his friends laughed along with him. I was wearing a skirt that day, and when they pushed me, everyone found out that I was wearing polka dot . I tried to hit the tallest one with my shovel, but he dodged quickly and I fell to the ground really hard. I cried and cried, until a tall boy with bags under his round eyes stood up in front of me. He beat them up, although they outnumbered him. As expected, he ended up being sore. When he could not fight back anymore, I held his hand and we ran away from the scene.

We became friends after that. Turns out that he frequented the beach because he was always alone at home. When he told me that, we made plans to meet here everyday after school. We would tell each other stories and fool around, trying to catch tiny crabs crawling on the seaside and collecting clams that were washed ashore.

When I was eight, we met here and I cried about my low grade in Math class.

When I was twelve, I cried about the girl who cornered me at the restroom because she thought I was flirting with her crush. His sleeve got wet from all my tears.

When I was sixteen, I gave a chocolate bar to my long-term crush in school. I found them in the trash can. Guess what? I cried at this same spot.

When I was twenty, I broke up with my boyfriend of two years. Of course the sea was witness to my tears again. And of course, my friend.

When I was twenty-two, he confessed to me. My friend. The one who wiped away all of my tears for the past years, told me he loved me. I loved him too. He laughed when I suddenly cried. For the first time ever since I first visited this beach, my tears were that of joy.

Now I am twenty-six, and I am here on the same spot where we first met twenty years ago. Suddenly, I felt gentle hands covering my eyes.

"Guess who?" he asked.

"Who else walks alone at this beach?" I retorted.

He laughed and I joined him as he twirled me around to face him.

"So," he said "not crying today, huh?"

I pretended to punch him. "Nope. Not unless you're gonna make me."

"What if I told you that I am?" he asked in a serious tone.

I fell silent. So after twenty years, I guess this is how it ends. Maybe I became too dependent on him. Too much that I never thought he would leave me.

"Why?" I asked, tears already threatening to fall.

"Close your eyes"

"Why?"

"Just...close your eyes" he said softly.

Two decades of being together was enough for me to trust him. I closed my eyes. He took my hand and placed a twig on it. Then he firmly placed his hand on top of mine and started writing on the sand. I couldn't quite place what he was trying to write, but I'm sure that they were letters. My heart leapt out of my chest when he stopped writing and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"You can open your eyes now" he said.

I did open my eyes and read what was written in the sand:


My eyes rounded from the shock. I turned around to face him. He was smiling as he knelt to the ground on one knee. From his pocket, he fished out something small. It looked like one of those clams that we used to collect as kids.

Then he opened it to reveal a ring with an intricate design of delicate sea waves.

The sea. The witness to our first meeting. The witness to our friendship. The witness to our love.

I did cry. I playfully hit him again while the tears fell from my eyes, "Pabo! I thought you were going to tell me that you're leaving me forever. I can't stand that. Aish, you pabo."

"Hey, I'm sorry. I would never leave you. I promise. Those tears from your eyes, I will do my best to make sure that they are the last ones. I promise to never let anyone make you cry again, myself included."

I probably looked like a crazy woman already, but somehow I ended up crying harder.

"Whenever you come home from school crying, I feel so helpless. I want to protect you from all of those people who hurt you. Ever since I saw you making that sand castle twenty years ago, I've waited for this day when I can finally go down on one knee and ask you this question," he continued. "Will you marry me?"

I wiped away the remainder of my tears. Then I picked up the twig from the ground and wrote: YES

He stood up from where he knelt and placed his lips on mine. It was gentle, yet sweet. It was a silent promise that we will be together forever. The waves crashed onto the shore, as violently as the beating of my heart. He broke the kiss to look at me and placed the ring on my finger. Beautiful. Like the sea. Like him.

"I love you" he whispered.

I snuggled perfectly into his chest and listened to his heart. Its rhythm told me the same thing. I pulled back to look into his deep-set eyes reflecting the setting sun.


"I love you more...Tao"