When the Sun hides

Twenty

"Do you want to take pictures?" I turned around to look at him. "Stand right here. I'll take photos of you." He said more while already holding his phone, ready to take some pictures.

"Hindi ba bawal dito?" I asked.

"Hindi. Strike a pose." I only stood and looked passively at him. He took numerous shots before he asked me to smile and do another pose.  "Umm. Sorry. I really don't know how to pose." I apologized. He looked at me and a small smile plastered on his face.

"It's fine. Just do what your comfortable at. Kahit nga hindi ka na magpose, ngumiti ka lang sobrang ganda na." I couldn't help but sneered when he said that. He was smiling too while clicking at his phone.

"Enough na iyon. Ayoko na. Ikaw naman " I place my hand in front of the camera of his phone to stop him from taking pictures anymore. I got it from him and gestured him to stand which he willingly did. As expected, he's a pro when it comes to posing, like a model.

"Amm. Excuse me po. We can take your pictures po." I glanced at the girl who spoke. She seemed like in College and she was with her boyfriend, I guess. Before I could speak, Vincent was already on my side.

" Sure. We can take yours too, after." He told which made them smile. He asked me to stand beside him.

"Little closer pa po." The girl said. I moved. I even noticed Vincent put his arm behind but I didn't feel it on my back. I glanced at him, he was looking and smiling directly at the camera. "One more pa po. " I looked straight ahead as well and smiled. Right after, Vincent took photos of the young couple. I was only staring at them, partly reminiscing about my school days. We used to have plenty of pictures together when we were in College. Ken was a quiet type of person but loved being the subject of the photographs.

"Thank you so much po, Kuya. Parang familiar po kayo." I heard noong matapos na ang pictorial nila. I glanced at Vincent and he looked at me too. Hindi siya sumagot at tumawa lang.

"Sige po. Mauna na po kami. Thank you po ulit.
Sobrang bagay po kayo." Pahabol pa nilang sabi bago umalis. Ngumiti nalang kami ni Vincent.

"Don't tell me, artista ka? Social media artist? Influencer? Vlogger?" I said as we resumed our walks. He laughed and slightly shook his head.

"Hindi. Mukha lang siguro artista." At ako naman natawa. "Are you hungry?"

"Hmm. I want to eat sweets. Cakes or donuts." I replied.

"Let's head to our next destination." We walked towards the car park when we saw a group of teens running as if in a hurry. May nakabangga pa sa akin. Agad naman akong hinawakan ni Vincent.

"Sorry po." Sabi ng batang babae na mukhang high school student.

"May artista siguro kaya nagmamadali sila." Sabi ni Vincent at pinagpalit ang pwesto namin so that I was inside of the sidewalk.

"Those kids, ang dami nilang energy. Noong highschool ako, school, bahay ng friends or sa nearby store in the market lang kami pumupunta. At kapag madilim na, kailangan na umuwi." Kwento ko pa habang naglalakad kami. I was becoming my usual self again.

"Strict ba ang parents mo?" Tanong niya. Naisip ko sila Mommy.

"Medyo. Mas strict si Mommy. Before 5 PM dapat nasa bahay na ako. We used to have dinner at 6:30 and then rest for a while. From 7 PM, I studied and did my homework, hanggang 9 PM iyon. I slept at 9:30 or minsan 10. I was a kid na kailangan pa ipagpaalam ng kaibigan bago makasama at dapat valid ang reason, school related or else hindi sila papayag." I smiled bittersweet at the thought of my high school days. When I turned to see Vincent, he was staring at me, like what he usually does.

"I think they raised you well. You have refined manners and life ethics." I just smiled at his words. We finally reached the car park. He opened the door of his car and let me hoped in first. I fastened my seatbelt as he worked on his own as well.

"Ako naman? I don't know if I should share this pero I was the opposite of you. I was always outside. Nakakahiya baka isipin mo sobrang mabarkada ako." I couldn't help but smile as I looked at him sneering too.

"Natural naman ata iyon kasi lalaki ka. Lalaki kayo ng mga kapatid mo." Sabi ko. Sumangayon din naman siya sa akin . "When did you start dancing?" I asked out of curiosity. He glanced at me.

"When I was 15 years old. If you know KPop or Korean Pop Music, it got popular at that time. I became part of different groups that did covers. We used to dance sa Malls, events, and even as front acts in Kpop concerts." Pareho sila ni Ken. He also joined in different groups bago siya nag-audition at natanggap bilang member ng SV19.

"What was the reaction of your parents?"

"Hmm. At first, against sila. I couldn't blame them as well because I was so hooked on dancing that I didn't do anything except for it and partying. I got my degree but didn't apply for a job. I was into it. I dreamed of becoming famous, yung grupo namin. Pero hindi pala ganun kadali. We needed real jobs that can support our needs." Nakikinig lang ako sa kanya. "Ang dami ko ng sinabi." Sabay tingin sa akin at ngiti.

"But you still have your group now, di ba?"

"Yes. But it's more like a hobby nalang. We meet and practice whenever we have free time, during our day off. "

"Do you regret not pursuing that dream?" I asked out loud. He was silent for a moment then drew a deep breath.

"Noong una. Pero ngayon..." and then again, he turned his head to look at me. My eyes were also on him. "I want to be a better man." He pronounced with a serious expression on his face. I blinked at him then he smiled, showing his teeth before returning his gaze to the road. "Siguro, hindi talaga ako para sa pagsasayaw. I have another purpose in life."

"Which is?" I asked? Tumingin siya sa akin at ngumiti.

"To accompany you in experiencing the beauty of life." He replied as he stared deep into my eyes. I was taken aback at first but the sides of my lips slowly quirked upwards as I was touched by his words. Parang seryosong seryoso siya sa sinabu niya. For someone na walang maituturing na kaibigan na palaging nakakausap at nakakasama, nakakatuwa marinig ang ganoon.

"Sana totoo." Bigla ko nalang nasabi. Mabilis siyang napatingin muli sa akin.

"Totoo. Huwag ka lang sana magsawa sa akin." Napatawa nalang ako. Ganun din siya.

Few more minutes and we reached our next destination.

"We're here." He said and I looked outside.

"Nasaan tayo?" I asked.

"Rizal. There's a cafe here that serves really good coffee. Plus the place is so nice and relaxing." He told while undoing his seatbelt. I did the same on my own. Ngumit muna siya sa akin bago bumaba ng sasakyan at pagbuksan ako ng pintuan. I leaped out of the car and straightened my dress. The wind blew and I could feel the cold breeze. "Let's go." He even said and I followed him. I roamed my eyes around the area and he was right, the place was perfect. Kaunti lang rin ang mga tao at puro mga magkasintahan lang. "You could see the whole province of Rizal from here. Maganda  rin manood ng sunset dito at mag-star gazing. The cafe is open until 10 PM." Vincent shared enthusiastically as always. He pulled one chair and let me sit in.

I breathed in at the beautiful sight in front of me. Katulad ng sa rest house namin sa Quezon.  Hindi ko mapigilan ang sarili ko na malungkot kapag naalala ko si Ken, kahit na ang mga panahon na magkasama kami.

"Gusto mo ba ng coffee?" Napabaling ako kay Vincent.

"Hot choco nalang kung meron sila."

"Sige. Try their blueberry cheesecake, masarap din ito." Ngumiti lang ako at tumango sa kanya. Umalis siya saglit para sabihin ang order namin. I returned my sight to the view. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Ang bigat bigat ng pakiramdam ko. Pinipilit ko lang itago iyon kahit pansamantala lang. Paguwi ko sa bahay mamaya, haharapin ko na naman ang katotohanan. Para akong tumatakas lang saglit mula sa sakit at kalungkutan.

Nakakapagod maging mapagod. Nakakapagod magpanggap na okay lang. Hindi ko alam kung hanggang kailan ako ganito. I feel alone and lonely. The emptiness in my heart consumes me.