In His Kiss

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Laure Ri Daza's Point of View

The following day is a Saturday. Upon checking the time, I am running late. Ang isa sa pinaka ayaw ko sa lahat ay ang malate sa oras ng usapan. I always treated time as scarce. That's why whenever I have plans to meet someone privately or during business hours, I will always be there on time. First, because I don't want to be rude to the one I am meeting and second, I don't want to waste their time waiting for me and vice versa. Even when I used to attend school, I never been late even once! The teachers liked me for that. I remembered Creed telling me that being this uptight is no fun. I never knew that being on time is equivalent of being uptight. That's rubbish, I must say. If I know, Creed is only telling me that because he used to show up late every freaking time.

As much as I can, I wanted to be in our agreed meeting place ten minutes earlier but the odds is not on my side. Strangely, I put a lot of effort into choosing an outfit. Siguro ay isang oras ang tinagal ko para makapili ng damit na susuotin ko ngayong araw. It's not like I'm trying to impress him but I've decided to be at least presentable. If only my neighbor didn't accidentally throw coffee at my dress, then I will definitely be there few minutes early. Wala tuloy akong nagawa kundi magpalit ulit ng damit sa aking apartment. Napatingin na naman ako sa oras na nakalagay sa aking phone. I'm fifteen minutes late yet I haven't heard from Hiro as well. I am still contemplating if that's a good thing. Either Hiro is also running late, or he's already in the coffee shop yet he decided not to pressure me with the time.

Bottom line is, I never been this late. At kung kelan ako nagmamadali, tsaka naman patigil-tigil ang sinasakyan kong taxi.

"Miss, sa tingin ko ay hanggang dito na lang kita maihahatid." Sabi ng taxi driver sa akin at tinuro ang nasa harapan namin. Masyado akong focus sa aking cellphone at hindi namamalayan kung ano na ang nangyayari sa aming harapan.

"Hindi ko alam kung paano niya nakuha ang driver license niya kung ganyan siya mag park sa kanyang kotse," the driver tsked and shook his head. Kahit ang driver ng taxi na sinasakyan ko ay biglang naging bad mood dahil dito. He wasn't happy that someone is that awful when it comes to parking their car. Binigay ko sa driver ang aking pamasahe bago bumaba sa sasakyan. Napagpasyahan kong lakarin na lang ang coffee shop dahil base sa mapa na naka download sa aking phone ay mukhang malapit na lang ito.

The taxi did a u-turn, leaving my sight. Pero hindi mawala ang tingin ko sa kotse na hindi maayos ang pagka park sa kalsada, kaya naman ang ibang sasakyan ay hindi makadaan. Mabibilang sa aking kamay ang ilang taong nakapalibot sa kotse. It's not my nature to put my nose in someone else's business but my feet just moved on its own and looked at where other people are looking. Doon ko lang nakita na sa kabilang banda ng kotse ay may nakahilata sa kalsada. All I can was the feet, then I moved my gaze upward and noticed that it was a man, wearing a shabby clothes and has white hair. First look and you don't have to be smart to know that the man is homeless and he was bleeding badly. But someone else caught my attention. It's not about the unconscious man lying on the ground nor the few people who gives their little attention to the accident but the man who's trying to revive the unconscious man. He was kneeling on the side and his hands are placed on the unconscious man's chest— performing a CPR! Hindi ako makapaniwala na makita ko kung sino ang lalaki ito. It was none other than Hiro who looked rather serious. He was sweating profusely while looking at the man then to his wrist watch.

I was stunned from place. I didn't take him as a guy who will help someone in need. Because the first time I saw Hiro, I thought he was proud and cold. Mas lalong kumonti ang tao nang dumating ang ambulansya. Only two people stayed, giving the paramedics some background of what happened. Habang ako naman ay isa sa mga umalis na lang nang walang sabi-sabi.