"Ella, sasagutin ko na si Jance..."
Bakasyon na and kasama ko si Ella at ang ibang friends namin sa outing. Nag-iihaw si Jance kasama si Eric while I was talking with Ella.
"Woah, parang ang bilis naman?" She asked.
"Well, 2 months na ang nakalipas nung nanligaw siya. Masyado bang maaga?" I asked.
"Why do you want to anyway? Ayaw mo bang intayin na makita ang lahat ng versions niya bago maging kayo?" Ella asked me.
"Well if that happens, what more will I see kapag kami na?" I thought about it long and hard. "Matagal ko na siyang gusto, for almost 4 years na nga eh."
"Choice mo pa rin naman yon, Lala but for me nabibilisan ako masyado. Baka ma-love bomb ka niyan." Ella explained.
"Gaano katagal ba nanligaw sa'yo si Oscar?"
She acted like she was thinking and counted on her fingers.
"7 months." She said.
"Huh? Ang tagal naman nun, sure ka?"
"Yep, ilang beses nga siyang umamin at nareject pero never siyang sumuko. That's how I found out na he's the one for me na."
I looked at Jance and thought that Ella was right. Masyado akong nagmamadali, hindi ko nga alam kung bakit gusto ko siyang sagutin.
Jance was really taking care of me. Hindi niya ako pinapabayaang mawala sa paningin niya.
"Hey, doon ka sa room with Carly okay?" He said kaya tinignan ko siya.
"Ella and Oscar are sharing a room, why can't we?" I asked.
Nilingon niya ako at kinurot sa pisngi.
"Kasi hindi tayo sila. We're not boyfriend and girlfriend yet kaya we are not sharing a room." He answered. "Scratch that, hindi pa tayo kasal."
I smiled a little, of course bare minimum yung mindset na iyon but somehow I felt special. He was still a guy, alam kong matinding pagpipigil ang ginagawa niya to respect me.
"If you think I am doing this because I'm stopping myself then you're wrong, Laina." He said out of nowhere. "Hindi kita ginagalaw kasi hindi ako pinalaki ng Mama ko ng ganun. She constantly reminded me about the respect I should give even if I'm being treated poorly."
Jance glanced over at me and smiled.
"I don't want to do anything unless naiharap na kita sa altar at ang panginoon ang papayag na mahalin kita hanggang sa huling hininga ko."
"We never really went on a church date." I said.
"Saka na, naging busy kasi tayo eh."
Kasama ko si Carly at Ate Marie sa isang room. I asked for their advice rin kasi I really want Jance to be my boyfriend.
"Well, truthfully naka depende iyon sa'yo." Ate Marie said. "I mean tama si Ella, you need a very valid reason para sagutin mo si Jance."
"Yep, and don't do it because you're happy or something. Dapat sure at serious ka."
"I don't know how, my heart and mind says I should do it pero hindi ako sure." I explained.
"Okay we'll help na lang." Carly said. "Mag-isip ka ng isang bagay na gusto mong gawin ni Jance on his own, yung pinaka deal breaker talaga."
I nodded and acted like I was thinking.
"Okay, kapag ginawa niya iyon by midnight sagutin mo na siya."
"What did you think of, Lalaina?" Ate Marie asked.
"I want him to be truthful to me. He needs to tell me something I don't know about him." I explained.
"That's hard, hindi basta-basta nagkukwento si Jance." Carly explained but agreed to me.
After dinner ay inaya ako ni Jance sa may beach, I was holding my camera and trying to capture the moon and stars.
"You like astronomy?" Tanong ni Jance nang umupo ito sa tabi ko.
"Oo, I wanted to be an astronaut one day and.. well I wanted to explore the universe pero nag Educ ako."
"Hindi ko naitatanong, bakit ka nag educ?" Jance asked.
"That's a good question." I answered and pointed my camera at him.
"I want to serve the children, increase their love and knowledge about subjects they are finding hard to understand."
I snapped a photo of him and smiled.
"Hindi mo ba ako tatanungin?" He asked kaya natawa ako.
"I never thought na magkukwento ka eh." I answered.
"Honestly, sa'yo ko lang ito sasabihin." He said so I prepared myself. "I wanted to be a painter, hindi ko lang pinursue dahil I saw how my brother struggled sa math dati. He's around your age, actually."
I smiled at him as I listened to his story. This is the sign...
"I wanted to pursue painting but he wanted to pursue engineering kaya I took up educ majoring in mathematics para matulungan siya."
He was so selfless, how can anyone judge him?
YOU ARE READING
The Tranquility in You
General FictionWARNING: Pls don't mind errors or typos, will edit once the story is finished. Tnx :P Lalaina is elegant, classy and smart. Men tend to fall for her "dalagang filipina" type of personality. For Lalaina, falling in love was pure and sacred. She doesn...
