Vitamin U

32- The death

Nicolas POV

"Bro, kanina pa panay tingin mo d'yan sa monitor ng CCTV, ah? Hindi halatang patay na patay ka kay Lala."

Mula sa monitor ng laptop ay nag-angat ako ng tingin kay Jeff. Nakangisi siya nang makahulugan sa akin. Napabuntong-hininga ako. I promised myself not to think about Lala anymore. These past few days ay iniiwasan ko siya. Gusto kong timbangin ang nararamdaman ko sa kanya at 'yong sabi n'ong babae sa kanila.

Lingid din sa kaalaman ni Lala ay pinasuri ko sa mga eksperto ang mga produkto niya. I wanted to make sure that her products are safe and no other harmful ingredients like...aphrodisiac chemicals? Nabasa ko sa internet na may ganoong ingredients ang love potion or gayuma.

And if ever they found something suspicious in Lala's herbal products, I'm gonna kick her out of my company as soon as I possible. I don't want a con person working in my company while she plays my and my family's emotions. I made that decision after my date with Lala last week.
I thought I made it clear to myself to avoid her? Why am I still watching her from the CCTV cameras?

The more na hindi ko siya nakikita o nakakusap, mas lalong sumisidhi ang damdamin ko sa kanya. I stopped calling her, sending her sweet messages, I even stopped visiting her in the warehouse. Minsan ay nagtetext siya't nangungumusta pero hindi ko nirereplyan.  The worst part of this is, lalo ko siyang namimiss! Binubuksan ko ang monitor ng CCTV sa laptop ko just to watch her. Naiinis na ako sa sarili ko. I am not like this to my exes!

"Bro, naniniwala ka ba sa gayuma?" bigla kong naitanong kay Jeff.
Kahit si Randall na kapapasok lang ng opisina ay natigilan sa tanong ko.

"I beg your pardon?" natatawang balik ni Jeff.

"Gayuma, bro. Love potion...Black magic or whatever sh*t you call it!"

"Is that the new product we're going to launch?"

"No!" banas na sagot ko.

"I do."

Nag-angat ako ng tingin kay Randall. "You do what?"

Umupo siya sa tabi ni Jeff at seryosong tumingin sa akin. "I do believe in gayuma. In fact, my mom was once a victim of my dad."

Nalaglag ang panga namin pareho ni Jeff sa ipinagtapat ni Randall. Hindi siya mukhang nagbibiro dahil wala siyang kangiti-ngiti, pero lagi naman talagang poker face 'tong si Randall.

"Bro, you didn't tell me you have some serious magical issue that's been going on in your family," pang-alaska pa ni Jeff.

"I though it was absurd at first though. I mean, my mom had been head over heels with my dad who's an alcoholic, abuser and a bum. My mom literally feed him. My mom's the one who work to fend for our family while my dad just stays at home doing nothing!"

"That's f*ckin' commitment, dude. In what universe is that a black magic?" sarkastikong sagot ni Jeff.

"Not until my mom had me. According to the superstitious belief, a person who had taken the gayuma would break the spell on her third pregnancy. I am the third child of my parents. After I was born, my mom felt like she suddenly woke up from her worst nightmare and decided to leave my dad."

Napamaang ako. Si Jeff naman ay natawa nang malakas. "So you're the spell breaker, dude! Congrats! You earned a new title!"

Hindi naman natawa si Randall sa komento ni Jeff.

"Wait a sec, where did you get all these informations, Dall?" tanong ko.

"From my mom's research. My mom and her family had their vacation in one of the islands in Visayas where she met my dad. My mom met my dad in a restaurant where my dad worked as a bartender. She said it was an instant attraction and she couldn't explain why 'cause my dad is not even attractive. She drank whatever drinks my dad served her."