Author: As dark past passes by, look up for the brighter future.
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"Ang tagal mo, Yna." nakangiti nyang saad sa akin na siya namang ipinagtaka ko. Kumunot ang noo ko na may nagtatakang tingin sakaniya. "Hoy, ano nangyayari sayo?"
"Yna? Hindi ako si Yna, Jastine." seryoso kong sagot.
Sa hindi ko malamang dahilan, tila gumuhit ang sakit sa kanyang mata pero nakangiti pa rin.
Tumawa siya.
"I'm kidding, okay?" I felt relieved. "I just want to give you some cool nickname. I just thought of Yna then I remember you." ngumiti ako "nakakatakot ka pala kapag ganon ka seryoso" tumawa siya iya ulit
"Hoy! Nagulat lang ako sa Yna, okay? Kaya sumeryoso ako slight!" natatawa ko ng sambit.
"Is it okay with you if I call you Yna sometimes?"
"Sige lang."
Nagsimula kaming maglakad sa 7/11 para bumili saglit ng slurpee.
Bakit parang nililibang mo sarili mo sa pamamagitan ko? Dahil ayaw mong mabaon sa sakit dahil kay Yna? Nakakatampo.
"Jastine" tawag ko sa kanya
"Hmm?" sagot nya nang hindi tumitingin sakin dahil sya ang nag aasikaso ng binibili naming slurpee.
"You can't please someone." I said out of nowhere.
"What do you mean by that?" saka niya ako nilingon - hawak pa rin ang cup.
"I mean.....if hindi ka talaga matandaan ni Yna, you must accept it. The longer you decline the fact, the longer you're in pain. If any, baka may masaktan kapa." akala ko sasagutin niya ako pero nakatitig lang siya sa akin. Bumuntong hinga sya at saka bumalik sa ginagawa.
"I know. But I want to be with her. I want to be her comfort zone. For me, she's fragile." tumitig lang ako sakaniyang mata na tila ini-imahe si Yna. Katulad ng kanina, may sakit na makikita sa kaniyang mata. "I just can't accept it. Why did she forget about me? Why me all of people? And what happened? I am worried about her. It's almost a decade. Still.....it feels like we are living in a parallel world, Celeste." ngumiti siya ulit sa akin.
"Kamusta ba si Yna ngayon?"
"She's happy. She's intelligent like her father."
I remember my father. Matalino din kasi siya eh. Sa isang sandali ay naramdaman ko na ako si Yna. How strange.
"Do you know that I'm not really smart like what people say?" dagdag niya na tinignan ako, dala dala ang cup na tapos na pala. Kaya naglakad siya at sumunod naman ako.
"Hindi. For me, matalino ka talaga." mariing sagot ko. Ngumiti siya at tumingin sa kung saan tila may inaalala.
"Hmm....si Yna talaga ang matalino. She's my idol and role model kahit pa ako ang mas matanda sa aming dalawa. I consider her as genius kasi matalino siya naturally." as I look at her eyes, I only saw is admiration..... "Slow learner ako, Celeste. Pero alam mo kung bakit ako ganito ngayon? Nagsikap ako matuto kasi sabi niya na kapag naging valedictorian ako, sya mismo ang hahanap sa akin." I saw determination in her eyes.
She's really talkative when she's talking about her. She's not in love romantically, as you can see. However, she has deep commitment towards Yna.
"Paano kapag hindi?"
"Hahanapin nya pa rin ako. May tiwala ako sakaniya." sagot niya at ngumit "but now that we met, I'm wishing otherwise. She doesn't have to run and find me. I could give her space and freedom of letting me go. But I'm wishing for her to remember me." nalungkot ako sa sinabi niya, sa totoo lang. Ang hirap siguro na makasama yung taong hinanap at hinintay mo ng ilang taon, but as long as you have met each other, she was no longer holding and acknowledging your memories and feelings. It squeezed and ached my heart, feels like I felt her. Sympathy, to be exact.
