I woke up on a strange bed, with a strange man. Sinapo ko ang ulo ko at pinilit ang sariling alalahanin kung nasaan ako at kung sino ang kasama ko. But my mind was blank. Empty. As if it had been wiped clean before I woke up. There was this weird sensation all over my body. Certain spots were sore. I didn't know if I should be disgusted or happy about it. Paano ko malalaman kung ano ang dapat kong maramdaman kung wala akong maalala?
Napapitlag ako nang biglang bumaling ang lalaki. Kinusot niya ang mga mata bago siya magmulat. He was frowning when he looked at me. Hindi nya rin ba ako kilala? I don't know who he is.
"Bakit ang aga mong gumising?" tanong niya maya-maya. He sat up and leaned back on the headboard. Kinuha niya ang phone sa katabing lamesa at tiningnan ang oras. He showed me the time. It was not even 6AM yet. I noticed the wallpaper on his phone. The woman looks like me and the man looks like him. Kinuha ko ang phone mula sa kamay niya para tingnang mabuti ang picture.
"Ako ba 'to?" tanong ko sa kanya.
"Who else would it be?" he asked, seemingly slightly annoyed by the question.
"Kilala mo 'ko?"
Napamaang siya sa tanong. And then, his face broke into a smile. Then laughter. "What kind of question is that? Did you hit your head?"
I touched my head just to be sure. Napangiwi ako nang may maramdamang bukol. Agad siyang lumapit para kapain ang ulo ko. He clicked his tongue when he felt the bump too.
"Does it hurt?"
"Medyo."
"Stay here." He ran outside to get something. He was only gone for a while so I didn't have much time to check anything in the bedroom. When he returned, he had a cold compress in hand. Ipinatong niya iyon sa ulo ko. He also parted the curtains to give way to the morning light. Weird. When I saw the entirety of the bedroom, I still couldn't remember anything. But why did I have a picture with him on his phone? I had my arms on his neck, kissing his check. We looked so happy.
"What's wrong with you today, Alyssa?"
Alyssa. Is that really my name?