sucked in

Chapter 16

"Mira."

I heard someone call my name, kaya naman napaangat ako ng ulo. Lalo akong naiyak nang makita ko kung sino ito.

"Caleb!"

"Please, stop crying," pagpapatahan niya sa akin at inalalayan akong tumayo.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push her," I told him, still crying. "And why are you here? Aren't you supposed to take care of her? How is she?"

He pulled me into a hug. "She's fine. Don't worry. Stop crying and stop saying sorry. I know you didn't mean it. I know that was part of the scene," he said, gently rubbing my back. "And I want to say sorry for staring at you like that. You know that was also part of the scene, right?"

Humiwalay na ako sa yakap para matignan siya sa mata. "Akala ko ba hindi ka naniniwala sa mga sinabi ko?" tanong ko sa kaniya. "You said I was crazy for saying those stuff!"

Yep, I actually told him everything I know the night he went to our house, but he just laughed at me, saying it's ridiculous. Well, I told him everything except for the part where I'm not really Mira.

"Yeah. I do believe you. Trust me, no one understands more than I do," I said to him.

Hindi naman siya kumibo. It seems like he is unsure of what to do or say. Should I tell him the truth? I feel bad for him, really.

I cleared my throat. "Uhm, Caleb..."

He switched his gaze back to me when he heard me call his name.

"This will sound absurd, but this is the truth..." I stared at him intensely.

He didn't speak. He just waited for me to continue.

"Believe it or not, we're in a fictional novel. You, me, and everyone else in here are just characters in that novel. You and Faith are the main characters. You're being controlled to do things against your will sometimes because that's part of the story, those things need to happen because we're following a plot," I told him in a serious tone while staring straight into his eyes. "Every time we are in a 'scene' we are not in control of our bodies, the author is. That explains why you keep approaching Faith even if you don't want to," I continued.

He froze. "Really?"

I just nodded as a response.

"Really? Did you seriously expect me to believe that? That's nonsense!" aniya at tumawa nang malakas. "You're creative though, I give you that."

I can't help but roll my eyes. I knew it. Nagsayang lang ako ng laway. Sabagay, kung ako siguro sa kaniya, hindi rin ako maniniwala. Everything I said indeed sounded bullsh/t. Nagkibit-balikat na lamang ako.