Bring It Back In September (UNDER-EDITING)

Chapter Forty-Four

'Chapter Forty-Four: Meeting Her.'

"Are you sure you wanted to put your painting on the center of the art gallery?" Melvin asked Ash. Ash wet his lips before putting his hands in his waist and nodded bago titigan muli ang mga paintings. The director nodded before leaving him alone.

Naibaling pa ni Ash ang tingin muli sa painting niya, he was so quiet looking at it nang may makita siyang lalaking dahan-dahang naglalakad papalapit sa painting niya, he wants to stop the girl because the art gallery wasn't open yet at may takdang oras but there's something in him that he can't stop the woman he's seeing now.

Nag lakad siya papalapit duon at nakita niya ang babae na namamanghang nakatingin sa paintings niya.

"It's pretty isn't it?" He said as he tried to look at the girl's face, hindi maintindihan ni Ash ang pag pipilit niyang gustong makita ang mukha ng dalaga, while the girl kept staring in his painting kaya bumuntong hininga siyang nag salita muli.

"You know, engineer Ashrell Mina painted that." Dagdag niya pa ngunit hindi pa rin siya nililingon ng dalaga.

"Asan ho siya?" She spoke while capturing the painting's beauty and elegance, napangiti si Ash at agad na ngumuso bago muling tinitigan ang babae.

Itinaas ni Ash ang kamay niya at ngumiti at nang lumingon naman ang babae sakanya ay laking gulat niya nang makita ito. 

"Y-You're..." Xianna...

Hindi niya natuloy ang nasabi niya nang biglang itapat ng babae ang cellphone sa mukha nilang dalawa kaya ngumiti na lang siya at hinawakan ang beywang ng dalaga at nakipag picture.

"Thank you so much, I didn't expect it." Sabi nito habang nakangiti kay Ash, namula ang dalaga ng bigla kaya nag tatakang tumingin sa kanya si Ash.

Ash looked at her as if he wanted to grab her and hug her pero wala siyang nagawa kundi manatiling kalmado at titigan lang itong nag sasalita at inaasikaso ang buhok nito.

"Whose with you? Boyfriend?" Hinawi ni Ash ang kaunting buhok nito kaya hindi napansin ni Xianna ang pag hawak nito sa buhok niya kaya nakangiti lang siya at muling tumingin sa painting bago ulit bumaling sa kanya.

"Nope, we haven't met since a long time ago. Nasa Oregon U.S.A siya." It hurts for him to hear such words while looking at Xianna's face na proud sabihin ang pangalan ng kapatid niya, while on the other hand it was him whose loving her all along and not his brother.

"What's his name?" Tanong pa niya at nakagat ang labi, binalingan siya habang natatawang nag salita muli.

"Dashiell, sounds like Ashrell." Pagbibiro nito sakanya, matipid lang na ngumiti si Ash bago tumango at pinag mamasdan ang dalaga na nag ku-kwento kung sino iyong lalaking hinihintay niya.

"You know? I painted that too for the girl I left here in Philippines. She was waiting years but I had to leave her again that's why I promised myself that I'll draw her sacrifices to our relationship." Aniya ko at hinihintay ang reaksyon niya, ngumuso siya at bumaling ng tingin saakin.

Hindi siya nag salita at nanatiling nakatingin lamang kay Ash, para bang nag iisip at hindi open sa kung ano pang balak na sabihin kaya hindi na binalak pang mag salita ni Ash at hinintay na lang na mag react ito sa kanya.

Napag desisyonan nilang parehas na tulungan ang isa't-isa, nakita rin ni Ash ang daddy ni Xianna sanhi na mapag usapan nila ang puro tungkol dito. Ash realized what he did to Xianna and more than that he cannot stop thinking who will be Xianna with him while without Dash.