Unrequited Love

e i g h t

Zora

"So, that's how you met him?" Tanong ni Giselle. Tumango ako.

"He said i'm not alone. But look at me right now. He just turned the tables back after i trusted him. Imagine? 2 years niya akong nilagawan, i said yes after that. We lasted for a year not knowing he actually has a fianceé?"

"Don't you think... He did that out of pity?" Napatingin ako kay Giselle. That hit me real hard.

I think she's right. I looked down. Pilit kong pinapatuyo ang mga luhang babagsak nanaman. Maybe my fate is to be alone. Siguro magisa nalang talaga akong tatanda neto.

"There's so much more that you need to see, Zora. You have to let go. You're 24. Pretty, talented, smart. Wag mong sayangin dahil sa past na sumira sayo." Sabi ni Giselle. She really is supportive. Ngumiti ako ng pilit. Tumingala ako para tingnan ang river but i regret it as soon as i did.

I saw him. Again. With his fianceé. They look so happy. Tumingin si Giselle sa direksyon na tinitingnan ko.

"Wait is that—"

"Yes. Dalton and his patong fianceé."

"No. Is that a baby bump i see?" Tiningnan ko ng mabuti ang sinasabi ni Giselle. Dalton's fianceé is...

Pregnant?

"Do you know about this?" Tanong niya. Umiling ako.

"Why should I care anyways? I'll let them be. I have no right to know everything." Sabi ko sakanya although it hurts to see him having a baby soon. I probably didn't notice at first kasi baggy manamit ang fianceé niya noon.

Or maybe they chose to not tell me at all.

"Gusto mong maglunch somewhere? My treat. Tara." Hinila na ako ni Giselle patayo dahilan ng pagbagsak ng pato sa damo.

"Oh shit, sorry." Sabi ko sa pato. Tumayo ito. Akala ko ay aalis na siya pero sinundan ako nito.

"Gusto ata niyang umuwi kasama ka." Sabi ni Giselle. Hinayaan ko ang pato na sumunod. Baka mapagod din toh kakasunod sakin.

—

I was wrong. Nakauwi na ako't lahat lahat pero nandito parin yung pato sa tabi ko. Pinasok ko nalang siya sa kwarto ko.

It's 4 p.m. Two more hours before the band practice. Nakaupo yung pato sa kama ko. I took a picture of it to post it on instagram. I thought it's cute. Naglaro muna ako ng few games bago ako maligo ulit. I was drying my hair nang may kumatok sa kwarto ko.

"Come in."

"Hi."

"Noah? Akala ko umalis ka?" I asked.

"I just came back— is that a duck?" Tanong nito. Lumapit ito sa pato. Umupo siya sa kama ko at agad namang pumunta yung pato sa binti niya.

"Binili mo?" He asked.

"No. I always go to this plaza and ever since the attack, it started following me." Sabi ko sakanya. He laughed at the thought.

"Ingatan mo. Baka lutuin ni Kenji." Sabi niya. I was horrified. Thinking about it, i think it is possible.

Kenji and his rude actions? Sounds about right.

"Ready ka nang kumanta?" He asked. I nodded.

"It's been how many days? Like, 3 i think ever since i stopped showing up to my gig." Sabi ko naman.

"I can't wait to hear you." Sabi niya sakin. I smiled.

"Wow. You play games too?" He asked while walking towards my computer, duck in hand.

"I stream. I play Valorant."

"I play Val with Kenji and Elijah too! Maybe you should play with us sometimes! What's your rank?" Tanong niya.

"Radiant." I said.

"Miss carrier, i see. Carry us to radiant. Ang hirap kasi pag kasama ko yung dalawa. Laging nagaaway. They end up dead anyways." Sabi niya sakin. We laughed.

"It's almost time to practice." Sabi niya while looking at his watch. Nilapag niya yung pato sa kama ko.

"Let's go?" He said. I nodded. Lumipad yung pato papalapit samin.

"Gusto niya ata sumama." Sabi ni Noah. He picked up the duck para isama sa band room.

"Uh... ayokong makita siya ni Kenji." Sabi ko.

"Akong bahala dun." Sabi ni Noah.

—

"Bakit may pato dito?!" Sigaw ni Kenji as soon as he entered the room. Agad itong umakyat sa upuan.

"It's not like it's gonna bite you." Sabi ko sakanya. "Unless you mess with the owner." Dagdag ko.

"Bakit ka maguuwi ng pato dito?"

"Bakit? Wala namang nakasabi sa rules and requirements na bawal magdala ng pet dito!"

"It's not a pet. It's food." Sabi niya. Ngumiti ito ng nakakaloko.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!" Sabi ko. Lalapitan niya na sana yung pato nang hampasin ko siya sa braso.

"Can't you see?! It's sitting down peacefully! Don't touch it!" Sabi ko sakanya.

"Whatever." He said as he roll his eyes. Binigay na sakin ni Elijah yung lyrics ng kakantahin namin. Bigla kong naalala yung sinabi niya. I blushed at the thought.

Am i really pretty? Nah. Sinong pinagloloko non.

"3.2.1. Cue." Bigla silang tumugtog. I was waiting for the intro to finish.

Then, it's my time.

I felt every word. I sang it with my eyes closed. Dahil feel na feel ko yung kanta ay di ko alam na papatapos na pala kami.

"That's—" Elijah let out a big sigh. "You sounded so good." He continued. I gave him a nod. Noah walked towards the duck.

"He's well behaved while we were practicing." He said as he gave the duck a piece of bread. We were putting up the equipments nang may tumawag sakin. I didn't get the chance to see who called.

"Hello?"

*So, you actually picked up this time. Where are you?*

Lumayo ako ng konti sa mga members.

"Dalton-"

*Before you say anything please let me talk.*

"Enough is enough. Ano pa ba ang gusto mo?"

*My fianceé is pregnant.*

"And? Why would i care?" I said. My eyes started to get a bit hot.

*I— i wasn't even planning to be a father yet. I was planning to make things right with you. Your past-*

"Stop. Just— stop. I don't wanna hear it. You took me out of pity, correct? You lured me into your trap so i could be fooled, right? You succeeded. Please leave me be. I already moved on."

No i didn't...

*No. Pitying you was never the reason why i wanted to be with you. You're fun to be with. I vibe with you. You—*

"Well you wouldn't have done it in the first place if that's how you feel."

*Harriet, I—*

Binaba ko na agad yung call. I can't deal with this bullshit right now. Hindi ko namalayang umiiyak na pala ako.

"Zora, okay ka lang?" Agad na lumapit si Noah sakin as soon as he saw me cry. Wala ako sa sarili ko kaya dirediretso nalang akong lumabas ng band room.