Lovesick Wonders (A Palawan Prequel)

Epilogue

"I'm happy to tell you, Miss Dimaranan, that you're for the content writer role. Will you be able to start immediately?" Miss Jenica called me.

"Yes, Miss! I'm so happy to start immediately."

"Alright! I'm glad to hear that. I will send you your onboarding schedule in your email. Congratulations. See you soon, Cory."

"Thank you so much, Miss Jenica. See you soon."

Nang ibaba ko ang tawag ay natulala pa rin ako dahil hindi ako makapaniwala na after a few months of struggling to find a job ay na-hire na rin ko. Agad ko namang ibinalita kay Danny na agad naman niyang ikinatuwa. He told me that all the goods things were about to happen and I was claiming all those things.

The role I was hired would be an onsite position and it wasn't a problem for me. Nami-miss ko pa rin ang remote work ko no'n, pero hindi nila ako ipinaglaban kaya half-miss lang ang feelings ko for them.

To celebrate it early, I called Danny. Alam kong busy na rin 'yon sa mga ganap niya sa buhay kaya hindi na rin kami masyadong nakakapagkita, but when one of us was free, hindi na naman pinapalampas 'yon.

"Congratulations, girl! Alam mo 'yon kahit na anong mangyari, may good thing pa rin talagang mangyayari. I'm so proud of my girl!"

I giggled. "Thank you, girl. I wasn't expecting nga na makukuha ko ang role na 'yon since I knew a lot of good candidates applied for the same role. Medyo na-murder ko nga rin 'yong interview ko no'n with Miss Jenica, pero akalain mo 'yon? They've picked among anyone else!"

"Right?! The stars aligned for you. Gano'n lang ka-simple 'yon. Subukan mo na rin bumalik sa dating app, baka your pussy will aligned to foreign hotdogs once again."

"Putang ina mo talaga, 'no?" Tawa ko pa. "Wala nang magandang lumalabas diyan sa bibig mo."

"Well, gano'n talaga kapag pretty." Ngisi pa nito. "Kung hindi ka man lucky sa lovelife, among other things ay lucky ka naman."

"Ikaw rin naman. 'Yang hole mo lucky rin sa AFAM."

"Sinabi mo pa, girl!" Halakhak pa nito.

"Sino na ba?"

"Ah. . . Si Lukas ang current now."

"Oh, siya ulit?"

"Naman, girl! Hindi ko ata bibitawan 'to 'no. Never na."

"Oooh," I swooned. "Nalilito na kasi ako kung sino ba talaga, e? Last time kasi may Callum na taga Australia? May Cade na taga-London? May Nigel na taga-Nigeria? Ano ba talaga, girl? Balak mo ba talagang mag-world tour?"

He chuckled, nodding his head. "I think, yes. Pero mag-stick na talaga ako this time with my Filipino-Italian guy. Let's just hope na he will stick with me too and make it real this time."

"Oh, I'll be happy for you, girl. You've been through a lot of guys. Sana nga mahanap mo na rin ang boylet for you. Pero pa'no kaya 'yon, 'no? Nasa Siargao siguro ang for you kasi nabalitaan mo ba 'yong AFAM bridge? Baka nando'n na talaga ang lalaking naghihintay para sa 'yo."

"I don't think so. I'm happy with the person I'm with right now. . . Baka ikaw, subukan mo nang pumunta ng Palawan baka nando'n na nga ang meant for you."

I rolled my eyes at him. "That place has a curse for me. Hindi na lang 'no."

"Anyway, this night's too young for us. Inom na ulit tayo!"

Nagtaas naman ako ng daliri. "Wait! I told to myself na hindi na ulit ako iinom. Never ko nang gagawin ang ginawa ko no'n. We can have drinks, pero I'll order some apple juices na lang siguro."

"Bagong buhay, I like that girl! I'm fine with that. Let's celebrate that."

I guess, I deserve this after all that I've been through. The last thing I heard about the man who broke my heart into pieces was dating someone else and going abroad. I don't wish the best for him, karma will get to him nicely.

For now, it's time to prioritize myself and my goals in life.

***

I was overwhelmed upon joining my new work. Marami akong kailangang i-adjust. Four months ago, I had to try another freelance job, but it didn't last long. Gusto kong makahanap ng full-time job and it was hard for me to look for that when I've got many competition around. I was so happy when Miss Jenica called me that I was hired. It was the moment I've been waiting for.

The past months have been hard for me and I didn't expect it will come sooner than I expected.

Working with Miss Jenica wasn't hard. Hindi niya naman ako binibigyan ng mga trabaho na hindi ko kaya. Alongside there were my colleagues who didn't make me feel like I was working. Natatandaan ko pa 'yong sinabi no'ng mokong kong ex-fiance na 'wag akong maniniwala at magiging loyal sa mga katrabaho ko dahil pwede ka nilang i-backstab anytime, well, it was true, but this time, it felt so much different, it felt so right for me.

One of the things I've been looking forward to in my job was able to work somewhere. Ipapadala nila ako sa kung saang lugar na pwede mai-feature sa travel website namin. I knew that would take time for me kaya hindi muna siya tumatakbo sa isipan ko at habang nasa probationary period ako ay kailangan kong pag-igihan para ma-regular dahil sa pagkakaalam ko, some who eventually got regularized got a salary increase afterwards.

But one morning, I received an email from Miss Jenica and that shook me to the core.

I was out of words and I was unsure because I knew that place had a curse for me. I tried thinking if it would be a good thing for me, but then again it was an opportunity for me to do what I've done years ago. 

Maybe it was time for me to break the curse and somehow find something missing in me. I could do that. I've been afraid for so long that I thought life wouldn't be the same again, but I can turn my world upside down once again, and bring myself into some kind of wonders I've been seeking for.

It's about time and I can't wait to start a new journey of my life.

Palawan, I'm coming for you.

- end of Lovesick Wonders (A Palawan Prequel) -