Lilac

Chapter 2

It all started for Skye when he decided he didn’t want to be a part of the crowd where his parents seemed to fit in perfectly. That was when he found the polished coffee-colored door the people in the dance hall were talking about. It was the office of Father’s friend, Uncle Antony, who was also his father's favorite topic whenever he spoke. There wasn't a day he hadn't mentioned him to them. To him, not all stories had all sides to be good, but when it comes to stories about Uncle Antony, it appears in his father's point of view, all his sides were good. Having heard of ton of stories about Uncle Antony, Skye also became fond of the man. Now that he found the door that led to the office in the stories he was told, he was smitten to it. What would the office of a great man look like? He thought with deep curiosity.

He pushed the coffee-colored door open, and it revealed to him a room as large as the receiving room in their home. It had an impressive collection of books in large shelves that had the same color as the door. While he didn’t love the idea of spending time reading books, he loved bookcases and the smell of books. He loved the serenity of the study and libraries, and he was fond of the idea of being in a secluded, quiet place where no one would easily find him.

The columns and beams were stylized with curves and arches that appeared to have come from the Renaissance era. The cream walls had accentuated the intricate design of gold and moss green of the ceiling. He would rather describe the study as an antique library instead.

“Who are you?” He suddenly heard a girl call out, making his heart skip a beat in astonishment. He had to hold on to his chest to make sure he wouldn't faint. He looked up to find a girl looking at him with her brows scrunched in the middle.

"You scared me." He noted. "Who are you?" He asked back out of curiosity why a girl would be allowed here where other people like him were forbidden.

"You dare ask me when you're the one who's not supposed to be here!" Her voice was calm and small but sounding dead serious that it made his ears ring and sent chills down his spine. Despite the shadows making it difficult for him to distinguish her face, Skye could tell the young girl's expression had not changed at all. No child had affected him the same way. He normally experienced it with elder people.

"I-I'm Skylar Cruz." He winced over the sound of his stammer. "Skye, son of Robert Cruz."

"You’re a son of one of Dad's friends?" Her tone turned lighter. "Why are you here?" She asked as she walked down the movable staircase.

"You know my Dad?"

"Your Dad is always with my Dad," she said as if it had been the most natural thing to know about. She stared at Skye for a second longer than one normally would, and Skye finally recognized her.

"You're Eliza."

Her eyes hovered him one more time before she replied, "Yes."

It was quite fitting, he thought, that a girl would have a powerful personality as her father had a massive personality. "I'm Skye," he said, holding out his hand to her in a handshake.

---

Skye opened his eyes. It had been probably the hundredth time he had recalled their first meeting that week. Every time, or all the time, the memory would be very vivid as if it happened only yesterday. The difference of his age between his present and the things he thought of somehow made him feel mildly nauseated. He pressed the top of his nose bridge to control the discomfort that started, and he reached for a glass of water.

The doors of his office opened, and his cell phone rang. Skye sighed before picking up his cell phone.

"Boss!" His assistant's voice resounded in his ears, instantly clearing all the clouds in his mind.

Skye's eyes looked up to the ceiling, partly grateful for his assistant's contagious mood. "You sound happy."

"I found your wife!"

----

Skye went straight to Antony's home after office hours. He had a meeting with the engineers after his assistant broke the news to him. He had waited patiently. He had to be patient. He had to control his feelings, or else he wouldn't be able to hold his emotions when he would finally go to see Eliza again.

"Skye," the senior man called out as he entered the receiving hall. He was on his way downstairs, and it seemed as if he had been expecting him.

"Dad," he called.

"What brings you here? Did something happen?" He had his hands in his pocket as he walked the rest of the steps of the stairs one after another.

"I have something to ask."

The older man stared into Skye's eyes as if trying to read his mind before he spoke, "Can this wait after dinner?"

"I already had dinner. I'll wait in your study." Skye started to the other end of the room when Tony pulled him lightly by the arm.

"My wife would want to see you anyway. Have coffee at least. We also have cake."

The only reason he ate cakes was because Eliza was fond of cakes and pastries. He was not fond of sweets at all, but just the same, the idea of letting down another female made him soft.

"I'll see her later before I leave," Skye said.

Tony blinked in disbelief. Skye had never turned down his invitation especially when it came to involve his wife. He just nodded and told him, "I'll let her know and see you in the study."

Skye went to the same study where he and Eliza first met. Not much has changed. It had become one of the places they would go to when Eliza felt nostalgic. Now Skye was the one who felt nostalgic. This was also where they first kissed. She was 18 then, and he was 22.

An hour later, the door opened to reveal the face of Tony. He found Skye sitting on one of the couches surrounding the long coffee table. Tony smiled at him and sat on one at the head of the table. "I called Allen, and he told me he found Eliza. Is that why you're upset? I thought it was good news for you."

Just as usual, Tony was someone who didn't like to be confronted without knowing where he stood. Skye chuckled at the thought Allen could possibly be more on Tony's side than his.

"What I'm upset about is that you have always known where she is and have just watched me suffer here even though you know exactly where I can find her." He looked into Tony's eyes.

Tony was flabbergasted. Seeing the speculative look in Skye, he shifted in his seat. He chuckled. "What made you think I knew where she was?"

"Did you also ask Allen where he found her? I'm pretty sure you would have understood where I was coming from."

"He found her at Mabel's home." Tony said, sounding to be guessing, falling helplessly into Skye's trap. He chuckled as he looked down at his feet before turning them back up to look at Skye. "What good does all these bring to us? This wedding…do you still want it? It’s been a year now since she disappeared, Skye. What’s the point of all these? This much effort, this much time spent, these much resources used."

"Why?" Skye asked. "You don't want this wedding anymore, Uncle?"

It had been a while since he heard Skye call him "uncle." It made him stare at Skye in disbelief.

"Eliza…she wanted this wedding. We were planning for it. I have so many questions regarding her departure. I wanted to understand. If she has questions for me, I'll answer them. I don't want this to end like this. If there is no point in ending it, then I want to start over with her."

Tony stared at him speculatively, the same way he always would every time they would talk about Eliza since she left.

"If you have questions for me, Uncle. I'll answer them. I can't answer questions when they're not known to me. I'm not a mind reader, you know." Skye said, waiting for him to speak.

Tony just shook his head. He chuckled once again; the frequency he's been doing so started to get on Skye's nerves. "I'm just an observer, I guess. I admit I've known some things, but it's not a long time ago. I only learned them very recently." Tony raised his eyes to meet his. "For that, I apologize. I'm someone who wants to learn the entire story first before I tell you what I think." He got up from his seat and settled his hand firmly on Skye's shoulder. "Bring her back, and let's resume the plans for your wedding if you still want it."

Skye's mind started to overflow with negative thoughts about the older man, but they almost immediately dissipated at the same speed they came seeing the sincerity in his eyes as he offered him sympathy. More questions start to form in his mind. He sighed trying to calm his emotions.

He contemplated the Cleopatra-styled couch by the bookshelves. When he visited in the past, Eliza would usually be in that couch, waiting for him. They had shared many kisses on that couch because Eliza was someone who liked kissing. She would kiss him when they would meet and when they would separate for the day. It was one of the things he missed about her. Also, there was something calming about having her around. Holding onto the essence of their memories together, Skye got up and went out of the room.

There was another sweet person he liked having in his life. He was pretty sure that was where Eliza got her personality, or most of it. He went to the veranda, finding Nora, Antony's wife, at the coffee table, having her afternoon tea. She looked up, having heard his footsteps, and she greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Skye responded with a kiss on her hand.

"Bless you, son." Nora whispered. She looked into his eyes as if trying to read his mind before asking, "Is everything all right?"

"I found where Eliza is, Mom." Skye said, choosing to continue calling her "mom" since his annoyance didn't include her. There are many reasons he had to differ his treatment between her and Antony. For one, Nora was truly surprised to have known Eliza had been living at Mabel's home. Nora was always in the shadows of the truth just like him.

"It's been a while since Mabel was talked about, and I never expected her name to be brought up in a discussion about Eliza's disappearance." Nora said, holding her chest. In truth, it was taboo to talk about Mabel in front of the Salvador clan. It was a topic that was simply never discussed or naturally disregarded.

Nora naturally told Skye about Mabel. The first time and probably the last time she was acquainted with Eliza had been her 14th birthday when Mabel showed up at the door one day to visit Antony and his family. Her visit had been brief; Nora couldn't tell where and how Mabel had a link with Eliza with such a brief meeting.

"I apologize if you feel we didn't do enough," Nora's voice echoed in his mind. Nora was truly upset. She was like him—she would be frantic and emotional over the topic of Eliza's disappearance. He couldn't bring himself to accuse her of having hiding Eliza from him.

Tony contemplated the glass that held the whisky he poured for the night. He was bad at holding his liquor before Eliza disappeared on him. Now, three glasses of the strong liquor hadn't been enough to make him stop recalling the feel of Eliza in his arms or the taste of her mouth. He pushed his fork on a piece of the papaya slices he served himself, and he leaned back against the couch to contemplate the ceiling.

The next morning, Tony found himself lying in an uncomfortable manner at the foot of the living room couch. A part of his back was aching, and the side of his body that faced the ceiling felt cold. His body made cracking sounds as he stretched. He groaned and sighed in relief.

He looked up his phone and found Allen had sent him an image. He had asked for a picture of Eliza, and Allen had not responded until now. Upon opening the file, he froze. His eyes were wide open, and he took a deep breath. In the picture was Eliza looking lax against a bar counter, seeming to be contemplating someone or something in the direction of the one who took that photo. Her hair was only up to her shoulders and was very dark, looking black if it were not for the gentle sunlight gleaming it to show it was actually chocolate brown in color. The last time he saw her, her hair was reddish brown with streaks of strawberry blonde and caramel brown. Skye assumed she had dyed her hair back to its natural color. He passed a finger through the image of her face as if he could touch her face by just doing so. He closed his eyes as he tried to tame the brewing emotions in his chest.

His let go of his cell phone to the bar counter of his kitchen as he opened his eyes. His mind had already engraved in his soul the image of the present Eliza. His heart thrummed warmly in his chest. It had been a year since he last felt his chest grow warm. Even without looking at the picture anymore, he could remember Eliza's expression. It was familiar. It was the same that Eliza usually wore on her face—always intrigued, always observing. It was definitely his Eliza. She had the spirit of wonder of a child. He couldn't help smiling. It was also like her to not always be knowing of everything around her and yet would have a look of being aware. He could see the image of her in his mind as if he had been there when her picture was taken. He opened his eyes, delighted she was in excellent shape as described to him.

After the encounter with Tony yesterday, Skye knew he was the least person who would tell him any more details about Mabel or Eliza. He also wouldn't want to pull Nora's leg just because he was curious. Fortunately, Allen had become as knowledgeable by now about the history of the Sandoval family, so he decided to hear from him first. After a long drive to Baguio, Skye met with Allen, and they had a meal first before going to Eliza. Maybe, just maybe, Tony, Nora, and/or Eliza and Mabel would change parts of what he would hear from Allen later on.

It turned out Allen appeared to have looked into the story of Mabel way further than he expected. According to him, Mabel had been engaged to a wealthy man before she eloped with a younger man. She got pregnant, but she lost her partner along the way.

"Mabel is someone you could call the prodigal daughter of the family or the black sheep of the family. She started living in Baguio from the time she left Manila to 'survive on her own,' but really who are we kidding? These rich kids, what do they really know about 'living normally'? Her brother stepped in almost immediately and helped her grow her wealth here. I do agree these rich kids also do have the knack of running a business. In a matter of months, her inn became quite known, and from there her brother didn't need to intervene anymore." Allen spoke about Mabel as if he had known him all his life, and his confidence, Skye realized, was the one that made him become so good at doing what he does. "The curious thing is nobody in that town knows Mabel has a brother, the same way you don’t know she exists."

"So what made you think that this woman you found is linked to Antony Sandoval?"

"She never changed her name. Neither did your fiancée. It's not really something you need to think about." He laughed. "I asked them, 'what's the name of the owner?' They said, 'oh, it's Mabel Sandoval.' 'What's her niece's name?' 'It's Eliza. I heard she just joined in the management of the inn just a year ago.' That's not the exact conversation, but you get the idea. It's as if they were not hiding."

Skye just nodded, pleased of having Allen as his assistant. He was pleased as well that all the things in his life led him to this man.

"Your fiancee has a good nose." Allen took a sip of his coffee. "She almost found me out, but the thing about her is that she easily brushes away the bad feeling. She ignores her intuition too fast, I guess."

Skye stared at his assistant, realizing he had grown to be so confident to speak something that seemed to be something he should be offended with. "Are you saying she's stupid?"

Allen's eyes shot at him. He pulled up to straighten his back on his seat. He shook his head frantically while laughing awkwardly. "Oh, I would never—"

"It's true. It's her bad habit." Skye said as he looked away to let the topic drop. Allen only looked down and took another sip of his coffee.

---

"Welcome!" Eliza called out as the two men came through the door. She picked up the menu boards on the counter and turned to face her new guests. It was Skye and Allen. She froze in the same way Skye was.

Skye had the feeling he would still be surprised, but knew he shouldn't be since he had already seen Eliza's photo. Yet, he was still flabbergasted. His heart felt as if it had been poured with hot oil. It burned his chest. Her eyes were to him for a while looking like she had seen a ghost especially when she had seen Allen, who stood beside Skye. Her eyes stayed on him for some time before she looked at Skye again and smiled, saying, "Table for two?"