Treacherous Heart 1: Ever The Same

Pahina 13

I am not Chinese

"H-huh?" Three years? "Anong ibig mong sabihin?"

Bahagyang lumayo ang isip ko, pilit inaalala kung nakita ko na ba siya noon? Pero hindi... nasisigurado ko na ngayon ko lang siya nakita. Dahil hindi siya ang klase ng taong papalagpasin mo. I may not care about strangers most of the time, I will still surely notice him.

I am sure!

He slightly made our forefingers touched which made my thoughts leave again and my attention to focus on him.

Napakagaling kumuha ng atensyon.

"My family has been eyeing on Willow for sometime now. Pero masyado pa siyang bata. She was only eighteen years old when they told me about her. Of course I got curious. So I asked someone to investigate about her."

They have been eyeing on her... ever since...

They really like her for him...

Parang may kung anong bumara sa puso ko.

"I tried observing her, nag hahanap ng pwedeng ika-dismaya ng pamilya ko sa kanya para sila mismo ang humindi nalang. Iyon ang pinaka madali kong naisip na paraan, hindi na namin kailangan mag kita dahil una pa lang ay tatanggi na ang pamilya ko."

I can't believe this...

All that we were trying to do now, he has been doing it all alone before...

"But then... observing her meant... knowing about the people she's always with." Halos mapaos siya sa huling sinabi.

His eyes glimmered, as if remembering something. My eyes just lingered there, watching how his eyes shined, slightly being hit by the warm tone coming from the setting sun.

Kahit na hanggang dito nalang, I will still be glad that I had the chance to be at this very moment, close to him and watching him.

May nabasa ako noon na, at a certain moment, you might realize that you were supposed to be there, even how chaotic life is... at that moment... at that very second... you were meant to be there.

Isa ito sa mga pagkakataon na 'yon.

"There was this moment, she attended a concert in Bulacan. I remember that she was with her cousins at that time. Noong pauwi na, nagkahiwalay-hiwalay na sila, I guess she was waiting for her driver. Aalis na sana ako pero umulan. May tinawagan siya. After almost an hour, may tumigil na sasakyan sa harapan niya. I was preparing to leave then, but... I saw you got down from the car, may dalang payong at agad siyang dinaluhan para pumasok sa sasakyan mo."

My eyes moved sideways, thinking about that instance. I remember that concert. Isa iyon sa mga natanggap ni Willow na eighteenth birthday niya, concert tickets for a famous band.

Nag message siya noon sa group chat namin na halos nakauwi na ang mga concert goers, kaunti nalang ang naiwan at wala pa ang driver niya. Nasa labas pa ako 'non at pauwi pa lang mula sa dinner namin ng pamilya ko, I asked my dad if I could fetch Willow and they instantly let me borrow one of our cars to get her.

"I know you are her bestfriend, you are not Chinese, but at that time... I don't know, I got really curious about you. Maybe it was your simple brown sweater matched with your denim pants? Or your warm smile as you saw her? Or the way you wrapped your arms around her, para lang hindi siya mabasa kahit na ikaw nababasa na ng kaunti?"

My eyes darted back at him.

What?

He remembered even what I was wearing? Ni hindi ko na nga maalala ang mga detalyeng iyon.