"Anje! That's not it!"
"What are you talking about? Alam ko ang ginagawa ko!"I stared at both of them. Scrunching my nose at the sight in front of me.They're trying to make some butter cookies in my condo unit. The kitchen's a bit messy. Mas lalo pa akong ngumiwi nang tinapon ni Evan ang itlog kay Anje.Gumanti naman si Anje. She threw the flour onto him. Nakasandal lang ako sa dingding. Ngumiti ako. Their inner child is playing right now."Ang kalat niyo naman mga anak." I said."Mommy, can help us bake some cake?"What the heck?Hilas! Sinabi niya iyon sa paraang OA na. Acting like a child. The shivers in my spine as I heard his voice. Disgusting!"'Di ba cookies 'yong ibi-bake natin?""Ay, Oo nga pala!""We have to finish this by twelve. Mga 1 AM kailangan na natin makapunta sa campus.""Why?" Anje asked."Let's go." Mariin niyang sinabi. Bago marahang hinawakan ang kamay ko. Nilingon ko ang mga ka-blockmates ko. Naka-upo na si Angelo sa sahig. Habang ang mga kasama niya ay tinulungan siyang tumayo.Pagkarating namin sa parking lot, agad tumunog ang sasakyan niya. Binuksan niya ang pintuan ng sasakyan. "Pasok." He firmly said.Agad ko namang sinunod ang gusto niya. Pumasok ako sa sasakyan ng hindi umaalma. I patiently waited for him. He turned around. Binuksan niya ang pintuan at umupo sa driver's seat.Hindi niya muna pinaandar ang sasakyan. He gripped the steering wheel tightly. Diretso ang tingin niya sa harap ng nakalinyang sasakyan.I felt his anger. I raised my hands. Even though I'm nervous. I wanted to calm him bago kami mag-dinner. Lumapat ang kamay ko sa kaniyang braso.He glanced at me. Pero supladong iniwas ang kaniyang mukha."Hey, are you mad?" tinanong ko pa rin kahit al
Hindi ako nakatulog. Lumabas ako para mamasyal. Malamig ang simoy ng hangin na sumalubong sa’kin. Medyo madilim pa. May mga tauhang nagkwe-kwentuhan sa gilid, binabantayan ako. Hindi rin siguro sila natulog. Katulad ko na madaling araw na at walang antok na dumaloy sa aking sistema.Part of that is true pero alam ko kung anong tunay na dahilan kung bakit hindi ko maipikit ang mga mata ko. Ang kaibahan lang kanina ay umiiyak ako. Pero ngayon, mahinahon na at hindi na gaano kasakit. I should have a hunch that he’ll just do that behind my back even after confessing his feeling to me.Makapal ang mga ulap pero unti-unting nagliwanag ang kalangitan. I watched the sunrise. The grey sky soon turned into blue. I guess the God really knows how to paint colors well. Lahat nasa tamang kulay. Even though black, dark colors, made you think that it’s gloomy, hindi naman iyon nakakasira sa tanawin. In fact, it helped me no… it comforted me.May nakita akong paparating na bangka. I watched as it slow
"They're in the past. I'm sorry you have to see these. Don't worry I'll delete and unfollow those people. All of them are past acquaintances. I'm really sorry that you got jealous…"Ngumuso ako. Talaga? He'll do that? Well if he'll prove that he's faithful to me now, I'll try to be more patient and let him explain whenever things like this occur."Is my Darya satisfied with my explanation?" He asked. Pinalis niya ang mga luha ko. Using his thumb, he gently wiped it."Yes. I'm sorry for shouting. I was just so—""Jealous?" Tanong niya.I glared at his hands. Dahan-dahan din naman akong tumango. He chuckled in response. Delighted with my reply. Naramdaman ko ang kaniyang labi sa aking pisngi. He showered my face with kisses.Ang hirap namang aminin na nagseselos ako pero sige I'll tell him. "Yeah, I got jealous. Who wouldn't? May litrato na may kahalikan kang iba. Sa iba ko pa nalaman…""Don't worry, it's a valid reason. But I'm telling you right now that it's all in the past."I nodde
Nakatanaw ako sa dagat ng mga tao. I saw Janice sashaying her way towards the path where the emcee is talking. Puno ng mga bulaklak ang daanan. I can’t believe, Janice, a relative of mine is on her sweet sixteen birthday, noong una’y karga-karga ko lang, ngayon ay dalagang-dalaga na. She’d grown to be a respectful lady. Pinong-pino ang galaw niya at halos hindi makabasag ng pinggan ang mukha kung tingnan. I smiled as I continued drinking the wine that was given to me. Tiningnan ko ang cellphone ko kung meron bang text si Cevier at tama nga ako. There’s 20 unread messages. I wasn’t able to inform him because they invited me at the last minute when I was about to go home. Cevier: Where are you? I’m here outside your office? It’s locked. Is everything good? Sunod-sunod kong binasa ang mga text niya. This brute keeps texting me until now. Cevier: Baby, It’s been an hour, where is my reply? Are you mad? Pinaghahanap ka na ng security team ko. Me: Don’t worry, I’m alright. So
“Malapit na ang birthday mo,” Napalingon ako kay Papa. Mataman niya akon tiningnan. I shrugged. Binuksan ko ang pintuan ng sasakyan niya at bumaba.“Ano ang gusto mong gawin sa birthday mo?” Tanong niya.“Maybe we’ll just eat outside, Pa,”Kumunot ang noo niya. “You don’t want a grand birthday?”Umiling ako. “Hindi na, Pa. I’ve had enough of my grand birthdays.”He sighed. “If you want to, I’ll clear my schedule for your birthday so that there will be no disturbance.” Sinara ko ang pintuan at pinaharurot niya ang sasakyan pagkatapos no’n. Nanggaling ako sa office niya para sa meeting. Naisipan niyang ihatid ako pagkatapos dahil may pasok pa ako.“Oh, nakapasa ka ba sa subject ni Mrs. Martinez?” Tanong ni Anje kay Evan. Evan groaned in frustration.“At pinaalala mo pa, ha? Sabing ayaw ko nang mag-nursing! Damn, sana pala hindi na ako nag-switch ng course.”Tumawa ako. I don’t know why pero last year na naming ngayon. Si Evan, nagswitch noong nag third year kami. Medyo mauuna na kaming
Nakatulala ako ngayon sa salamin. Namamaga ang mga mata, siguro dahil sa walang tigil na pag-iyak ko. Patuloy pa rin ang pag patak ng mga luha ko sa sink na hinahawakan. Sometimes, I always wonder why I’m always told upon ruling a massive empire at such a young age. I am grateful for everything that I have...more than thankful, even for the little things because that’s how the above expects us to do. To be thankful that he gave us the blessings...trust me, I’m thankful for it. Paulit-ulit na sinasabi ng Daddy iyon. I remember the time that I was visiting the field, where the construction workers do their labor every day, I recalled that I was young. He slowly guided me and pointed at the project that our company is building. It was one of the Montebella’s project, the MHI. “You see that, Darya? Ikaw ang magmamana ng lahat ng iyan.” I pouted and shook my head. “I don’t want it.” He sighed. “Baby, I will give this to you. Ikaw ang gusto kong pagbigyan ng lahat ng mga ari-arian namin
Ngumiti ako kay Lovin. He sat beside me. “Hindi ko talaga inasahan na makikita kita rito. I saw you months ago…and you’re not quite yourself back then. Ibang iba ngayon.” “I have some business to attend to. By the way, how are you with Cevier?” He asked before taking a sip to his espresso. He stared at me like something was wrong at my face. “Doin’ good. May business trip siya this week. Anong business mo?” “Semento.” “Talaga?” “Yup.” May sasabihin pa sana ako pero hindi ko na natuloy dahil rinig ko ang hagikhik ni Evan at Anje sa tabi. Nang nilingon ko sila ay tumikhim si Anje. “So you’re still a student?” Patuloy ni Lovin. Nagulat ako nang nilapag ng waiter ang isang buong chocolate cake sa table namin. Kunot noo kong nilingon si Anje. Agad naman na umling siya. Tila alam kung bakit tumingin ako sa kaniya. “Nag order ka ba ng cake, Evan?” “What? No! Bakit naman ako o-order e hindi nga ako nag crave ng cake. Kape lang.” Kung ganoon sino kaya? Baka nagkamali ang waiter. “Uh
“Okay…I’ll give you space. I love you.” Inabala ko ang sarili ko sa paglaro ng aking mga kamay. He sighed painfully. Tulala akong nakatingin muli sa kaniya at tahimik na hinintay na tapusin niya at patayin ang tawag. Pero hindi niya ginawa iyon. Kaya ako na ang nag end ng call namin. Kahit anong iyak ko, hindi pa rin nawawala ang sakit. Pagkagising ko ay agad kong nakita ang pamamaga ng aking mga mata. My voice is raspy too. Gusto ko mang mahiga buong araw ay hindi ko magawa dahil may kailangan pa akong aralin. Nakasandal si Anje sa aking balikat habang ako ay umiinom ng milktea, tulala dahil sa dami ng exam na ni-take naming ngayong araw. “Sa tingin mo, Darya, papasa ba tayo?” Tanong niya. I glanced at her. Times like this I know that she needs comfort. Even though she’s calm right now, I know her mind is in chaos. She’s really quiet these days. At alam na alam ko na may problema siya. “Kung nag-aral ka. Ang hirap naman kung sasabihin kong ‘oo’ pero hindi ka naman pala nag-aral