Eighteen

Chapter 03

The horizon drowned out the sun beyond the blanket of greens. I was spacing out, my eyes lingered across korokorosans and amorkesos swaying to the direction of the wind as my hair was being softly blown away. Mula rito, rinig ko ang ingay nina Hide na nasa baba, sa pool yard, kung sa'n hinahanda nila ang mahabang lamesa na kakainan namin mamaya.

A voice disrupted my alone time on the deck.

"Hey," bati ng boses ni Anais.

Umikot ako paharap sa kanya at nakita siyang nakatayo sa pintuan. Napapagitnaan kami ng mahabang divan. He started toward where I was, to the railings where I leaned against. My eyes dropped to the can of root beer he held in one hand.

"Anais," bati ko rin. I casted him a tiny smile and went back to the landscape. He stood next to me, a little distanced.

"Did I barge in your moment?" tanong niya.

"Hindi naman. I was just admiring the view."

We were quiet. The only noise I had heard before the silence had become too loud had been the hiss of the can he had opened with one hand. Though the silence was undeniably deafening, it was comfortable. Strands of my hair started hitting my face and I had to press a hand against one side of my head. I could easily see him from my peripheral view that way. I tried to angle my head a little to his side, casting him a sidelong glance. The sun that reached us had painted his face orange, scattering across his well-defined face, fixing shadows that accessorized it. His eyes had also taken a lighter shade of brown.

"So what's your career path?" he asked, striking up an unusually formal conversation. We could've gone along the casual road, but anyway.

He wasn't looking in my direction, so I kept my head aligned with the sunset.

"Something to do with business management."

"Really?" He threw me a look then proceeded to flip on his back, his arms propped against the railings. "Then why STEM? Kasi standard?"

"Oo na rin, pero hindi naman kasi pamamahala ng negosyo ang gusto kong maging. I wanted to be a doctor."

"Ah . . . is that right? Sorry, am I being nosy?" He was apologetic.

"No. Okay lang." I had long regarded the derailment of my career path as a natural occurrence. Business was so far removed from what I had initially dreamed of becoming, but fate could be a little unfair sometimes. I mean, we can't have everything.

"In any case, good luck with your endeavors," he said kindly. A smile pulled on my lips, ever so gently. His hand, with the can in it, reached out to me. I was confused at first, but realized then that he was offering his drink to me. Hindi ako nakakibo kaagad. I didn't think we were very close as to share our spittle.

With the smile that I had since earlier, I shook my head lightly. At least he was thoughtful of a person. "Thank you, but you can have it. Ayaw ko rin kasi sa lasa niyan," sabi ko. Totoo naman na ayaw ko sa lasa no'n. It tasted like toothpaste.

The silence coiled around us for the second time, and with all this silence, a curiosity started to scratch at my skull. I wondered if this man standing next to me was already dating someone. It was an innocent question. I couldn't help it, not when he was this attractive – probably one on my roster of the very few men that I found satisfying to look at. Maybe it was the Australian blood in him.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" My thoughts leaked. Nasurpresa ko rin tuloy siya sa tanong na 'yon dahil nanigas ang kamay niyang hawak ang beer patungo sa bibig niya kaya nakaangat lang 'yon sa ere. "Sorry. I was just curious. Kalimutan mo na lang na itinanong ko." I waved my hand.