Celestial Chords (Ciudad de Escalante #3)

Prelude

"Putangina? Ang hina mo naman!" sigaw ni Zyris nang malaman kung anong nangyari sa pinaghandaan kong pakulo kanina para sa babaeng nililigawan ko.

"Wow, coming from you who doesn't have the guts to send a friend request," Devan uttered with sarcasm.

"Sayang effort. Sayang dalawang taon. Sayang sampung libo para sa surprise. Sayang paghihintay. Sayang pagpupuyat," pang-aasar pa nitong si Jael na kasama kong nag-ayos ng lahat.

Zyris is stupid when it comes to winning a girl's heart, so I excluded him in my preparation. Baka sirain pa ang surprise ko kapag nagkataon. At the same time, Devan doesn't like doing cheesy stuff.

I prepared a proposal if she could finally be my girlfriend. I've been interested in her for quite a long time. I fell in love with the way she views the world, her words and wisdom, her taste of music that I can relate to, and the story behind her tears and smiles.

Other people said she lacks physical beauty, but it's not a mere attraction for me. I don't have high standards for women because we shouldn't search for more of what they are right now. But it doesn't mean that I'm settling for less for not having standards.

For me, it's all about loving them wholeheartedly; even they're not the person whom we want them to be.

If we keep raising our preferences, they will forget that they're already pretty since the beginning. They tend to be insecure and pressured to achieve society's standards when it comes to beauty. If they want to change, they will, but not for men, because it should be for themselves — and that is what most women forget.

"Pero bakit nabasted ka nga? Kilig na kilig pa nga iyon dati sa panghaharana natin sa tapat ng bahay nila..." tumatawang sabi ni Zyris at mukhang balak rin na mamikon. Gago rin ito eh, siya nga hindi man makaporma.

Ngayon lang ako nanligaw kaya wala akong pakialam kung mabasted man ako. Ayos lang sana, oo, ayos lang kung walang nakarinig at kung walang video na paniguradong kumakalat ngayon sa internet.

I couldn't feel any humiliation that I got dumped, but knowing our fans, they will probably curse her to death for rejecting me.

"Hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala sa pinalit sa'yo..." si Jael muli na nakangiti na parang aso.

Dumapa na lamang ako sa kama at pinilit na alisin ang nangyari sa utak ko. I couldn't believe that Karina rejected me for someone who just courted her for two weeks. Alam kong mas gusto niya na agad iyon kaysa sa akin pero nagbakasakali pa rin ako kaya sinorpresa ko siya.

Damn it. It's not first-come, first-serve, but it feels like my ego was stomped in pieces.

"Yung karibal mo sa panliligaw? Kaya ka rineject dahil iyon na ang tipo niya?" tanong muli ni Zyris at tinawanan lamang ni Jael bilang tugon.

"No way. No fucking way," Devan said while shaking his head in disbelief. I know it's hard to accept the idea that Karina chose my rival over me.

"Yes, way, Devan. See? Even you can't process what the effin' shit happened!" Jael stated like he can't still figure out that Karina likes someone who's the total opposite of me.

"Ang hina mo naman pala talaga, eh. You lost over a girl?" Devan mumbled, and he couldn't also help to laugh at me.

"Yung kasama nung Prado la Silvestre sa pambababae," sabi ni Jael at may kinalikot sa cellphone.

I know, okay? I lost over a girl! Nagawa niyang baluktutin si Karina sa loob lamang ng dalawang linggo. Tangina lang, paano niya nagawa iyon? Karina likes men but when she popped out of nowhere, Karina became a B in the LGBTQ community right away.