LMH-6

One small suitcase and one backpack. Iyon lamang ang dala ni Jareth nang dumating siya sa international airport ng San Diego.

As always, parang binabayo ang ulo niya sa tindi ng hangover niya. It was useless trying to tell himself that he would never again ingest even an ounce of alcohol dahil alam niyang hindi naman iyon mangyayari. So, he resorted to blaming it to his lack of sleep instead.

Matapos ang balitang pagpanaw ng kanyang ama ay saglit siyang natulala habang nakaupo sa kama ng hindi pamilyar na hotel room. Nang makahuma pagkatapos ng ilang minuto ay nagmamadali siyang umuwi upang i-check ang email na sinasabi ng kapatid niya nang huli niya itong makausap. Jayden booked a flight that leaves at twelve noon which was roughly five hours from the time he opened his laptop.

He sighed as he took a seat on the boarding area of the flight to Singapore where he had a connecting flight to Manila. I used to have a pounding headache this morning and yet now all he could feel was numbness. Nawala na sa isip niya ang babaeng naka-one night stand niya kagabi. Ang gusto na lamang niya ng mga panahon na iyon ay makatulog kahit saglit bilang paghahanda sa mga susunod na mga gabing paniguradong hindi siya patutulugin ng problema.

Dumukdok siya sa handle ng kanyang maleta at sinubukang umidlip. He still have an hour before the plane leaves. Ngunit papapikit pa lamang siya nang maagaw ang atensyon niya ng isang komosyon sa kabilang panig ng waiting area.

"Ma'am, I will have to ask you to leave the airport premises, we do not allow--"

"I cannot leave! I don't have anywhere to go! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Napapikit si Jareth at hinimas himas ang sentido niya. Ano na naman bang ka-dramahan 'to? His father died and he didn't even get the chance to say goodbye--not that he wanted to, for obvious reasons—but seriously? Is there anything worse than that?

"I don't have anywhere else to go! And my flight is due fifty minutes from now!"

"Ma'am, we cannot allow drunk passengers on our plane."

"I am not drunk! For Christ's sake!" hiyaw ng babae. "Naka-inom lang ng isang basong Margarita lasing na? Anong akala n'yo sa'kin? Mahina? Ugh! Tangina hindi nga ako lasing! English na 'yun hindi ninyo pa maintindihan?!"

Jareth couldn't help but chuckle. So, Filipina pala ang babae? Napalingon na siya nang kusa sa pinanggalingan ng ingay at napataas ang kilay niya nang makita ang babaeng nakatayo sa harap ng airport security.

She was wearing a white wedding gown. Her hair which seemed to have been tied in a tight bun was now disheveled. May kaunting dumi rin sa laylayan ng gown nito and she stood awkwardly, slightly favoring her right foot as if something was hurting her other leg. She looked so exasperated as she explained to the security how she needed to get to that flight because she couldn't stand staying in this blasted country anymore, and those are her exact words.

Ipinatong ni Jareth ang siko niya at pinanood ang nangyayari na para bang isa iyong pelikula na nakakatawa. He was so amused he didn't even recognize the woman until the security tried to hoist her away. Holy f*ck. Really? Dali dali siyang tumayo upang lapitan ang kaguluhan at para na rin makasiguro na hindi siya dinadaya ng mga mata niya.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

He took in her dark hair and morena skin. Her eyes were also as beautiful as her sister's and her mouth that he used to think could drive any man nuts.

Seriously, Jareth? Iyan talaga ang itinatakbo ng isip mo?! And since when did you find this psycho attractive?!

When he reached them, the security officer had his hands clamped on her arm already at naghuhumiyaw na si Cassandra. Agad siyang pumagitna sa mga ito.

"Excuse me! I'm sorry—" Tinitigan niya nang masama ang lalaking ayaw bumitaw sa braso ng dalaga. "She's with me, you can let go now." mariing sabi niya sa kano.

"Jareth?!"

"Sakyan mo na lang." Tumingin siya rito at sumenyas.

Cassandra seemed to caught up right away. She snatched her arm away from the man and threw herself at him. Muntik pang matumba si Jareth sa ginawa nito. "Honey! What took you so long?!"

Bahagya niyang pinandilatan ang babae bago hinawakan ang magkabilang braso nito upang bahagya itong ilayo sa katawan niya. She smelled like alcohol. Kaya hindi maipagkakailang lasing ito. What the hell happened to this woman?!

Hinarap niya ang security ng airport at pinaliwanagan na galing sila sa kasal at hindi na nakapagbihis pa ang asawa niya. At kaya naman amoy alak ito ay dahil sa natapunan ito noong reception.

"Don't worry, if anything happens over the plane, it's on me." ipinakita niya sa mga ito ang green card niya.

Akala pa nga niya ay hindi maglulubay ang mga ito ngunit sa huli ay hinayaan na lamang sila. Matapos umalis ng dalawa ay hinawakan niyang muli si Cassandra sa braso at hinila palayo doon.

"Oh my god! Thank you, Jareth!" sambit nito sabay hagod sa nagulo nitong buhok. "What am I going to do without you? What are you doing here anyway?"

"Where's your suitcase?" tanong niya dito na hindi pinansin ang pinagsasabi nito. They only have thirty minutes until they need to board the plane. "You need to fix yourself. Cmon."

Binawi ni Cass ang braso at bumuntong hininga. "I don't have a suitcase."

"What?" gulong tanong niya. "San ba ang punta mo? And why are you wearing that dress?"

Umirap ito sabay hagod sa suot nitong damit. "It's called a wedding dress, Jareth."

"I know! Why are you wearing that?"

"Obvious ba?" pinandilatan siya nito. "I was supposed to get married yesterday but that fucking ass licker did not show up!"

Napasipol si Jareth sa sinabi ng dalaga. He didn't know this woman was about to get married. Ni hindi nga niya alam na may pumatol pala dito. Walang naikukwento si Charlie sa kanya tungkol sa nakakatanda nitong kapatid.

"Don't look at me like that!" she seethed.

"Look at you like what?"

"Na parang kinakaawaan mo ako!" she balled her fists on her side and Jareth didn't know why he found it so adorable. Siguro dahil malapit nang lumampas sa kalendaryo ang edad nito ngunit kung umakto ay parang bata.

"I'm not pathetic! Sa lalaking 'yon ka maawa dahil pinakawalan pa niya ang isang tulad ko!"

He chuckled at that which infuriated her more. "Now, you're laughing at me!"

"Eh sabi mo h'wag kang kaawaan!"

"But that didn't mean na pwede mo na akong pagtawanan! Leche ka!" lalo lang siyang natawa nang bigla siyang hampasin nito sa dibdib. "Kaya hindi na-inlove sa'yo kapatid ko dahil tarantado ka."

Tumaas ang kilay niya sa sinabi nito. "Low blow ka na, ha. Eh kung ipadampot kaya kita sa mga kanong 'yon?"

"Nagsasabi lang ng totoo." umirap itong muli saka dinampot ang isang purse mula sa upuan at naglakad palayo.

"Where do you think you're going?" kahit naman naiirita siya sa ugali ng babae ay hindi niya magawang pabayaan na lang ito. She was after all Charlie's sister. Psycho or not, they're still related and Charlie loves this prat.

Sinundan niya ito. "Cassandra! Where are you going?"

"Away from you!" ni hindi nito ginawang lumingon.

Jareth closed his eyes exasperatingly before going after her. He caught up with her easily for she was still limping. Ngali ngali niyang tanungin dito kung napano ang paa nito ngunit alam niyang kaunting oras na lang ang mayroon sila bago sila maiwan ng eroplano.

"Okay, I didn't mean to laugh at you, I'm sorry." galing sa ilong iyon. He doesn't really feel sorry for her at all. Mas maaawa pa siguro siya sa napangasawa nito kung sakaling natuloy ang kasal ng mga ito.

He had no beef with Cass—actually, yeah, he does. When she beat the hell out of Charlie that one time she had a psychotic episode. But that was a long time ago. Naka-move on na ang best friend niya at marapat lang na pati siya kalimutan na iyon.

Anyway, as he was saying. He had no beef with Cass. It's just that this one's a nutcase. Who would want to get married to her? No one.

"Cass, sorry na, okay?" nakasunod pa rin siya sa babae. "Maiiwan na tayo ng eroplano."

Noon lang bumagal ang lakad ng dalaga at saka siya hinarap. She looked so tired all of a sudden.

"You're right."

Nakahinga na siya ng maluwag dahil doon. "C'mon, mabuti pa magpalit ka na ng damit."

"What's wrong with my dress?" kunot noong tanong nito.

You really are fucking insane.

"Just in case you haven't noticed, pinagtitinginan ka ng mga tao."

"And so?" pinameywangan pa siya nito.

This time he couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "Look at yourself, Cassandra," He gestured towards her. "You look like a tragedy waiting to happen. Ang mga mata ng security nasa sayo. Ngayon, kung gusto mong makabalik ng pinas oramismo, sumunod ka sa gusto ko."

Ngumuso ang babae na tila kinokonsidera ang sinabi niya. Nais tuloy niya biglang pukpukin ang ulo. Kung bakit naman kasi kailangan pa niyang makialam dito? Pwede namang hayaan na lamang niya itong mai-detain ng mga kano at umuwi ng mag-isa sa pinas nang walang hassle. Kailangan pa talaga niyang idawit ang sarili sa gusot nito.

Jareth, when will you ever learn?

"Alright," she said. "But I don't have clothes with me."

Jareth sighed. He knew better than to ask questions. The lesser he knew, the less shit he has to deal with later. So instead of opening his mouth, he surveyed the area and found a store nearby.

"Cmon, may souvenir shop du'n, baka may mabili tayo dun."

Thankfully, they were able to buy new clothes for her. Hindi na rin ito gaanong amoy alak at papasa nang disente sa loob ng eroplano kaya naman nagmamadali na silang nag-board.

She managed to exchanged seats with someone so she could sit right next to him. He didn't need to know where Charlie got her manipulative personality, because apparently, it runs in their family.

Agad na nakatulog ang babae matapos maka-take off ang eroplano. Muli siyang napabuntong hininga at nagpasalamat na bahagya pa siyang lasing nang mga panahon na iyon. Mabilis siyang nakatulog at pansamantalang kinalimutan kung anuman ang naghihintay sa kanya paglapag nila ng Maynila.