SAUDADE

dalawang pu't apat

Third Person

5 months ago

She was sitting on a swing under a tree, a few meters away where the water meets the land. She rests her head on the rope of the swing and sighs to herself.

Yana ran away.

But what was she really running away from? From the truth? Was she scared? Was she afraid to know that she wasn't really blood-related to who she thought of as a family?

What she knew that day was that she was in pain. She was confused. And she was hurt.

A rustle of the leaves made her turn her head from the shore. "Sino ka?" She blatantly asked, sounding a little startled and scared.

"Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to pry on you..." The man wearing a button down Hawaiian polo and shorts, shades covering the color of his eyes.

He stood there with his hands at his back, "Oh... Sorry din..." Issa looked away. "Is it okay if ano... If I join you? I also hang out here, eh..." He scratched the back of his head and timidly asked.

Yana chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, sure I guess."

"Baka napili-"

"Come on, wag na maging sad boy or something..." She cut him off and pointed at the swing beside hers. He only chuckled and shook his head as he took his seat on the vacant swing.

"So... Anong ginagawa mo dito?" He started the conversation. Issa shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know..."

He gave her a funny look, "What do you mean you don't know?" He chuckled, "You must've had a reason to be here..." He added, looking at the waves crashing.

"Wait... Who are you?" She asked him. "Wow... Bold of me to ask you that when I don't even know myself..." She chuckled at herself bitterly.

"Wow... Parang may pinagdadaanan ka, ah..." He widened his eyes at her in amusement, "Well... I'm Xavier." He smiled at her. "And you are?"

"I'm..." She paused, not knowing what to say next, "Uhm... I don't know..." She chuckled. "They call me Yana but I just found out that I'm not."

Xavier hang his mouth agape, "Ano?" He looked at her confusingly.

"It's a long story..." She chuckled and shook her head, looking at him. He then looked at his left wrist and tapped on an imaginary watch, "Well, I have time..."

Yana smiled, "You are one curious fella... Alam mo ba ang ginagawa nila sa mga usyoso?"

Xavier's face scrunched his face in confusion, "What the hell is usyoso?" He scoffed. Yana rolled her eyes at him, "Curious."

He then nodded slowly, "Okay... Anyway... Come on, they say it's better to open up to a stranger 'cause you really don't know each other..." He shared.

"That's literally the definition of a stranger... You don't know each other." Yana scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Ah basta yun na yun!" He chuckled. "What's your problem, Miss?"

"I told you... They call me Yana..." She retorted, "But you also said you just found out you aren't her." He countered with a smirk.

"Touché." Yana smirked. "Call me what you want then..." She looked at him.

"Beautiful?" He grinned. "Ugh you're so corny!" Yana laughed, throwing her head back. "Ui, but I made you laugh..." He snapped his finger.