STRANGER

13 - What Makes You Beautiful

Deanna.

I was in the garden when Mango joined me. I decided to have a walk with her kaya tuwang tuwa ito na nagpatiuna sa akin. Pagbalik namin sa bahay, eksakto na malapit ng lumubog ang araw kaya kinuha ko ang aking cellphone para kunan ito.

The photos of the sunset are great pero mas maganda sana ito kung sa beach ang setting. Hay, naisip ko na naman ang dagat. I miss the waves, napaka calming ng sounds nito plus the feel of the sand in my feet. Iba yung pakiramdam pag naglalakad kang naka paa lang.

Nakaidlip ako when Cassandra finally left. Bigla kasi akong inantok kaya hindi ko na nilabanan ito. Madaling araw na ngayon sa US, my body clock is still in sync there.

I had coffee pagkagising kaya buhay na buhay na naman ang katawang lupa ko. I took some more pictures kasama na si Mango. Ang cute lang naming dalawa. I instantly posted it to my personal account in Instagram. For my eyes only and few people that are dearest to me. May account naman ako for business so mostly mga colleagues and associates ang nandoon.

Sometimes, we need to separate our personal lives and be private, away from their eyes.

I checked the time, half past six. Late na yata kung pupunta pa ako ng opisina. Nakauwi na sigurado ang mga empleyado unless may mga nag overtime. Is Jema still there? Bakit naman sya mag o-overtime eh wala nga akong pinapagawa pa sa kanya?

Well, wala naman mawawala kung iche-check ko ang aking office.

Woo, this is not me. I usually go to my office whenever I want without checking if it's okay. Anong nangyayari sa akin?

Naglakad na ako bago pa magbago ang aking isip. May mangilan ngilan pa ring sasakyan sa parking when I reached the building. The guard opened the door for me.

"Good evening po Ma'am, welcome back." he said.

Tumango lang ako sa kanya sabay diretso na sa office ko. The door at Jema's room is still open. Wow, she's still here?

Inayos ko muna ang aking suot at buhok bago pumasok sa kuwarto ng dahan dahan. However I was disappointed to see Valerie sitting there instead of Jema.

My smile suddenly faded.

"Hello Valerie." I said without warning that made her jump.

"B-boss, you're here. Bakit po kayo nanggugulat? Buti wala akong sakit sa puso kundi bumulagta na ako. How's the flight? You need anything?" she asked while standing up.

"I'm fine, thanks. What are you doing here? This is Jema's room as far as I can remember." I replied while signaling her to sit down.

"Opo. Alam ko na room niya ito. Wala kasi akong mapuwestuhan kaya dito ko na ginawa ang mga dapat gawin sa computer niya." sabi niya sabay upo uli.

"I see. How about my office? You know that you can always use it." sabi ko.

May access din siya sa office ko.

Being my secondhand in the company, she also knows the password of my computer. Pwede niya itong gamitin anytime, if needed. Ang off limits lang talaga sa kanya ay yung laptop ko na lagi kong dala.

"Oh sorry. I was too lazy to walk na din kanina kaya I used Jema's computer. May isesend lang akong emails sa mga interested companies na gustong mag contribute sa charity works natin. Wala naman sigurong problema boss?" she inquired.

"No problem." I replied as I glanced around the office and sat at the edge of Jema's table.

Napasinghot ako ng wala sa oras, nangingibabaw ang halimuyak ng perfume ni Jema dito ah. I noticed that there were some items added inside her room. I picked one tiny miniature thing from her table. What's this?