Why - a Macolet au

Chapter 5

Maloi

It took a couple more minutes before I finally was able to head to the cafe. I saw Colet chatting with her coworkers, two to-go drinks in her hands, just as I entered the room.

Colet immediately felt my presence and bid her friends goodbye, all seemingly familiar with one another. I looked back and the baristas all gave me a thumbs up, as if vouching for their friend.

"Here you go." she said as she handed me the drink.

Hmm. My favorite. I thought as I nodded in approval.

She shyly looked away and took a sip from her drink, hers was an iced Coffee Latte.

"Thanks!" I said. "Saan tayo punta?" I then added to ask her.

"I figured we could do a photowalk around here. I'll show you all the 'Why' spots nearby so you could include it in the article" she answered.

The interview was a roller coaster of emotions. I felt how passionate Colet was with her art. It gave me a new perspective of her, it made me appreciate art more.

I've seen the Why's before—scattered all over the metro. I've often wondered what it meant. I've came up with different reasons for it but I never expected it to be as in depth as Colet explained it earlier in the interview.

It's good to finally put a face to the artist.

We walked around for what seemed to be two hours. As we reached each spot, she would explain the story behind the specific Why.

I took pictures of every spot and would sometimes include her.

"Hoy wag mo kong isama! Anonymity, remember?" Colet laughed as I try to include her in the frame.

"Well, its for my eyes only," I shamelessly flirted, causing her to do her little nose crunch.

"I might refer to you as the 'Why Guy' by the way. So no one would recognize you at all," I told her, unsure if she'd like the idea.

"Why Guy," she said, as if testing the phrase. "Hmm. Its catchy, I think I like it," she smiled, her eyes reflecting the city lights around us. God, she's beautiful.

She laughed and said, "Tsk. Stop."

"You know what, I've heard way worse things." I told Colet. "Also, its a compliment. Nothing wrong with that," I shrugged.

"Well, thank you for the compliment. I'm just not used to it, especially since the mind-reading thing is new to me." she said, looking up at the stars.

We just reached a residential neighborhood with a public park. We sat on a bench, tired from all the walking.

"Isn't that your gift? Didn't you have since you were a kid?" I asked her, confused.

"My gift is to mirror those around me," she explained. "If someone passes by with a different gift, for sure I'd mirror that too. Although it only ever happened to me once or twice."

Is that why I can't read your thoughts?

Colet hummed in agreement. "My guess is that it cancels each other. Like I'm negative one and your positive one so when you put them together, it zeroes out," she rambled. "I don't know. I've never really talked to someone who had a gift," she continued.

"I never met someone like you," I realized it just as I said it. I was suddenly shy at my own confession.

I felt her staring at me as I looked down and started to fidget with the straps of my pants, conscious that what I said might be too much.

She slowly held my hand and looked at me knowingly. A little dimple on her cheek showing as she gave me a soft smile. I then realized that I've never seen her this close before, I've never had the chance.

With the low light of the street lamps, I noticed the little details of her face. I wanted to map and memorize it—every freckle, every mole.

In the silence of the night, I heard her gulp, drawing my attention to her lips.

Suddenly, we were interrupted as my phone chimed with a message, effectively breaking the spell.

Looking down, I saw it was a message from my mother asking where I was and reminding me it was getting late.

I sighed in disappointment.

"Its okay, uwi na tayo," she said. "Ay wait lang," she told me as she quickly got up and looted something from her bag.

She glanced around, looking for a spot, then proceeded to spray the word I'd also like to ask the universe now.

Satisfied with her handy work, she held my hand as we headed back home.