Athena On Mars

Chapter 2

Change is inevitable. We all make daily decisions that affect the small things from the different aspects of our lives. From the time you ask yourself if the first thing you're going to do the moment you wake up in the morning is immediately get up and do your morning routine or allow yourself to sleep in for another five minutes, to contemplating whether you're going to study for tomorrow's quiz or hangout with your friends instead. Basically, we subconsciously make decisions in our lives that are somewhat different from our usual routine. 

Then one day, you'll notice that the impacts of those gradual changes have already piled up too much that it made you realize that your life before was far from the reality of today. And you'll find it hard to believe that this big change was caused by those small adjustments you made in your life. Siguro kasi palaging iniisip at napapansin ng mga tao ay 'yung bilis ng paglipas ng panahon. Isa na ako sa mga taong ganoon parati kung mag-isip.

Two weeks have already passed ever since that incident. I never told anyone, even my best friend, about what happened, nor am I planning to do so any time soon. Maliban sa tadtad na asar ang matatanggap ko mula sa kaibigan ko, ayaw ko nang madamay pa siya sa gulong nangyayari sa buhay ko ngayon. 

Nandito ako ngayon sa isang coffee shop malapit sa university na pinapasukan namin. Hinihintay kong dumating ang best friend ko rito dahil napag-usapan naming sabay kaming mag-e-enroll para sa second semester namin sa law school.  Unlike sa akin, hindi siya natulog sa condo unit niya kagabi. Ngayong araw pa lang kasi siya makakabalik ng Manila. 

I was quietly sipping on my iced coffee and scrolling through my phone when someone suddenly covered my eyes, making me startle. Based on the scent, I already knew who it was.

Inalis ko ang mga kamay niya na nakatakip sa mata ko at nilingon siya. 

"Zane," tawag ko sa pangalan ng best friend ko.

"What's up?" He said after he sat on the seat in front of me. He brushed his hair off of his face. It was his mannerism.

"Wala. The usual," kibit-balikat kong sagot.

"How are you doing?" Seryosong tanong niya sa akin. I already knew what he was pertaining to.

"Normal. Basta. I don't wanna talk about it." I brushed off the topic. Tumango na lang siya at kinausap ako about sa ibang mga bagay. 

Mayamaya ay nagtatawanan na kami. It was mostly because of his stories about the events that happened to him for the past two weeks. Ngayon lang ulit kasi kami nagkita ng lalaking 'to. At sa two weeks na hindi kami nagkita, mas kumapal ata mukha ng lalaking 'to dahil nagpalibre pa sa akin ng kape bago kami umalis ng coffee shop! Ang palamunin talaga nito kahit kailan! Hindi naman ako nanay nito ah!

"Ikaw naman manlibre sa akin, oy! Napakapalamunin mo talaga! Baby ba kita?" Napatigil siya sa paglalakad nang sabihin ko 'yon. Umasim ang itsura ng mukha niya sa sinabi ko. Doon ko lang napagtanto kung ano ang lumabas mula sa bibig ko.

"Anak kasi tinutukoy ko! Anak ba kita kako para palamunin kita? Kadiri ka naman!" Bigla kong bawi sa sinabi ko. Tumawa si Zane nang malakas dahil doon.

"Wala naman akong sinasabi," natatawa niyang sambit.

"Alam ko pumasok sa utak mo! Kitang-kita sa mukha mo!" I hit him lightly on the arm.

"Kung mandiri ka, parang hindi mo ako naging crush noong high school ah," he teased while laughing out loud. Nahawa tuloy ako sa tawa niya.

"Tanga! Ikaw nga nagkagusto ka sa akin for three years noong college tayo!" Pag-rebut ko sa sinabi niya. 

"Past is past, gagi!" He shrugged and shooked his head, as if he couldn't believe he really had feelings for me back then. 

"At parang ikaw pa lugi sa ating dalawa, ha! Kapal naman ng mukha mo!"