"Weh?"
"Oo nga. Magtiwala ka lang sa writer mong kaibigan!" She then roared a laugh.
"Gan'on ba 'yon?" I asked, and she just nodded. Natapon pagkatapos ang tingin ko sa smartwatch na ibinigay sa akin ni Asriel, na nasa ibabaw ng isang maliit na drawer malapit lamang sa higaan. "Alam mo ba, Aurora?"
"Hmm?"
"Nakita ko na ang lalaking 'yon. Natagpuan ko na siya, at matagal na pala," may kalambutan kong sabi habang nakangiti. "Masaya ako nang makumpirma kong siya nga 'yon."
"Sino? Yung nagligtas sa'yo n'ong bata ka pa?" tanong niya sa akin. "Sino ba---omg! Don't tell me---" she paused looking at me with eyes growing bigger---"si Asriel ba 'yon?"
"Siya nga," sambit ko, habang
If it weren't for the flourescent lights, the room might be dimmed now for certain. Amidst the crisis of finding light, sometimes we need artificial lights to prevent us from slipping on the mud of confusion.I shifted my gaze at the window and went near it. Dipping my heed outside, scrutiny knocked on my mind. I could even barely see anything, except those dancing street lights, gingery cars and some lighted buildings. They really looked so small up here. Inangat ko ang sariling tingin. The night sky's dark—seemed like the weather is in a mucky condition. Ngunit kahit na ganoon, mukhang walang tigil pa rin ang mga tao sa paggalaw.
Tinalikuran niya ako ng higang patigilid sa kabilang banda. Bumabakat sa kaniyang likuran ang mga balikat, maging ang matambok niyang puwet. Naalala ko tuloy si Ethan. Yung baklang 'yon.Muli akong tumayo at bumalik sa higaan. Tahimik ang paligid. Wala rin naman akong balak sirain ang katahimikan na 'to.First thing in the morning I did, is wipe my face with a wet face towel. Tinapon ko na rin ang kape, dahil nakalimutan ko palang inumin kahapon. Asriel went home to change his clothes without even wiping away the marks I made on his face. Also, he said I don't have to worry much about my safety here, because this hospital's a topnotch when it comes to security.Nakatingin lamang ako sa sariling kong repleksyon sa salamin. My face has truly become a fucking mess. That man or whoever he is, really hurt me so bad. He's not caught ye
As if my body's temperature exceeded the normal one, my blood literally boiled when I saw her face filled with plasticity waiting for me to burn. She could even afford to smile. How could she?"Guess you have a visitor," Asriel remarked. "Aalis lang muna ako para bumili ng gatas." Tumayo siya't lumabas.Asriel didn't know about anything. He didn't know Natasha being the girl with a soft heart full of pretense and loathe. Her smile fell downward when he finally stepped out.Maayos na rin nang lumabas siya at baka kung pa ang marinig niya sa mga maaaring pag-uusapan namin. Hindi ko na tinuloy ang pagkain, dahil bigla akong nawalan ng gana pagkatapos kong makita ang mukha niyang akala ng iba anghel. Truth is, a demon resides that face masked with pimples. She looks soft, but she doesn't seem to me—especially in terms of her re
"What do you need, mga mukhang puwet?" panimula ko. "You want a fight? Alam n'yo namang nangyari sa akin, 'di ba? I can do a hand-to-hand combat." Natasha spoke. "We're not here for that. We're here to give you a task you must do, the final task you will do." Inirapan ko silang apat. "Fuck that." "Stop cursing. Wala kang magagawa riyan. We all have the cards against you, so tone down your attitude, girl," sambit n'ong isang hindi ko na maalala ang pangalan. Naiinis na naman ako. Kung kanina'y ang aliwalas pa ng isip ko. Ngayon naman, I feel outrageous that my mind gets clouded with running thoughts I can barely identify. Almost everything don't go the way I want things to be. Am I cursed?
Kinukusot-kusot ko ang sariling mga mata, habang bumabangon mula sa kama niya. Nang tatayo na sana ako ay nakita ko siyang nakatayo sa gilid na nakakrus ang mga braso. Tiningnan ko yung mga mata niya. Lumaki bigla yung eyebags niya't parang kumukulay itim. Idagdag mo pa yung buhok niyang ang gulo-gulo na rin. "Buti't gising ka na, 'di ako nakatulog nang dahil sa'yo," sambit niya. "Bakit naman dahil sa akin?" My right brow twitched. Tinapu
"Friends," he said, moving the steering wheel in circles parking his car here at the parking lot of the school.Tinanggal ko seatbelt ko. "Sinong friends ba 'yan?""Ashton, Kendric, Roland, law students and accountancy students, boys stuff," he said, removing his seatbelt as well.Lumabas na ako ng kotse niya. Binigay niya sa akin ang backpack. "Sigurado ka bang gagawin mo akong maid ngayong araw?""Yes," sambit niya. "Tutal, ginawa mo naman akong gan'on kagabi."Tang-ina, naghahasik ng lagim ang taong 'to!Pumunta na kaming basketball court ng school namin. Puwede rin naman sa gym maglaro, pero mas pinili nilang maglaro dito sa open ground.
His head on my arm, with blood stains over his mouth, I screamed on top of my lungs. "Why did you... did you switch places with me? Bakit... Bakit mo ginawa 'yon? Tang-ina!" I shrieked, crying in between words.Napatingin ako sa lalaking 'yon na ngayo'y nakaposas na. "Putang-ina mo! Mabulok ka sana sa kulungan!" Ngunit ngumiti lamang siya't tinataniman niya ako ng sungay sa puso.Sinigawan ko siya nang sinigawan, habang pilit kong pinapatigil ang dugong lumalabas mula sa may giliran ni Asriel kung saan may saksak.Asriel's unconscious. Hindi na rin siya gumagalaw. "Ano na'ng gagawin ko?!" I shook his shoulders, but he didn't respond.Halos hindi na ako makapag-isip nang tama. Asriel naman.
"Classmates kayo, 'di ba?" I asked him, but he only tilted his head to the side, hinting confusion."Who?" tanong niya."Welbert," sabi ko. "Hindi ba batch kayo?""Yes," he replied. "He's one of the most isolated person in the classroom. He has no friends, nang dahil lang din naman sa kaniya.""What are you trying to say?""Bakit? Beltran nga siya, pero sigurado ka bang siya 'yon?" he queried back, as if he got the gist of my actions. "I mean, yes, he does harass—no... uh..." He ducked his head. "I'm—""What do you mean harass?" Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay. "Tell me, Asriel."
OUR COMPANY WAS seated in the heart of Los Angeles. My brother was the one who'd been handling the business for a while now, while I, just finished my studies at UCLA. I made friends while I was there, having so much fun, and end up spoiling it every time I remembered her. Fun was something that had become subjective to me. Whenever I experienced it, at school, or during big annual events here in California, fun always knocked on my door telling me to spoil him first before it did. Even the thought itself was comical. It was actually raining Hollywood stars here in Los Angeles, but I usually didn't mind about their concerts and stuff. Aside from the fact that it was going to offer me fun, it could also be the reason I was gonna start fanboying some of them.
"Hoy! Huwag diyan!" she shouted and blocked my way to her closet. Nakarinig na rin ako ng mga katok sa pinto niya, habang pinipigilan niya pa rin akong pumunta ng closet niya. Malakas ko siyang nahila kaya nadala na rin ako ng sarili kong lakas at natumba kaming dalawa. Napadaing ako dahil ang sakit ng likod ko sa pagkatumba. "Tahiti, ayos ka lang ba?! Ano yung narinig kong nahulog?!" NAISIPAN KONG MALIGO pagkatapos naming umuwi galing La Verga Paradise ni Ashton. Naalala ko bigla yung librong hiniram ko kay Tahiti. Tinapis ko na ang tuwalya ko, leaving myself half-naked. Lumabas ako ng banyo't kinuha ang sariling phone mula sa bedside drawer. Humarap ako sa human-sized mirror kong salamin sa condo. I positioned myself in front of the mirror, ginagaya ang pose ng lalaking wa
We met again afterwards in a kiosk the same day."Aren't you angry at me?" I asked, because of what happened back at the school canteen. That was such quite a scene. Hindi ko alam kung bakit sinabi kong karibal kami ni Khel.Mabuti't nalusutan ko kaagad."Sagutin mo muna tanong ko, kasi kadalasan kapag may bakanteng oras ka raw kasi ay nag-aaral ka, kaya bakit ngayon...?""I want to spend time with you," I expressed. It's what my feelings dictates me to feel.Matapos naming mag-usap doon ay tumayo nang nakapamulsa. Hindi ko mapigilan na ngumiti. Damn, she's making me feel something really weird inside my stomach.NAKITA KO SA loob ng La Verga Paradise na parang nagkabangayan s
"WALA KA BANG ibang ginagawa?" Ashton asked, walking towards the living room of my condo unit. I stopped reading my book, wearing my round eyeglasses. Sinundan ko siya ng tingin hanggang sa makaupo siya sa tabi ko. Dumekwatro rin siya ng upo. "What now, Aston? Gabi na, hindi ka pa ba babalik sa condo mo?" Napakamot siya ng ulo, while smiling awkwardly. "Inutusan ako ng department head natin na gumawa ng narrative report for the upcoming Grand Opening of La Vista Mall, e." "Tapos?" I raised a brow, and it made him flinch a little. "For educational purposes lang daw." Naiilang siyang tumawa nang bahagya. This guy, I can't trust him anymore. Noon, sinama niya ako sa bar just for me to have a girlfriend. Pinakilala niya pa ako
My gut feeling failed to speak verity.Akala ko talaga masamang tao ang inaakala ko noong ina ko. Hindi pala.Dad planted another lie in my head for years.How long will he keep those? Bakit kailangan niyang itago ang lahat ng 'to? Hindi ko alam kung maiiyak ba ako sa lungkot o sa galit. Now I realized, dad has always been lying to me.And the saddest thing, I learned those from other people.Baka mamaya, malaman ko na lang na hindi niya pala ako anak. I don't know what to do. It's troubling my mind so much."Hey, are you okay, darling?""Oo nga, nakatunganga ka na ngayon," giit ni
"K-Kahapon..." I stuttered. "After my debut."Naramdaman ko ang higpit niyang pagyakap sa akin. "Oy, ang saya-saya n'yo pa kahapon. Bakit biglang naging ganito? Sino ba nakipag-break?""S-Siya," I stammered. "Pero pareho kaming nagpasyang bitawan ang isa't isa."Hinahaplos na niya ang aking buhok, at parang umiiyak na rin nang sabay sa akin. "K-Kawawa naman 'tong b-best friend ko. Oy, tahan ka na. Magiging okay d-din ang lahat. Lumilipas ang liwanag, maging ang dilim."Kumawala ako sa yakap niya. Hinawakan niya pagkatapos ang magkabila kong pisngi, pinapahid ang mga luha ko gamit ang mga kamay niya. Tiningnan ko siya sa mga mata. She's also teary-eyed. "Sorry, Aurora. Nadamay pa kita rito—""Ano ka ba?" parang galit niya
Kakaunti lang ang naging tulog ko kagabi. Tila nawalan na ako ng gana sa mga bagay-bagay. Kahit ang mga may kulay na mga bagay sa loob ng kuwarto ko'y naging mapurol na sa aking paningin.All those erotica books I have with dusky auras, my closet being hung open showing my poly-colored dresses, my dark coffee-tinted study table, and everything that has color—they're slowly becoming dull to me like shits.Ganito yata ang pakiramdam ng
When program ended, people are starting to evaporate, especially when the trivia session stopped. May iba ring nagpuntang photo booth para mag-take ng picture. Pumunta na rin ako roon, at ang dami nilang nakipag-picture sa akin. Mga kaklase ko, sina Aurora, Kendric, Khel, Ethan, Ashton, at marami pang iba. Nako, naglalandian pa sina Ashton at Ethan. Mga tang-ina.Nang umunti-unti na ang mga tao'y nahuli ko si Asriel na nakatingin lamang sa akin. "Bakit?" tanong ko sa kaniya.Lumapit siya sa akin. "We don't have any picture together. Picture tayo?" He bitterly smiled again."Asriel, may problema ba?" tanong ko sa kaniya."Kuya, kunan mo nga kami," utos niya roon sa operator ng photo booth. Nagsimula na ang countdown ng camera, pero nanatili kaming nakatingin sa isa't isa, hanggan
"Staff?" sambit niya't natawa, maging ako'y bahagya ring natawa kahit wala namang dahilan para matawa. "Sige na, baka marami pang darating."Lumabas na siya mula sa waiting room. This room's located above the entrance, and can be accessed through walking up the stairs beside it. Doon ako bababa for the grand entrance later.Ilang minuto lang ay naririnig ko na mula sa speakers ang boses ng host, na kung saa'y tinatawag na niya ako. Tumayo n