August 6, 2020

Two female children are playing in a playground, they were chasing each other, running around the area.

“Hey Rachel, isn’t this fun?” said the tired child in a cute panting voice.

“It sure is Olivia!” said the other tired child in a cute panting voice.

They both lie down in the grassy part of the playground, both trying to catch their breath as best as they can. They were lying with the top of their heads facing each other, Rachel sneaks herself to get closer to Olivia and held her hand. Olivia checked what grabbed her hand and smiled at the sight of Rachel’s hand in hers and tighten the grip.

“Let us never ever ever ever split apart, okay?!” shouted Rachel with an ear-to-ear smile.

“Yes! We will be best friends forever and ever and even forever beyond forever!” replied Olivia in return with much enthusiasm.

“Even if we go to different schools, we will always play in this playground, right?” said Rachel in a loud tone.

“Of course! I will never leave you!” said Olivia in an equally loud tone.

“Oh, the sun is almost going down, let’s go home Olivia!” said Rachel noticing the sun.

“Aww, I wanna play with you more, but we don’t wanna make our parents angry,” said Olivia with a smile.

They stood up from the grass and hugged each other before walking their separate ways to their house which was just right next to the playground, Olivia’s being on the left side, Rachel’s being on the right side.

November 13, 2023

Olivia and Rachel are now both 8 years-old now and are on the same class together in elementary. During break time, they always walk together, no one could separate the two of them anytime they’re together. They would insist to be on the same group every groupwork and would cry if their request is not granted.

During one of their lectures in class, their teacher, Mrs. Courtley, shared a story about her love life and told the children about marriage.

“Now kids, if you still have any questions regarding marriage, you can go ask your parents about it,” said Mrs. Courtley with a smile to the class.

Intrigued by this, Olivia and Rachel looked at each other and nodded indicating that they’re gonna ask their respective parents about it. The bell rang and class is now over, everyone went to their respective homes, some were picked up by their parents, some walked alone, and some, like Olivia and Rachel, were picked up by a service since their houses are very close to each other.

Upon arriving home, Olivia went to her mom and told her that she was gonna ask something later; her mom smiled and said “Sure.”

After dinner, they went to their bedroom and Olivia started asking questions to her mom.

“Mom, what do you think marriage is?” asked Olivia bluntly.

“Oh my, where did you hear such a thing?” asked her mother back out of surprise.

“From our teacher, Mrs. Courtley,” answered Olivia genuinely.

“I see, well for me, it’s a symbol that indicates the bond of two person can never be broken, and they will live together forever,” said her mother with a soft smile.

Olivia smiled at the thought of it.

“You mean forever and ever and ever and forever beyond forever?” asked Olivia with much enthusiasm.

“Yes, forever and ever and ever and forever beyond forever,” said her mother smiling sincerely at Olivia.

“But can only a girl and a boy marry each other?” asked Olivia with a slight sigh of nervousness.

“Of course not, you can marry anyone whom you love, love knows no boundaries after all,” said her mother while finger combing Olivia’s hair.

“So, can I marry Rachel?” asked Olivia with a beaming smile.

“If you love her and she loves you, you surely can, we’ll always support you,” said her mother hugging Olivia with Olivia hugging her back.

“Last question, mother, why is my name Olivia?” asked Olivia still in the embrace of her mom.

“Oh, me and your dad were really lazy, his name is Oliver and my name is Via, so we just combined it,” said her mother with an embarrassed chuckle.

“I see, thank you mom,” said Olivia falling asleep on her mother’s lap.

Just got home from school was Rachel, and was excited to ask her granny about marriage. After changing clothes, she went down as dinner was ready. The table was an expensive dining table, with luxurious chairs, and seated was her grandmother, her maids and her so-called “childhood friend” Ian, whom had liked her since kinder. Her parents were out due to work. During dinner, Rachel decided to ask her granny:

“Granny, what is marriage?” asked Rachel while eating dinner.

“It’s something a boy and girl celebrate for becoming one with each other, why do you ask? Do you perhaps want to marry Ian?” asked her granny in a slightly forceful tone.

“Is it only for a boy and a girl? Can’t a girl marry another girl?” asked Rachel with a sigh of disappointment.

“Of course not! Even if it’s possible, I will absolutely not let you marry anyone other than a boy!” said her granny in a furious tone.

“Why?! Isn’t it supposed to be something two people who loves each other celebrate?! What does gender have to do with it?!” asked Rachel angrily with teary eyes.

“Oh, I see now, give it up Rachel, you’re not gonna be able to marry that Olivia girl, two girls can’t possibly conceive a child, remember that you must preserve this bloodline just like Ian over here,” said her granny in a fairly selfish tone.

“No!” said Rachel throwing a tantrum and going to her room to cry herself.

“Why, why can’t I marry the person I wanna marry, we will not be able to be together forever and ever and ever and forever beyond forever if we don’t marry each other, right?” said Rachel to herself crying over and over.

“Don’t worry Ian, we will get Rachel to marry you no matter what, okay?” said granny smiling to

Ian.

“Okay…” said Ian hesitant in his voice.

July 9, 2025

Classes were suspended due to an unexpected conference held at their school so Olivia and

Rachel asked their respective parents to play in the playground, surprisingly Rachel’s granny agreed to it. Olivia and Rachel ran around like usual but mixed it up with playing the seesaw, doing the slide, attempting the monkey bars and other games such as hide and seek, peek-a-boo and many more.

They ate their lunch during their rest time, and spent almost the entire day playing with each other in the playground and talking about their life and experiences at their house.

“Hey Rachel, do you remember when we asked about our parents about marriage? I totally forgot telling you my mom’s reply at the time,” said Olivia with an embarrassed chuckle scratching her head.

“Oh, that, I forgot at the time as well,” said Rachel in a rather sorrowful tone, “More like I don’t wanna remember.”

“What? I couldn’t quite hear you,” said Olivia confused at Rachel’s whisper in the wind.

“Oh, it’s nothing, so what did your mom say, Olivia?” asked Rachel smiling.

“You wouldn’t believe it! Mom said I can marry anyone, even a girl! And she also said marriage means forever and ever and ever and forever beyond forever!” said Olivia with an affectionate smile and held Rachel hands.

“Really? That means granny lied to me…” said Rachel in a low tone, looking at the ground.

“What? What did she tell you?!” shouted Olivia worriedly.

“She said only boys and girls are allowed to marry,” said Rachel on the verge of crying.

“That’s not true! My mom said, we can totally marry each other as long as there’s love!” said Olivia with tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Really? That means we can be together forever and ever and ever and forever beyond forever?” asked Rachel with tears also flowing down her cheeks.

“Yes!” shouted Olivia while holding Rachel’s hand.

Rachel hugged Olivia and Olivia embraced her tightly, and rested after such a talk. Both of them sat down and Olivia started laughing, Rachel confused, follows along anyways.

“Why are we even so serious about this stuff?” asked Olivia while laughing.

“Maybe because we love each other,” said Rachel, stared at Olivia and both laughed hysterically.

“Shall we promise that after we graduate, we’ll marry each other?” said Olivia holding up her pinky.

Rachel nodded with a smile and connected her pinky with Olivia.

Unexpectedly, Rachel’s granny went to the playground to pick Rachel up way before 5 PM.

“Now Rachel, we don’t want you sleeping so late later, let’s go home now,” said her granny in a soft convincing tone.

Olivia’s body was shaking slightly due to nervousness but Rachel smiled at her and said:

“Don’t worry, we’ll see each other tomorrow, it just so happens, I have to go home earlier than usual,” and walked home with her granny.

“It’s as Rachel said, you’ll see each other tomorrow Olivia, you should go home too,” said Rachel’s granny smiling at Olivia.

Olivia nodded at went on her way home as well.

During dinner, Rachel felt as if her granny is hiding something and decided to ask her:

“Why did I have to go early granny? And you also mentioned that I can’t sleep late, why do I have to sleep early then?” asked Rachel with a tough front against her granny.

“Let’s just say, you’re not allowed to see Olivia ever again,” said her granny in a straightforward tone shocking Rachel.

“What?! I thought you said that we’re gonna see each other again tomorrow?!” said Rachel furiously.

“You don’t dare defy my words Rachel, you’re still a child, you and Ian will be going to a university far from here,” said her granny without a single consideration in her granddaughter’s feelings. “I didn’t agree to this! I wasn’t even informed!” said Rachel echoing throughout the house.

Her granny ignored her, and Rachel ran from the table attempting to go out of the house but her maids and the guards blocked her.

“It’s no use, I already told them they can’t let you out unless it’s for your pick-up tomorrow morning,” said her granny cold-heartedly.

Rachel couldn’t help but to cry and went upstairs in her room to cry once again.

“Why, why, why, of all people, why is family forbidding me from the happiness I want,” said Rachel to herself.

Someone knocked on her door.

“Can I enter?” said a voice she hasn’t heard quite often.

“Come in,” said Rachel.

“Hey,” said none other than Ian.

“What is it? Aren’t you so happy you get to be with the person you like so much now? What more do you want?” asked Rachel in a provoking manner.

“None of that matters if you’re like this,” said Ian walking towards Rachel’s bed.

“What, you’re benefiting from this and you say it doesn’t matter?” said Rachel with silent fury.

“There’s no way to stop granny in her decision but there’s a way to tell Olivia about this, so she’s aware,” said Ian slightly moving Rachel.

“Why do you care?” asked Rachel refuting Ian’s offer.

“I don’t have to explain that, just hear me out,” said Ian determined.

“Sure, go ahead,” said Rachel with no enthusiasm whatsoever.

“Write a letter informing Olivia about what’s gonna happen tomorrow, and since you can’t go out of the house, I’ll do it, and make sure it reaches Olivia,” said Ian serious with his intention. “And what if you don’t deliver it?” asked Rachel reluctant in making her decision.

“Would I suggest this if I’m not gonna do it? Just give me this chance,” replied Ian, still determined.

“Fine,” said Rachel and started writing the letter.

July 10, 2025 around 4 – 5 AM

While their granny was still asleep, Ian had told the maids and the guards he was just gonna go to the playground to reminisce memories. They let him do it out of consideration for the little boy but was also confused since they don’t see Ian in the playground quite often.

Luckily, Oliver, Olivia’s dad was already outside their house and Ian managed to catch up to him, running at full speed. Upon noticing a panting Ian, Oliver stopped and asked the little boy.

“What’s the problem?” asked Oliver in a gentle voice.

“Sir, can you give this letter to your daughter Olivia?” asked Ian with much determination left in him.

“Oh, are you perhaps a suitor of my daughter?” asked Oliver teasingly.

“N… No, don’t get the wrong idea… Mister…” said Ian stuttering nervously.

“I know, I know, this is from Rachel, right? Don’t worry, I’ll give it to my daughter right away, though she’s still asleep, she’ll surely read this,” said Oliver with a gentle smile.

“Thank you so much,” said Ian with a sunny smile.

And with that, Ian went back to the house and packed everything.

“Never forget me, Olivia…” whispered Rachel before the car takes off.

Olivia had just woken up and is still a bit grumpy, and got ready for class. After coming downstairs, she was met with her mom, who had witnessed Rachel’s departure, hugging her tightly to comfort her in advance.

Olivia not knowing why her mom suddenly hugged her, just hugged her back tightly and asked her about it.

“I haven’t opened this yet, you have the rights to be the only one to read this,” said Via handling Olivia a letter.

Still oblivious to the situation, Olivia took the letter and sat down to read it:

“Dear Olivia,

I’m sorry this is so sudden but my family made me transfer to a university far from here, and I couldn’t stop them. I was so scared you aren’t gonna be aware of my departure but Ian gladly offered his help so this is the only opportunity I had to say my farewell. I don’t know the name of the university nor the address of the house we’re gonna be staying in from now on, but I will make sure to deliver you letters everyday so you’re updated. I will forever remember the time we spent together and how we were almost inseparable no matter the circumstance, but this isn’t one of those circumstance, sadly. I love you Olivia, no matter what, I wanna be with you forever and ever and ever and forever beyond forever.

Sincerely yours,

Rachel”

Shocked to what she has read, Olivia couldn’t hold back her tears and started crying sorrowfully. Via hugged her daughter even tightly letting her tears flow freely from her eyes and Olivia had decided she won’t go to school that day. Via understanding her child, contacted Mrs. Courtley to tell them Olivia won’t be able to make it to class.