Reaching the star

11- Rings

Rings

Halos mapasigaw ako nang biglang bumukas ang ilaw at kumalat ang confetti. Gulat na gulat akong napatingin sa kanila. Nathan went to me and put a birthday crown to my head. Habang kumakanta sila.

"Make a wish Rai!" Lory said while holding the cake. Nilibot ko ang paningin ko at bahagyang nagulat nang makita na naroon din si Elias. I closed my eyes and made a wish before blowing the candle.

"Happy birthday!" lumapit sa akin si Rafael at Kirby at niyakap ako.

"Thank you, guys!" Natutuwa kong sabi sa lahat.

Lory went to me and wiped an icing on my face. Agad rin itong nakawala nang gaganti sana ako.
We're in Lory's house. Akala ko simpleng inuman lang. I don't usually celebrate my birthday.

Nagsisindi lang ako ng kandila sa simbahan at nagsisimba noon. Ngayon lang naman ako nakaranas ng birthday celebration.

Halos mga kaibigan ko at circle ni Lory ang naroon. As usual, napakarami namin. Kanina ko pa gustong lumapit kina Elias kaso hindi ako makahanap ng tyempo dahil lagi akong kinakausap ng mga kakilala ko.

I saw him talking to Liam and Luther, nandoon rin si Nico. Lory's bestfriend. Bigla nitong nahuli ang mata ko. He smiled at me and mouthed to come with them. I excused myself from my friends and went to them. I hugged Nico.

"Happy birthday Rai" he tapped my shoulder.

"Thank you, Nickie"

We both ignored the three men who are also watching us while we were catching up. I want to talk to Elias but I can't ask him. Bigla kaming hinila ni Lory para sumali sa picture.

Nang makahanap ng tyempo ay pumunta ako sa gilid ng bahay nina Lory kung saan walang mga tao.

Elias hugged and kissed me when we found the right moment. Nasa bandang hardin kami kung saan tago at medyo madilim.

"Happy birthday!" he whispered
Bahagya akong napalunok. Ilang araw din kaming hindi nagkita.

Bumitaw siya sa pagyakap sa akin at may kinuha sa bulsa. It's a small black box. He opened it and I saw a white gold cartier ring. Halos matawa ako. Nakita kong ngumiti rin ito.

"Am I hopeless romantic? It's my first time doing these things." Natatawang usal nito.

Kinuha niya ang kamay ko at sinuot ang singsing sa daliri ko. He is also wearing his ring too.

"It's a symbol of our love for each other. Keep wearing this. I love you, Rai" Napanguso ako. He loves me. I know to myself that I feel the same way. Alam niya rin iyon.

I hugged him tight while holding my tears.

"Owsss...sorry Am I interrupting something?" agad akong lumayo kay Elias. Halos manlamig ang buo kong katawan. Palipat-lipat ang tingin ni Lory sa amin ni Elias.

Elias ignored her, waiting for me to look at him.
"N-Nothing." Ngumiti ako dito. Kumunot ang noo ni Lory at lumapit sa akin. I gulped awkwardly. She knows that Elias and I are not even close. Tapos makikita niya na magkasama kami at nagyayakap.

"Pumasok na tayo! Malamig dito." Hinila ko na si Lory. Elias followed us silently. I can't look at Lory who is still looking at me, curiously.

My birthday party went well, Thanks to Lory who are good at hosting a party. We all enjoyed it.

"You brought ring?" tanong ni Jaeki nang mapansin ito habang nag-hihintay kaming magsimula ang event. I looked at the cartier ring I'm wearing.

"Mahal 'yan ah. Sabihin mo nga may girlfriend ka na ba?" natatawang tanong ni Rafael. Tinaas baba niya pa ang kilay para mang-asar.

I showed him my middle finger. He just laughed with it.

Hinayaan ko na lamang ang mga tanong nila at hindi sila pinatulan.

"Malapit na pala ang Christmas, uuwi ba kayo?" tanong ni Kirby. Napaisip naman ako. Sa sobrang abala namin ay nakakaligtaan na namin ang araw. Bakit parang ang bilis ng oras? Halos mag-iisang taon na rin kami ni Elias. I know we are not officially. Hindi rin kasi naming napapag-usapan. He's not asking me or pressuring me about it.

"I don't know, depende."

"Sa tingin mo may iuuwi kaya tayong award ngayon?" tanong ni Rafael sa tabi ko habang nakikinig sa sinasabi ng host. Maraming artısta at idols ang narito. It's a prestigious award show.

"I checked one of the voting site, before we went here. We're leading as the people's choice." si Jaeki

"Sana kahit isa lang para hindi naman tayo kulelat." dagdag pa ni Rafael.

Pinatahimik ko na sila dahil may mga magp-perform na.

Hindi na rin naman ako nagtaka nang tawagin ang pangalan namin nang manalo kami sa people's choice award.

Magkakasama kaming umakyat sa stage at tinanggap ang trophy.

"First I would like to thanks God for giving us the chance to stand here in front of you. We would also like to thanks our friends, family, staffs, the producers, Mr. Finnegan , and of course our fans who keep on supporting us. Thank you very much guys for this award. We will never forget this and will continue doing our best in the future . Thank you "
Taos puso kong sabi. Sabay ng hiyawan ng mga fans.

I can't still imagine that we are already here. Ang layo na ng naabot namin. We gather together and hugged each other. Every time we received an award. Laging umiiyak si Kirby. Si Kirby kasi ang leader namin at halos siya rin ang bumuhat sa grupo. He's a good leader indeed. Mahirap ang responsibilidad ng isang lider. Kaya namin nakakamit ang lahat dahil isa rin siya sa gumagawa ng paraan para matuto kami lahat.

I hugged him and tapped his back. Lumapit rin ang iba para yakapin siya at magpasalamat sa kanya.

I received a message from Elias. Binabati niya kami.

I told him na hindi ako makakauwi sa condo niya dahil mag-celebrate kami ng buong grupo.

Nag-order si kuya Allen ng sobrang dami ng pagkain at inumin. Halos magsigawan kami sa tuwa dahil doon.

"Deserve niyo naman 'yan." aniya

We took a group selfie with our celebration cake and our trophy. I posted it on instagram. Ilang minuto lang ay marami ng nag like nito.

EliasFinnegan: Having fun?

RaiBrazona: Yes, matulog ka na?

EliasFinnegan: I will. Enjoy the night Rai.

RaiBrazona: Thanks. Good night!

EliasFinnegan: Good night.

Binaba ko na ang phone ko at nakipag-kwentuhan na sa kanila.