GETTING TO KNOW MS. ANGER | MaColet

THE PAST ⚠️

TRIGGER WARNING:
verbal abuse/ insult

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NICO

The first time I laid eyes on her. It was like the world stopped for a moment, parang lahat ng bagay sa paligid ko ay biglang nag-fade.

Lahat ng atensyon ko ay nasa kanya lang. The moment na bumaba siya mula sa van, with her long, flowing hair and that innocent smile, alam ko na. I had a crush on her.

She was vacationing here for the summer, and as luck would have it, her mom knew Nanang. Turned out, she wasn't just some random visitor-she used to live here. Her family's old house was just a few steps away from ours.

It didn't take long before I found myself making excuses to drop by their place. At first, it was innocent enough-just hanging around, talking about random things.

Our friendship grew naturally, like it was always meant to happen. Talking about everything, her plans, her favorite books, music, the future.

But as the days passed, the more time I spent with her, the more I realized this wasn't just a crush.

Lalong lumalalim 'yung nararamdaman ko para sa kanya. It was the way her laughter echoed in my ears, the way her eyes lit up whenever she spoke about her dreams, her world.

And I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to be a part of her world.

Kaso isang araw, sinabi niya sa akin na baka sa susunod na bakasyon na lang ulit kami magkita. Babalik na ulit siya sa Manila para doon mag-aral.

Parang biglang bumagsak ang mundo ko. She was leaving, and I was staying behind, where everything reminded me of her.

Pag-uwi ko, humarap ako kay Nanang at sinabi ko sa kanya na gusto ko ring mag-aral sa Manila. Pero tumanggi si Nanang. Wala naman daw akong kilala doon, at delikado raw kung ako lang mag-isa.

I couldn't argue with her logic, but it didn't stop the tears from flowing. I cried myself to sleep that night.

Hindi ko alam kung paano ko matatanggap na hindi ko na siya makikita araw-araw.

The next morning, to my surprise, Nanang woke me up. Akala ko ay may mangyayaring hindi maganda, pero nagulat ako sa sinabi niya. Kung gusto ko raw talaga, papayagan na niya akong mag-aral sa Manila.

At hindi lang 'yun-kasabay ko rin siya papunta ng Manila.

I could hardly believe it. It felt like the universe had given me a second chance, and I wasn't about to waste it.

A few weeks later, we were on a plane bound for Manila. It was my first time flying.

When we arrived, we met her trusted friend, who had arranged a place for me to stay. It wasn't anything fancy, just a small apartment, but it was enough.

I couldn't stay with her in her condo-she explained that it was under her dad's name, and bringing someone else in wasn't an option.

That's when I met Kuya Dave, her friend's boyfriend, who lived with Kia-the girl I'd be sharing the apartment with. It was an adjustment, living with strangers, but I was just happy to be there.

While she enrolled a private school, I decided to enroll in a public one. It didn't matter where I went, as long as I was in the same city as her.

And though we were in different schools, I kept myself busy. I joined the music club, and that's where I met Shawn. He was one of the first people to approach me when he heard I was interested in music, kaya mabilis kaming nag-click.