Romance Anthologies

[AU] Fate's Play

Nakakabagot mag-commute.

Leni couldn't get an idea out of her head about a well-known truth. She was currently standing in line with other working Filipino commoners on her way to the LRT station in preparation for her interview for the vacant position of Finance Manager. Kung hindi lang naman talaga kailangang lumabas 'e hindi na siya makikipagsapalaran sa napakahabang pilang iyon. Pero hindi naman siya mayaman kaya't kailangan niyang kumayod at buhayin ang sarili, at the very least. She let out an inaudible grunt behind her mind, kung pwede pa lang lumipad at i-Darna lahat ng 'to, ginawa na niya.

It was already a little after six o'clock in the morning. Hawak-hawak ang kanyang envelope at suitcase, paika-ika siyang sumusunod sa agos ng linyang iyon. Nagsimula na siyang mainitan sa suot niyang blazers at pencil skirt kasabay ng kanyang closed black stilettos na may taas na tatlong pulgada. She isn't a fan of heels but for the sake of presentation and the interview, she pushed herself to do it. She was impatiently stomping her feet in secret and subsequently looks at her vintage wristwatch, waiting for them to move. Isang sakayan lang naman sa istasyon at makakarating na siya sa nasabing opisina ng kompanya at alas nwebe pa ang schedule nito kaya't may kompyansa siya sa sarili na makakapagayos-ayos pa kahit papano pagdating roon.

She had to wait for a few minutes until she got close enough to the station to hear the beeping, at which point she took her card out of her purse, scanned it open, and paid for the train fare. She positioned herself as close as she could to the train doors as she awaited the arrival of the transportation system, which was certain to occur within the next few minutes. Alam niyang panibagong yugto na naman ng siksikan at agawang magaganap para lang makasakay ng LRT. On a whim, the crowded train pulled up in front of them, and Leni went through the door the instant it opened and they were able to successfully board the train. Even though she was sweating and her hair was a mess, she paid no attention to how she looked at all. The essential point is that she has already reached a satisfactory level.

Nang mapuno ang tren ay agad na sinara ito ng driver at umandar na matapos ang ilang segundong nakabukas ang pintuan nito. Nagsimula nang mangawit ang paa ni Leni ngunit alam niyang kailangan niya itong tiisin. Nakakapit lang siya sa may hawakan sa bandang taas niya at tahimik na pinagmamasdan ang tanawin mula sa kanilang kinatatayuan.

"Uy, andito yung bata!"

Biglang tumayo at tumakbo ang batang nakaupo na nasa harap ni Leni dahilan upang maigla siya at natapon ang kanyang dala-dalang envelopes at folders dahil sa engkwentrong iyon. Aga na nagkagulo at nagtilian ang lahat dahil sa muntik nang pagkatumba rin sa loob nang nagsimula ang habulan. Kung hindi siya nagkakamali, those were policemen. Nagpapasalamat na lang siyang hindi siya natapilok at nadulas saka natumba dahil isa iyong magiging malaking kahihiyan sa mga pasahero.

Matapos kunin lahat ng nahulog mula sa kanyang kamay ay agad nitong napansin ang isang cellphone na naiwan sa kinauupuan ng bata kanina. She hurriedly seized the cellphone in her hands and inspected its outward appearance while simultaneously looking to her right and left. It looked fine at parang mukhang nakaw. She attempted turning it on with low hopes because it might have a password on it; nevertheless, to her surprise, there wasn't any password on it at all. Wala ring natanggap na text o tawag na sinusubukan ng may-aring hanapin ang telepono nito. Bigla siyang kinabahan ngunit nilabanan niya ito.

Who could possibly own this?

She tried going to the contacts and searched for someone significant to call and reach out to the owner. Puro may mga Mrs. at Ms. so she assumed that it's not one of the owner's close pals. She realized that simply scrolling through the contacts on the phone wouldn't provide her with enough information to determine who this phone's owner was, so she switched apps and looked at the recent calls on the device. She was fortunate in that an unknown number kept popping up, and as a result, she decided to dial it and give it a few attempts. The second line finally began receiving calls after the patient wait of a few seconds had passed.