Like Strangers Do

Chapter 23

Hindi ko man lang nasabi kay Fabian na hindi ako tanggap sa art school na kung saan ako ng enrol. I looked at my canvas, I'm painting right now, wala naman akong ibang gagawin sa bahay dahil tapos na din ang pag tu-tutor ko kay Liviti.

Bumaba ang mga mata ko sa cellphone ko. Hindi pa rin tumatawag simula kaninang umaga si Fabian. Mukhang mas naging busy ito ngayong papalapit na ang eleksyon. Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko nang tumunog iyon at niluwa ang isang reminder.

Nakasulat doon  ang birthday ni Fabian which is sa makalawa na. Agad akong nag browse ng magandang regalo para sa birthday pero mukhang lahat ng mga nasa internet ay meron na si Fabian, sa yaman ba naman ng angkan nito. Nang wala akong mahanap sa internet ay muling bumalik ang tingin ko blangkong canvas na nasa harap ko. Pinulot ko ang paint brush ko sa sahig at agad ng pinta, hindi ko alam kung magugustuhan ba ni Fabian ang magiging regalo ko para sakanya. 

Pag katapos ng ilang oras ba pag pipinta ay napatingin ako sa cellphone ko nang tumunog iyon at iniluwa ang pangalan ni Fabian, agad ko iyong sinagot. 

"Hello!" I greeted the other line. 

"Hi, what are you doing?" he asked me. Napatingin ako sa canvas na malapit nang matapos. Ngumiti ako bago sagutin ang tanong nito. "Reading.." I lied. Baka mag karoon ito ng ideya kung ano ang magiging regalo ko kapag sinabi kong nag pipinta ako. 

"Let's date." napangiti ako dahil sa sinabi nito. "I want to spend my free time with you. Are you free today?" he asked me. I nodded my head. "Yeah. Sure. What time?" I asked him. Nang binaba na nito ang tawag ay agad akong nag-ayos ng sarili para sa date namin ni Fabian mamaya. Pumunta ako sa cabinet ko at agad nag hanap ng magandang damit. 

Nang matapos na akong mag bihis ay napatingin ako sa reflection ko sa salamin na nasa harap ko. I am wearing a nude fitted dress and my hair is in a low ponytail. Kinuha ko ang purse ko at agad bumaba sa sala. I saw Fabian sitting with my father while watching polo from the TV. Nang makita nila ako ay agad tumayo si Fabian. 

Huminto ako sa tabi ni Fabian at tumingin kina mama at papa, "Before one dapat andito na sya." seryosong sabi ni papa. Fabian nodded his head as an answer before hugging mama. Hawak nito ang kamay ko habang papunta kami sa kotse hanggang nasa byahe na kami pauwi. Nang makarating kami sa lugar kung saan kami mag d-date ay agad bumaba si Fabian at pinagbuksan ako ng pinto. 

Pag pasok namin sa loob ng restaurant ay agad may sumalubong saamin at pinasunod kami kung saan kami uupo. Napatingin ako sa view mula sa malaking glass window sa gilid namin. We can see the whole view of the beach from here. The cloud had a black silhouette with brilliant gold light rays coming from it. The waves had produced a calming crashing sound, as if trying to calm a soul. The eye was pleased by the waves' gentle rhythmic motion. 

I stared at Fabian, and he turned around to face me.

"This is a new restaurant here and I want to try it with you." sabi nito habang nakangiti saakin. I smiled at him before looking around the whole place. May mga upuan at mga mesa pa sa labas ng restaurant, mas maganda pumuwesto doon kapag umaga. 

Nag simula na kaming mag order ng pag kain namin, habang kumakain ay nagpag-usapan namin ang nangyari sa pangangampanya ng lolo nya. Pag katapos naming kumain ay napagpasyahan naming mag lakad-lakad sa dalampasigan. may mga puno ng buko sa gilid at puno ng liwanag ang buong paligid.

"Hindi ako natanggap sa arts school." nakita ko na napahinto ito dahil sa sinabi ko. Napatingin ito saakin at mukhang sinusuri kung ano ang reaksiyon ko sa sinabi ko. He glanced at me with a worried expression on his face. I laughed to calm him. Hinawakan nito ang kamay ko, he's hands are very warm. 

"I'm sorry, baby." bakas sa boses nito ang lungkot. I smiled at him before shaking my head. "You know what, even though I wasn't accepted into that arts school, I'm still happy since I can still be with you here." sagot ko sakanya. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and made my head rest on his shoulder. 

"Don't give up on painting, okay? I'm sure mag sisisi sila na hindi ka nila tinaggap. I'm also glad you're here with me." he whispered. I looked at him and smiled. Hinalikan nito ang tutok ng ulo ko. sabay naming pinanood ang pagdating ng mga alon sa dalampasigan. I looked at our foot prints in the sand. 

"Nag usap na ba kayo ni Tito?" napatingin ako muli kay Fabian nang itanong nya iyon. Ilang buwan na din pala simula nang mangyari ang lahat ng iyon at hindi pa din namin muli iyon napag-uusapan. Mama and papa are good with each other, me and papa sometimes talked to each other but we never talk about that night. Wala akong lakas ng loob para itanong kay mama o kay papa kung nasaan na yung babaeng nabuntis ni papa, falit pa din ako dahil sa ginawa nya kay mama pero hindi nya naman pwedeng pabayaan ang magiging anak niya. 

"We never talk about what happened that night." sagot ko sa tanong nito. "Maybe you should talk to your papa." sabi nito. "Anong mararamdaman mo kapag nag cheat ako sayo?" I asked him, kumunot ang noo nito dahil sa sinabi ko. I laughed because he look at me with shocked on his face. I cupped his cheeks and made me look at me.

"Why are you asking that kind of question, Titania?" he asked me. I shakes my head. "I just want to ask you, you know no matter how long a relationship has been one one can still cheat on their partner. As an example, I felt no one could damage Mama and Papa's relationship, but things went astray one night.

"I will never cheat on you, Titania. I will never, never hurt you the way your father did." ngumiti ako sakany bago dumukwang at halikan ang labi nito. He cupped my jaw and kissed me deeper. I closed my eyes and felt his hot at soft lips on mine. 

"You're the most meaningful present I've ever received." my heart beats faster because of those words. Fabian is also the best gift I've ever had in my whole life and I don't have anything to ask because he is enough.

"Can you imagine what we will be in the future?" he asked. I see my future with Fabian, maybe we're married already on that time or maybe have two kids, and living a simple life with him and our own family. Thinking of those things gets me more excited to see our future. 

"How about you?" I asked him. He looked at me before intertwining our hands and kissing the back of my hand. "I see my future with you.  I foresee myself marrying you and having seven children with you as their mother in the future." halos mabilaukan ako sa sarili kong laway dahil sa sinabi nito. 

"Seven talaga!" gulat na sabi ko sakanya. "Okay, you can decide how many kids you want because that's your body." napangiti ako dahil sa sinabi nito. 

"We will live in some province in Paris and I will paint while you have your own ranch there. I will teach our children to paint while you teach them to ride a horse." pag i-imagine ko din sa magiging future namin. 

"You will be famous artist and I will support your work and I will always the one who will see your artwork first. We will live happily and no one can stop us achieving that kind of future." he whispered. 

Hinila ako nito at pinaupo sa kandungan nito. I caressed his jaw and smiled at him. Dreaming the same future with Fabian made it more exciting. I want to have that kind of future with him. I hope all that dreams will come true. 

"I will always choose and love you, Titania!" he whispered against my lips. I smiled at him before closing my eyes. "I will always love you, Fabian. I want to spend the rest of my life here with you." I muttered. As I open my eyes I saw him smile. 

"You're my north star, Titania. I will always come back to you no matter what happened." he said again before crashing his lips to mine. The crashing waves from the sea is the only thing that we can hear. I opened my eyes and saw Fabian looking at me. I always love the way he look at me, it seems like I'm the most beautiful woman he ever seen. 

"You're stunning, by the way." he always gives me compliments that always made my heart warm.

A/N: Writing this while playing pagsamo and Ikaw lang.