“baby, do you want to buy something or you wanna do anything?” I asked my girlfriend Arah Vela while she eating an ice cream made with chili that she asks me some time ago.

“baby, wait for a sec..” she said, and at the same time letting go of my handholds into her then she picks a paper inside her pocket that had written her bucket list.

“hmmmmmmnnn.. we almost did everything baby, except for the last one because it seems impossible..” she said then I walk beside her to see the last bucket list she wants to do that seems to be impossible, according to her.

“This one?! That’s easy! We will go there! Just trust me!” I boastfully said to her.

“oh really?!” she doubtfully asks.

“yes, baby! Even if I got drown in debts, as long as we can do all you want that was listed in your list!” I said that makes her smile.

“Thank you, Francis! You’re the best boyfriend ever!” she said while clinging to my arm.

I know that Arah Vela is happy with what I’ve said, but deep inside me, I feel the opposite. And while we walking outside the mall, I said something.

“Baby...” I call her while we are walking and she clings to me.

“What is it?” she asks.

“I was just thinking that we can be that our last destination before the month ends?” I asked her

“That’s okay! Almost all the things I wished that I want to do, you make them come true, so it’s not a big deal for me as long as you ask me...” she cheerfully said while I fix her blonde color hair. That is one of her wish written on her bucket list.

After I sent Arah Vela home, we told her parents what we want to do. I know that they are sad but they are forcing themselves to make a smile for my girlfriend’s sake.

“It’s alright! But, do you mind if we go there with you?!” Sonia asks, Arah Vela’s mom.

“do you mind Francis?” this time it’s Arah who asks me.

“I don’t mind! I’ll gonna prepare a budget for---“

“Francis, Arnulfo, and I were fine. We will pay for the transportation fee since you spent a lot of money for our daughter here..” Sonia said after she cuts me off my sentences.

“mom! How could you!” Arah Vela said while pouting her lips that make us smile.

“When will we go to our province?” Arah Vela’s father Arnulfo asks me.

“We already talked about it that we will go there after we finished all of her bucket lists,” I answered. And they both smiled at me with their eyes full of sadness. I know that it is really heavy to feel this kind of pain inside our hearts but we have to do it, for Arah’s sake.

In almost one year, we made a lot of happy memories. And we almost tour every province of the Philippines and at the same time eat almost all of the food that she wants to taste so bad, and we both witnessed every other culture that we don’t experience here in manila. I did all I can to make her happy and I will never waste any chances to see the smile on her lips that makes me feel energized and motivated.

“baby, thank you very much... I’m so happy that we see places and experience everything together..” she said then she puts her head on my shoulders.

Arah’s stress reliever is hiking, strolling every other place even if she is busy with her work as a bank manager. While I am busy running my restaurant business which is newly built at that time so that I can’t be with her oftentimes on her adventures. But she is not a demanding girlfriend, she understands every burden that I’ve experienced but it doesn’t mean that I can easily forget about the important events in her life because of my busy schedules.

But this time, I will recover the times that I am not with the happiest days of her life.

I sent her home after hiking from Mt. Makiling, I just went home to take a shower and pick up my backpack to prepare to go to their province early tomorrow.

It's already 1 am and we are traveling to the pier. While we are riding on a car that we rented by Arah’s parents, I see their exhaustion on their faces while they are leaning their heads on the window. I just smiled because it reminds me of the first time I met Arah. And just like before, I felt her head leaning on my shoulders which makes me smiled. Before I flicked her forehead to wake her up, but now I slowly hugged her and properly leaning her head on my shoulder to prevent her from waking up.