'Baka naman bagong modus lang 'to ng mga akyat-bahay?'
Cornelia stifled a yawn and tried to concentrate. Pero kahit anong gawin niya, hindi niya pa rin makalimutan ang nangyari kaninang madaling-araw. Whenever she tries to convince herself that maybe it was all just a figment of her hyperactive imagination, lalong nawawalan ng sense ang lahat.
Dahil kung hindi siya totoo, bakit may buhangin sa kama at sahig ng kwarto niya?
Kung hindi siya totoo, paano siya nakapasok at nakalabas nang hindi dumaraan sa pinto o bintana?
'At kung hindi siya totoo, why the hell does his touch still linger?'
That made her blush.
"ELIA!"
Nawalan ng balanse ang dalaga sa kanyang kinauupuan. Naging dahilan ito para matumba siya sa sahig, several eyes now studying her like she was the subject of their live portraiture exercise. 'Shit, nakakahiya,' isip-isip ni Cornelia sa kabila ng kanyang ngiti.
Nonetheless, their art teacher didn't look too pleased.
"Elia, kanina ka pa nakatulala diyan. May problema ba?"
"W-Wala po, miss." Come on, Elia. Think of an excuse, any excuse! Bahala na nga. "N-Namatayan kasi ako ng halaman kahapon, kaya medyo affected pa rin ako hanggang ngayon."
She wanted to slap herself for being stupid.
'Really, Elia? Namatayan ng halaman? Ugh!'
Tulad ng kanyang inaasahan, naging sentro ng atensyon ulit siya ng klase. Bukod pa rito, halatang nagpipigil na lang ng tawa ang kanyang classmates. Namula ang mukha ng kanilang teacher, and for a moment, Cornelia wanted to imagine smoke coming out of her ears like those in cartoons.
Pero iba nga pala ang rules ng reyalided.
"Sa susunod na magsisinungaling ka, siguraduhin mong kapani-paniwala, Elia. But I guess you have a lot of time to think about that later..."
A detention slip fell on her lap.
Napayuko na lang sa kahihiyan si Cornelia, the pale pink cornelia flowers pinned to her hair almost drooped in shame.
"Sorry po."
Kung sinuman ang hudas na Dreamcaster na 'yon, she really needed to get him out of her head before any more mishaps can happen!
*
"Sorry po."
Dave leaned against the door frame and studied her from afar. Matapos niyang bumalik sa kanyang pwesto, kapansin-pansing tila ba distracted pa rin ang dalaga habang nagpipinta. Unlike last night, she now had her hair braided on either sides of her head, resting on her shoulders, adorned with cornelia flowers.
'Cornelia.'
Wala siyang masyadong alam sa pagpipinta, but from what Dave could see, she had talent.
It was almost hypnotizing how she carefully brushed colors onto the canvas and darted her eyes to her palette. Maingat nitong kinuha ang bawat detalye ng modelo, but with her own style and finishing touches.
She smiled in content.
"At ano naman ang espesyal sa'yo?"
Dave sighed, knowing he was just wasting his time here. Kailangan na rin niyang bumalik sa kanyang trabaho bago pa siya ma-late. Stealing one last glance at Cornelia, he vanished in a blink of an eye.
*
"Nak, ba't parang na-late ka ng uwi?"
Her father greeted her in the living room, just as he was taking off his worn out shoes.
BINABASA MO ANG
✔ Dreamcaster
Fantasy"I am a Dreamcaster." "But you don't have any dreams?" "Does it matter?" He challenged. She glared back. "It does." After his mentor's retirement, tuluyan nang pinandigan ni Dave ang kanyang mga responsibilidad bilang isang Dreamcaster. As someone w...
