what if we happened

5. Small World Indeed

Chapter 5: Small World Indeed

Seren

Naputol ang kilig ko when my phone suddenly vibrated again. I really thought Elias had messaged me, but it turned out to be just another friend request from someone else. I decided to check it out. Let's see. Surprisingly, empty ang account na iyon but what caught my attention was the name: "Pambansang Prinsipeng Makata."

Napataas ako ng kilay. Pambansang Prinsipeng Makata?

Hell? Seryoso ba 'to?

Troll yata 'to, eh or something. I don't even recognize the person behind this account at all. We have no mutual friends. Wala itong information, walang kahit na anong pictures, walang post—totally empty. It's kinda suspicious. Saan naman niya nahagilap ang account ko? But one is certain, hindi niya deserve mapapunta sa friend list ko.

I'm not the type of person to accept all friend requests, even if we have mutual friends. If I'm not familiar with them, I decline. I prefer to keep my friend list limited to people I know well to protect my personal information and posts. Also, requests from unfamiliar people can lead to more notifications and interactions that I don't want to deal with.

No need to deliberate, have no any reason to accept his friend request, hindi ko na lang iyon pinansin pero in-accept ko 'yong taong nauna sa kaniya, of course, si Elias. Muling bumalik ang maganda kong ngiti sa mukha. I excitedly checked his profile, maluha-luha ako noong isang gabi dahil naka-lock account niyang 'to pero ngayon, meron na akong access! I can finally find out everything about him!

As much as I want to stalk Elias, I decided to do it later tonight.

Tumayo na ako upang pumasok ulit sa work. I've already cried, and someone had comforted me, so there was no reason for me to stay here any longer. Pinagaan ni Elias ang pakiramdam ko at bonus pa na friend na kami sa Facebook, hudyat na hindi na lang ako hanggang tingin sa malayo. Kilala na talaga niya ako. Hindi na ako mabubura sa isipan niya. Palihim ko ring isinilid si Dilim sa loob ng bag at saka dumaan muna ako ng banyo to touch up my makeup.

-

"Tara na, Viviana, sunduin na natin si Thalia!" excited kong pagyaya sa kaibigan ko habang inaayos ang gamit ko. We had just finished our work immersion. Nsa loob pa rin ng bag ko 'yong pusa, I was starting to feel sorry for her because she had been in there since earlier and I hadn't fed her yet pero sinigurado kong nakahihinga siya nang maayos.

Viviana looked at me. "Hindi ka ba nag-seen sa group chat?"

I shrugged. "Not yet. Why?"

"Sabi ni Thalia, maaga raw umuwi ang mga Grade 12 HUMSS student ngayong araw. Basically, nasa bahay na siya," she informed me.

It made me pout. "Hindi pala ako makakasilay. Ganoon?"

"Bukas ka na lang lumandi," she replied, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Anyway, I'm going out na. May pupuntahan pa kasi ako, eh."

Napakunot ako ng noo. "Saan naman?"

She smiled cheekily. "May magdadala sa akin sa langit," sagot niya sabay talikod at nagsimula nang umalis. "Bye, vebs! Ako naman muna lalandi ngayong araw, ah! See you tomorrow!" At tuluyan na siyang naglaho sa paningin ko.

"Hoy! Mag-ingat ka!" habol ko pa. "Madapa ka sana, 'wag lang sa lalaki!"

Napailing-iling na lamang ako at ipinagpatuloy ang pag-iimis ng mga gamit. Kung hindi ako makakasilay kay Elias, gagamitin ko na lang 'yong oras ko sa makabuluhang bagay. Before heading home, I decided to stop by the pet shop to buy foods for Dilim. Inalis ko na rin siya sa loob ng bag ko at naisipang buhatin na lang dahil baka ma-suffocate na siya roon. Mabait naman siya, eh.