Eighteen

Chapter 44

"Miss!" bungad ni Ellaine pagkabukas pa lang ng pinto. But what caught my attention was mainly the enormous bouquet of flowers she held inside her arms. "Flowers! Uy, may manliligaw ka pala?"

Lumapit siya sa akin, at akmang ilalapag na ang hawak na malaking pinaghalong kumpol ng tulips at rosas nang pigilan ko siya.

"Teka, teka, kanino iyan galing?" My brows pulled together as I stood from my chair. I rounded the desk and inspected the gaps to check if there was a card anywhere. None.

"Wait lang po, miss. Ilapag muna natin kung saan. Medyo mabigat, e," aniya. Of course it would have a little weight to it. The bouquet's size was the size of my torso up to my head.

Nilapag namin iyon sa couch na narito at namomroblema ko iyong tiningnan. I was in akimbo, considering the people who might have had the idea of passing this big mix of confusion and flowers to me. But at the same time I did not want to assume.

Inisiip ko lang na sa mga kakilala ko. The one with the highest possibility of giving me this was Tristan. Kilala ko naman ang mga kakilala ko sapat na para masabing hinding-hindi nila ako binigyan ng ganito noon. Ngayon lang ako nakatamggap ng ganito. Ngayong kilala ko na si Tristan Han.

"Anong sabi ng naghatid?"

"Pinapirma lang sa akin 'yong proof of delivery, miss, e. Wala nang sinabi. Sinubukan kong tanungin, syempre, pero ang sabi wala rin daw siyang alam." Kumibit-balikat si Ellaine.

Sa dami kong iniisip, dumagdag pa ito. Pero sige na lang. Narito na rin. Hindi ko na lang iisipin. This type of thing was normal, I thought. I mean, once in a while, someone—a one in a million—would always think of something that you would never have expected in your life.

Letting the bunch of flowers sit on the sofa, I went on with my normal day. I did not have to put an effort in not paying attention to it since I was busy, too. Work had preoccupied my mind until six in the evening. Pauwi na sana ako at kasama ko si Ellaine na naghahanda na rin na umuwi.

"Mauna na ako, miss!" paalam niya. Hahakbang na sana siya patungong pintuan nang tawagin ko siya.

"Wait!"

Lumingon siya pabalik sa akin.

"Po?"

"Uhm . . ." I glanced at the bouquet of flowers. Ngumiwi naman si Ellaine. I sighed. "How about you . . . uh . . . bring the flower—Never mind. Bastos kung ibibigay ko sa iba, hindi ba?"

Sumimangot siya at tumango. "Gustuhin ko man na iuwi na lang iyan kung ayaw mo para may mapang-uto ako sa mga kasama ko, hindi naman ata 'yon patas sa bumili niyan para sa 'yo. Deserve mo naman, miss, e." She beamed up saying that. What a delightful creature.

"Alright." I smiled sincerely. Her gummy smile was contagious. "Take care, Ellaine. Good job today."

Tumango siya at tuluyan nang naglaho sa likod ng pinto. Naiwan akong kaharap ang malaking pumpon ng bulaklak. I found it hard carrying it all by myself up the parking lot on the rooftop. I did not want to call anyone's attention about the flowers, so I did the work myself.

Pinagkasya ko iyon sa sasakyan ko at hinihingal na inisaayos ang buhok ko nang tuluyan ko iyong mapasok sa likod. Nahihiya man dahil alam kong maraming nakakita sa akin, hinayaan ko na lang. Sa dami ng iniisip ko ngayon, ayaw ko nang idagdag pa ang iniisip ng iba. All was left was to think about what to do with this after going home. It was my first time receiving a flower from someone anonymous, and ultimately, my first receiving this humongous one.

I took a bath and changed into a silk camisole and shorts. Tinabi ko muna iyong bulaklak at bukas na lang poproblemahin. Before I retired to my bed, I checked my emails and other socials for anything important. And one of the messages I got on messenger answered one of the questions inside my mind that had formed just this morning.