These Wrecked Hearts- (Published Under IMMAC)

Kabanata 9 - Old Friend

KHIANA's POV

"ZARIA?"

She smiled. "Yes! It's me, Zaria!"

"Zaria Javier?" I asked while my eyes widened.

She nodded. "Yes, Khiana!"

Bahagya akong nagulat sa natuklasan ko. Malaki ang pinagbago ni Zaria sa physical attributes niya. Maganda na siya noon, pero mas lalo pa siyang gumanda. Zaria is a 5 '9 morena. Iyong mga mata niya talaga ang hindi ko malimutan dahil lagi siyang napagkakamalan na foreigner dahil dito. Mahaba na ang buhok niya ngayon, noong college kami ay hanggang balikat niya lang ang buhok niya at mas wavy na rin ang buhok niya ngayon. Sobrang laki ng pinagbago niya, in a good way. Tingin ko ay kahit sinong lalaki ay mabibighani si ganda ni Zaria.

I hugged her tight and gave her a warm smile after. "Grabe ang glow up mo, Zaria! Halos hindi kita nakilala. You're so pretty!" I said, complimenting her.

She smiled and I can see that she became a bit shy by my praise. "You're flattering me too much! It's been a long time, Khiana!"

"Yeah, it's been a long time."

Zaria is also from the University of The Philippines but in Los Baños, she's taking Veterinary Medicine. We met each other through her cousin named Zavier. Si Zavier ay kaklase ko sa halos lahat ng majors ko. He became my friend because we're the same course, along with Tiffany. Then, one day, he introduced Zaria to me and Tiffany. That led to interactions with Zaria. Minsan pa nga ay napadalas ang hang out namin with Zaria.

I can say that Zaria is a nice friend. Masarap at magaan kasama kaya hindi naman ako nagtataka at madali namin siya naging close ni Tiffany. We shared a lot of good memories together. However, it was cut after I graduated because I had too much on my plate.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Nakita ko na biglang pumunta ang tingin ni Zaria kay Ryker. Sa likuran ko ay nando'n si Ryker, walang emosyon. He's just standing behind me while his right hand is in his pocket.

I was taken aback by her question. Hindi ko alam ang isasagot ko. Pero dahil wala pa naman kaming label ni Ryker ay simpleng sagot na lang ang binigay ko. "He is my friend. He is a special friend."

Ryker took a few steps and offered his hand to Zaria. "Ryker Velasquez, owner of Vista Verde."

Zaria smiled and took his hand. "Wow! You're a big shot! Nice to meet you, anyway," she said. Then she looked at me and added, "Hindi ko alam na may bigtime ka na pala na friend."

I just gave her a smile. I don't know how to respond to that remark.

Bahagya akong nagulat nang biglang i-grab ni Zaria ang kamay ko. Nakita ko pa si Ryker na napatitig sa pagkakahawak ni Zaria sa mga kamay ko.

"Do you want to catch up a bit? Let's have some coffee in Elyxir Cafe, please?" she said.

"Sure, why not?" Tumingin naman ako kay Ryker. "Is it okay with you, Ry?"

He simply responded, "I don't mind."

At the Elyxir Cafe, Zaria and I could be heard filling the air with our infectious laughter as we shared a nice seat together. Na-realize ko na marami na pala talagang nagbago at ang dami naming na-miss sa isa't isa. Even though it had been several years since we had last seen each other, it felt as though not a single moment of that time had been wasted.

I replied with a grin to her long-time buddy, "I can't believe it's been so long,"

Zaria said while taking a drink from her coffee, "I know, it feels like just yesterday we were in college," and she said this while laughing.