Epilogue
Epilogue — “Full Circle”
Arushi POV
It's been more than a decade.
Twelve years since that wedding. Twelve years since Celest and I promised each other forever.
And look at us now.
Still here. Still together. Still hopelessly in love.
But now with two daughters.
Dalawa na sila. I repeat — dalawa na ang mini versions of us sa bahay na ‘to.
Help.
Celestial is now fifteen years old. Teenager. Dalaga. Still bubbly, still energetic, and still kakampi ni Citrine sa lahat ng kalokohan. Palaban pa rin, pero mas refined na siya ngayon. She’s smart, witty, and kahit pa-joke palagi, deep down she’s incredibly kind and empathetic.
Celest and I always say — Celestial is the heart of our home. The sunshine.
And then there’s our second daughter, Aysun Celestine Costa.
Ten years old.
Cold. Composed. Nonchalant. Serious. Minimal expression. Rarely speaks unless necessary. She inherited everything from Celest and me — lalo na ‘yung pagiging stone-cold personality.
Kung si Celestial ay araw, si Celestine ay buwan. Tahimik, pero present. Lowkey pero intense. She doesn’t throw tantrums — she gives you a single stare and you freeze. Parang si Celest nung una naming pagkikita.
Actually, nung pinanganak si Celestine, literal kaming napatingin ni Celest tapos sabay sabing, “We’re in danger.”
But we love them both endlessly.
Right now, I’m standing by the hallway, sipping my coffee habang nakasandal sa pader. The girls are in the living room. Naririnig ko na si Celestial, as usual, nonstop ang daldal.
“Celestineeeee! Let’s do a TikTok dance! Come on please! It’ll be fun!” she says habang may hawak na phone, nagpe-play ng music.
Celestine, sitting cross-legged sa couch, reading Physics of the Universe, doesn’t even blink. “No.”
Celestial groans. “You’re such a killjoy, swear. Dadaaaaaa!”
I raise my hand without looking. “Don’t drag me into this, baby. Hindi ako kasali sa TikTok war niyo.”
Celestial walks over to me, dramatic as ever, arms crossed. “Dada, why did you raise a mini mommy? Hindi ko na siya makausap!”
“Correction,” I said. “We didn’t raise her. She raised us.”
Celestine finally speaks again. “I’m not your mini mommy. I’m more like Dada. Efficient. Focused. Zero nonsense.”
“Ako ‘yung nonsense?” Celestial gasps.
Celestine blinks slowly. “Affirmative.”
“Mommyyyyy!” Celestial runs to the kitchen, where Celest is making tea, clearly hearing everything but choosing not to intervene until she’s done steeping.
Celest looks at her, then at me, then at Celestine, and simply says, “Natural consequences. You tried to drag Celestine into a TikTok dance. That’s on you.”
I laugh. “You married me and gave birth to a better version of both of us. Proud?”
Celest smirks. “Very.”
After a while, the girls settled down. Celestial is now drawing sa dining table, habang si Celestine is rearranging the bookshelf — by subject, alphabetical order, and color-coded.
Ako? I’m sitting beside Celest sa garden patio, coffee in hand, resting my head on her shoulder.
She’s flipping through a parenting book — not because she needs it, but because she says, “It’s good to analyze weaknesses in modern parenting approaches.”
God, I love this woman.
“You think they’ll be okay when they grow older?” I asked quietly, watching our girls from the glass doors.
Celest tilted her head slightly. “Celestial will save the world… then probably accidentally set it on fire.”
I snorted. “True.”
“And Celestine will fix it without saying a word. Then tell everyone it’s their fault.”
“Also true.”
Celest smiles softly. “They’ll be more than okay, Arushi. They’re ours.”
I nodded. My heart full.
Later that day, we had dinner together. The four of us around the table, like always.
Celestial was telling a story about a school project — with hand gestures, sound effects, and dramatic reenactments. Celestine just calmly cut her steak and said, “You scored 97.42%. You forgot to cite two image sources.”
“Can you not ruin my victory moment?” Celestial groaned.
Celest, sipping wine beside me, just raised her brow. “Your sister’s right.”
Celestial turned to me. “Dada. This is betrayal. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
I put a hand on my chest. “I’m neutral. I’m Switzerland.”
Celestine added, “Neutrality in conflict is still a decision. Weak stance.”
“OH MY GOD!” Celestial exploded, then burst out laughing. “You guys are a nightmare!”
But I looked around — Celest sipping wine with a soft smile, Celestial laughing, Celestine quietly eating but smirking slightly at her plate — and I thought…
This is home.
Not just a house I built. Not just walls and furniture and design.
But the laughter. The logic. The chaos and the calm. The stories and the silences.
The love.
After dinner, we all went to the balcony.
Celestial lay on a hammock, staring at the stars. Celestine stood by the railing, hands in her coat pocket like a full-grown mafia boss.
Celest leaned her back against mine on the bench. “Do you still dream of her?”
I glanced at her. “Who?”
“The faceless girl.”
I smiled. “I married her.”
She chuckled. “And now she’s graying early.”
I gasped. “Hey, rude!”
She leaned over and kissed my temple. “I love you, Arushi.”
“I love you too, love.”
And as I looked at our daughters — one a ball of sunshine, the other a moon in human form — I knew that our story, strange and magical as it began, was exactly how it was meant to be.
From faceless dreams... to forever love... to family.
This is the life we chose.
And I'd choose it again, every single time.
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