Until The Last Wave

23

CW: Sexual content ahead. Read at your own risk.

The days went fast.

Finals day na ng surfing competition ngayon ni Calib pero 'di talaga ako makakauwi kasi may exam ako. I'm literally balancing a lot of things. Mabuti na lang at naiintindihan naman ni Calib na talagang 'di ako makakauwi. Sinabi ko na lang sa kanya na babawi na lang ako 'pag nakauwi ako.

Pagdating ng hapon ay pabalik na sana ako sa condo ko pero biglang tumawag si Val. Siyempre, sinagot ko 'yon. Tinanong niya ako kung pwede raw ba siyang magpasama sa 'kin sa bookstore kasi may bibilhin siya. Free naman ako kaya pumayag na rin ako.

We met at the school cafeteria. Katatapos niya lang din mag-exam kaya gusto niyang bumili ng bagong libro para daw mawala naman ang stress niya. Bookworm kasi talaga si Val. Noong minsang nagpunta nga kami nina Yianne sa unit niya ay sobrang dami niyang libro. Ang sipag niyang magbasa.

We ate first. Kumain na naman ako ng spaghetti kahit kakakain ko lang nito kahapon. 'Di kasi talaga ako nagsasawa sa spag. Nag-usap lang kami ni Val tungkol sa mga bagay-bagay. In-update niya rin ako tungkol sa libro na isinusulat niya.

I like listening to her talk about her passion for writing. I don't know if I'm jealous because she has something she's passionate about or I just like it when she talks about it. Every time she talks about writing, I can feel and see her burning passion so it makes me want to listen to her more.

I wonder how it feels to be passionate about something.

After we ate, we immediately went to the bookstore. Val was holding my arm while we were walking. Mukha kaming mag-jowa. Gusto ko sanang tanggalin 'yung kamay ni Val sa braso ko pero 'di ko magawa kasi ayokong baka sumama ang loob niya. Later on, I realized that it's a harmless gesture so I just let her do it. Hinayaan ko na lang siya.

Nag-video call kami ni Calib kinagabihan. He didn't win the surfing competition so I understood why was he silent and obviously not in his best mood. He was the second placer and although I think that's already a good thing, I know that it wasn't the same for him. Ilang buwan siyang nag-training at naghanda para sa competition na 'to pero 'di niya nakuha ang gusto niya.

I stared at him silently. He was doing something on his laptop and it was so obvious that he was tired and sleepy. I smiled bitterly to myself. He's so hardworking. I want to tell him that I'm proud of him but I'm worried that it might not help him considering that he doesn't feel good.

"How's your day?" tanong niya.

"It was fine," tanging sagot ko.

"Halata naman," aniya.

Hindi na ako sumagot. Hindi ko na rin siya tinanong pa kung kumusta ang araw niya kasi alam ko naman na 'yung sagot. Sinabi sa 'kin ni Calib dati na kapag galit siya ay ayaw niyang makulit ako kaya 'di ko siya kukulitin ngayon. We carefully discussed how should we handle a situation when one of us is upset so I know what and what not to do now. I just need to understand that he doesn't feel well but I'm sure he'll be fine soon.