Anakin, I Remember

Chapter 4

I remember the afternoon breeze, the falling leaves and the green grass.

Friday came.

Sa wakas, Friday na.

Ang paboritong araw ng lahat.

As soon as my last class for today was dismissed, lumabas na ako ng classroom. Dagsa na ang mga estudyante sa labas. Ilang lakad mula sa kinatatayuan ko ay matatagpuan ang mga street food stall na ngayon ay dinudumog na. Kaliwa't kanan na rin ang pagsakay ng ibang estudyante sa mga tricyle na nakapaligid at dumadaan.

Hindi kalaunan ay napagpasyahan ko na lang na magtungo sa isang puwesto na hindi abot ng sinag ng palubog nang araw. Umupo ako sa ilalim ng isang mayabong na puno ng kaymito. Naglalaglagan ang ibang dahon nito dahil sa malumanay na paghampas ng hangin. The ground was covered with grass, so it was okay to sit down.

I dipped into my bag and took my phone out. Dito ko sila balak hintayin.

Nasa kalagitnaan ako ng pagta-type ng mensahe para sa kanilang tatlo nang biglang dumating ang isang mensahe galing kay Anakin.

Mr. Pogi:

San ka?

Hattie:

Labas na

San ka?

Mr. Pogi:

Hanapin mo

Dahil iba ang kurso naming dalawa kila Acey at Jacko, hindi kami magkakapareho ng schedule.

Namalayan ko na lamang ang sarili kong lumilinga-linga. Wala pang isang minuto ang nakakaraan, dumako na ang tingin ko sa parking lot na nasa tapat ng unibersidad.

Smiling brightly in the distance, there he was, the young man with a flaunt-worthy face. He was sitting on the hood of a matte black car parked at the far end.

I frowned in his direction in a jesting manner. Bahagya niyang itinaas ang hawak-hawak niyang phone. Nagpasalit-salit ang tingin ko sa kanya at sa mga sasakyang dumaraan sa malawak na kalsadang nagbubukod sa parking lot at sa university.

Nasaan na kaya 'yong dalawa?

In no time, Anakin pushed off the hood of his car, pocketing his phone. He started advancing with visible nonchalance. My eyes were just glued to him.

Sa kalagitnaan ng pagtawid, palipat-lipat ang kalmado niyang tingin sa mga sasakyang dumaraan at sa gawi ko. He paid no attention to the other pairs of eyes that were following him like laser beams. His eyes would drift back to me from time to time and I couldn't help but feel... uneasy in a way.

As if those eyes were sharp and fiery arrows aimed at me.

Sa hindi malamang dahilan, bigla na lamang nagtaasan ang mga balahibo ko sa katawan. I chose to look away and take a deep breath. Ipinagsawalang-bahala ko na lang 'yon.

Anakin stopped approximately three feet ahead of me, his woody scent instantly caging me. Pinanood ko ang mga bulok na dahon ng kaymito na maglaglagan sa aming dalawa dahil sa patuloy na paghampas ng malamig at preskong hangin.

I turned my gaze back his way, only to find him watching me with a soft smile playing around the corners of his mouth. I returned the smile. The setting sun was shining through his dark brown hair, revealing the underlying red tones in it.

"Nasaan sila?" I asked, trying to brush away the weird feeling that had occupied my chest.

He sat down on the green grass next to me, leaving about three feet of distance between us.