It's past midnight already ng maalimpungatan ako. I'm thirsty and made my way to the kitchen. My forehead is knotted when the light is still up in the salas.Nang magtungo ako 'run ay nakita ko si Wayde, bahagyang nakalagay ang mga braso sa coffee table at ito ang ginamit niya bilang unan. He's sleeping peacefully. Napagod yata ito dahil sa ginagawa.Lots of paperworks was scattered on his table as usual. No wonder that he's a hella working guy. I wonder where his parents are right now. They must've been so proud to see their son working hard to earn the achievements he has now.I squatted in front of him and watched those small details from him. Nakatungo lang ako sa kanya at pinagmasdan siya. I laid my chin above the coffee table and stared at him."You're going to marry someone, Celestia.""Meet your groom here this instant, Celestia! Huwag mo akong galitin."Marriage.Yan ang pinaka-iiwasan ko sa lahat. Matagal ko ng naririnig kay daddy ang usapin sa mga ganun, but I just neglec
Inangat ko ang kamay ko para kunin sana iyon nang may humagip sa kamay ko. Napaawang ang bibig ko at sinuyod ang kamay na nakahawak sa akin."What are you doing?" his voice is stern and serious."I-I'm sorry, I just saw that... uhm a contract about something," tila naumid ang dila ko at hindi maipagpatuloy ang sasabihin.He put my hands down and fix the papers in his table. Nang maayos at malagay sa lalagyan nito ay humarap siya sa'kin. Hindi ko magawang salubungin ang tingin niya."Why are you still up by this hour?" His voice is still groggy. Umiling ako."Naalimpungatan lang ako. I was about to fetch a glass of water when I saw you here. G-Gigisingin sana kita, but I think you're already up.""Really?" may pagdududa at panunudyo sa boses niya. He’s teasing me again.I stood up. Pinagpagan ko ang sarili, "Talagang-talaga. Bye!"I hurriedly turned my back away from him and headed to the kitchen. Kumuha ako ng isang baso tubig at kaagad na ininom iyon. What I saw earlier went back thr
“Uh… may problema ba?” takang tanong ko. Lumapit si ate Alma sa akin at sinuyod ako mula ulo hanggang paa. “Ikaw…” What? Napatingin ako sa pambisig na relo at nakitang hindi pa naman ako late. In fact, I just arrived five minutes before the in time. “Celestia.. sabihin mo nga sa amin.” “Na ano?” ano ba ang sinasabi nila? “Bakit mo kasama si Clayton?” Finally, Tita Alma was the one who blurted it out. “Clayton? Oh, he’s my close friend way back in highschool.” Napaawang ang bibig nilang lahat at sabay-sabay na napasigaw. “What?!” I was startled a bit. “Y-yeah,” napakamot ako sa ulo.”Malalate na sana ako sa trabaho kaso sinundo niya ako sa bahay at naghatid sa akin rito.” Hindi ko alam kung matatawa o maiiling ako sa mga reaksyon nila. Their eyes widened in shock and the three of them rushedly went to me. “Anong favorite food niya? Favorite color? Anong tipo niya sa babae? Sagutin mo’ko Celestia! Sagutin mo’ko!” hinawakan ko sa magkabilang balikat si Marissa upang patigilin sa
Unti-unti akong napahakbang paatras habang pinagmamasdan silang tatlo. I don’t really don’t know what to say towards them. What they said congested in my mind. "Alam mo na kung gaano ka kaswerte, Celestia? Lahat ng babae ay pinapangarap na makapalit ng pwesto mo! Ano ba ang sikreto mo sa buhay?" tumataas-baba ang kilay na Melissa na parang hindi makapaniwala sa nakita. "Uhh... mali kayo ng iniisip, okay? I'm... actually renting in his house for quite awhile since I just moved here in Punto Sierra." I explained but it looks like they are not buying it. May mga panunudyo sa tingin nila. "Promise! There's nothing going on between us." Sabay silang napatango-tangong tatlo pero hindi pa rin makakaila ang mga panunudyong tingin sa kanila. “Ahh talaga? Kaya pala pinuntahan ka niya rito para sunduin ka. Pinuntahan ka niya rito dahil kitang-kita naman sa mukha niya na nag-aalala siya sa’yo. Ikaw na ang may mahabang buhok sis” pambubuska sa’kin ni Marissa. “Puntahan mo na ang jo— este s
Bubuksan ko na sana ang paperbag nang hinapit niya ako sa bewang at napasubsob ako sa dibdib niya. My breathing hitched when he pulled me closer to him. I could even smell his scent because of our closeness. "What..." Hindi ko na natuloy pa ang sasabihin ko nang bumulong siya sa'kin. His lips brushed slightly in my ear that made me stunned "Careful," he whispered before pulling away. Kaagad nanindig ang balahibo ko sa ginawa niya. There's... something in his act that made me confused lately. And it always correlates with the beating of my heart. I don't know what it is, but one thing for sure is that Wayde really has an effect on me. And that needs to be stop. It's just then I found out na may nakasunod pala sa amin. The guy is holding a sharp object and barely notices that I almost got hit by it. "Pasensya na po ate. Hindi ko po sinasadya." I smiled and nodded not to bother the person. When the person left, kaagad kaming nagpatuloy sa paglalakad. "T-Thank you," I said withou
"They're gone." Kaagad akong bumitaw sa kanya at kinurot siya. "Really?! Out of all the excuses, yun pa talaga ang naisip mo?" napapantastikuhan ko siyang tinignan. "It was adrenaline rush. Kesa naman wala akong masabi sa kanila. Why? You're affected?" tila napapaso akong lumayo sa kanya at marahas na umiling. The confidence! "H-Hell no! not even in a million." That's a lie, really. Hindi ko man aminin, but I know that there's already something growing inside me "Na ano... ba? Oh my!" napatakip ako ng bibig nang marealize ang sinabi ko kanina lang. For the second time around, Wayde chuckled. Hindi ko kayang tumingin sa kanya dahil sa kahihiyan na sinabi ko. How much embarrassment could I get?! Ramdam ko ang pag-init ng pisngi ko. My face is red as the tomato right now. I glared at Wayde who's clearly just teasing me the whole time. Siya pa ang masamang tinignan ko gayung ako naman ang gumawa ng sarili kong kahihiyan. “S-Shut up. Anyway, I have something to say.” “Spill.
“Wayde! Aren’t you excited for the fiesta?” I styled my hair into soft curls and put on my headband.Naghahanda ako para sa idadaos na event mamaya. This would be the very first time that I would attend such a barrio fiesta and I’m excited for it.Marissa and Laren would be there too. Hindi rin naman papigil si Clayton at sasalihan niya raw ang lahat ng contest doon. I really can’t believe that the brute is here. And he knew Wayde very well. What a small world after all.“Hmm, there’s nothing exciting about it. I’m not going,” ani Wayde habang ang mga mata’y nakatuon sa Ipad nito.“O c’mon, it’s just for tonight and then done. Dapat sumama ka. And I’m also sure that you might be interested in playing the games too!” giit ko pa para makumbinsi siyang sumama. “I have work.” I rolled my eyes. He really is a workaholic. He barely even has time to relax due to workloads.“You can just get back to work after the event. It would be fun, I’m sure. Lots of games and dancing, you know.”“You.
I nodded. “ Yeah, he’s a busy person.”Ate Alma and Marissa’s shoulders fell. Akala ko rin ay sasama talaga siya, but it turns out that he wouldn’t. He must be so busy with his work that he had no time to attend such an event. I’m actually concerned with his well-being. He has been working day and night consecutively and he forgot to eat his meal most of the time.I can really relate with him also too. My dad’s always so busy with our company that he sometimes forgets to attend my activities in school way back. Nanlulumo rin ako minsan, but whenever I think that he’s doing it for my future, those kinds of thoughts fade away.“Sayang! Pinaghandaan ko pa naman ang pagdating niya. Tignan niyo kung gaano ako kaganda ngayon” umikot pa siya sa harap namin at ipinakita ang bestida niya.It’s a Korean style dress that is popular nowadays. She also has that bandana style in her head that we usually see in the olden days painting about a young woman. Marissa really looks good on that.Her moren