Paint Me, Jonathan (BXB)

002- The Lifeline

|002|The Lifeline

They say, you shouldn't trust a person you just met at tulad din ng sinabi ni Queen Elsa sa Frozen, you can't marry the person you just met.

Para sa akin parehas lang 'yun. Trust is the foundation of marriage, and not just only marriage but any relations, mapa-casual man or formal. Wala kasing relationship na mabubuo kung walang trust sa una pa lang.

And this person beside me, hindi ko alam kung magtitiwala ba ako sa kaniya o hindi. Eh kasi naman, bigla-bigla nalang siya sumusulpot sa kawalan!

Earlier, as I stood at death’s threshold, I found myself resenting God for blessing me with a gifted hand, only to burden me with an inescapable disease. I can't tell if His intent was to show me that my time hadn’t yet come, or if it was His way of saying there’s still something left for me to fulfill before my journey ends. Truthfully, I’m still unsure which it is.

We are now sitting, still on the cliff, but the moon had already risen. The night sky was also filled with stars, shining bright in their own. Ni hindi nila kailangan ng iba para magningning sila. On the other hand, Azrael decided to stay, thinking I might jump again on the cliff.

Well, tama naman siya ng iniisip. Tatalon talaga ako pero, kung kanina na one hundred percent sure akong tatapusin ko na ang buhay ko, ngayon naman ay fifty-fifty na lang. Naroon pa rin yung part na gusto ko nang tapusin pero bumalik din naman 'yung will ko na mabuhay. And it was all because of him.

Hindi ko alam kung anong mahika ang mayroon sa mga salita niya kanina kung bakit napapayag niya akong iligtas ang sarili ko. Baka dahil sa sinsiredad sa boses niya, o baka naman dahil sa matagal na akong nangungulila sa isang taong tunay sa aking nag-aalala?

I don't know.

Lumingon ako sa gawi ni Azrael. Nakatuon na ang mga kamay niya sa likuran niyang bahagi habang ang ulo niya naman ay nakatingala sa kalangitan. From that angle, his sharp jawline was perfectly defined. Bigla naman dumako ang paningin niya sa akin na agad sa aking nagpaiwas ng tingin.

He chuckled. "What? Ngayon ka lang ba nakakita ng tunay na gwapo?"

Kinunotan ko siya ng noo. "Excuse me?"

"Dadaan ka ba?" He retorded, mocking me.

My jaw literally dropped sa pang-aalaska niya sa akin.

Ang kapal ng mukha!

I coughed, trying to suppress the raging irritation gnawing deep inside me. "Sobrang baba naman ng standard mo kung 'yan ang definition mo sa gwapo," I rolled my eyes internally.

Napaka kapal talaga ng mukha. Nakakainis!

I waited for him to respond just to meet with silence. His face was now peaceful, almost unreal. When all of a sudden, he spoke. Natigilan ako.

"You know, I know you," he started. "I mean, even before we met, I’d already seen you in newspapers and online articles," he clarified as his eyes were still scanning the night sky.

My gaze remained on him, processing what he said.

Anong ibig niyang sabihin? Fan ko ba siya? Or worst, stalker? What?!

He looked at me again, smiling. "I'm your fan. The moment I saw your painting in one of those art auctions in France, I fell in love," natawa naman siya sa kaniyang sarili nang may maalala. "I told myself, I would find the artist behind that painting no matter what. So, when I discovered you were from the Philippines, I flew all the way from France to meet you."

Inalis niya rin agad ang tingin sa akin at yumuko. Nanatiling nakatingin pa rin ako sa kaniya, hindi makapaniwalang nagawa niya 'yun just to meet me.

Wait, so does it mean he's not a filipino? Pero bakit marunong siyang magtagalog kanina?