Perfect Fake Lovers

Chapter 25

#NewClassicPFL

Chapter 25
Horizon

Halos mapunit ang aking mga labi sa sobrang pagngiti habang kinukuhanan ng video ang himpapawid. I had ridden airplanes countless of times when travelling in and out of the country, but it was my first time travelling by a seaplane that I got so excited. For the first few minutes, I had to admit that I was scared as it felt less safe than those big aircrafts I was used to. However, once we were flying steadily, I looked out the window and got drunk with the breathtaking view it offered.

Since we were flying lower than an airplane, I could see the aerial view of land and sea that we were passing by. The blue sky was vast and clear, without the obstruction of clouds. Flock of birds was also flying at a closer distance. Although it was much more expensive than normal flights, the view made it all worth it. It was calming and therapeutic.

"Sic!" Nilingon ko siya pagkatapos mag-video ng pang-story at agad na inabot ang aking cellphone. "Please take a picture of me."

Nag-aalangan niyang kinuha mula sa akin ang cellphone. He stared at me as if I was acting weird for being so enthusiastic and excited. I knew all along that he'd been watching me ever since we boarded. Kahit na napakaganda ng tanawin sa labas, sa akin lamang siya nakatingin.

"Faster!" I demanded.

He chuckled huskily. "Okay, okay..." he said under his breath. "Calm down, love."

Napanguso na lamang ako habang tinatapat niya ang camera ng cellphone sa akin. Nang nahanap niya ang tamang anggulo ay umayos na rin ako porma. I crossed my leg, rested my elbow on my thigh, and positioned my fingers on my chin in a way that looked natural. Once I was satisfied with my pose, I gave him a nod.

That small photoshoot moment inside the seaplane took us almost ten minutes until I was satisfied with the shots. There were different poses, angles, and lighting. Tahimik akong naghahanap ng picture na puwedeng pang-Instagram at kung ano ang mga buburahin nang biglang sumilip si Sic sa aking cellphone.

I turned to him and stopped scrolling through my gallery. We were separated by a narrow aisle so he was stretching his upper body to lean forward. The sunlight streaming from the window reflected on his eyes and the color of his irises became more vivid.

"Why are you marking those pictures?" Sic asked curiously.

Ibinalik ko ang tingin ko sa cellphone. I selected all the items I wanted to delete from my gallery. I felt like they didn't make it to the cut and not worthy of being posted.

"Gonna delete them," I briefly answered.

"Why?"

"They don't look good."

Natahimik si Sic sa sinabi ko. Nilingon ko siyang muli na titig na titig sa aking gallery. He then tilted his head and snatched my phone from my hands. Dahil hindi ko 'yon inaasahan ay hindi ko siya napigilan.

"What are you doing?" tanong ko nang bigla niyang tiningnan isa-isa ang mga pictures ko.

"Checking if you don't look good in these photos..." he lazily uttered while swiping. "Hmm..." He acted like he was thinking deeply and I saw him zoomed my face in. "Mukhang hindi nga."

"Fransic!" galit kong singhal dahil sa pang-iinis niya.

Agad sumabog ang kanyang tawa. Iritado kong hinablot ang cellphone pabalik. Nang hindi pa rin siya tumigil ay inirapan ko na lamang siya.

"What? Why are you mad?" he innocently asked while trying to stop himself from laughing.

"Mas pangit ka, alam mo ba 'yon?" sabi ko na lang dahil sa iritasyon.