“WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU…”
Iritado na si Carlo habang palakad-lakad sa harap ng kanyang office table at bitbit ang computer tablet. Sinusuyod niya ang lahat ng social media na posibleng tumatambay ang binatilyong nakilala niya sa isang coffeeshop. He really needed to find that boy again. Kung hindi, baka matuluyan na siyang bangungutin. Hindi na kasi siya nakakatulog nang maayos sa gabi kaya napilitan na rin siyang iwan ang penthouse niya at mag-stay muna sa ibang hotel na pagmamay-ari ng pamilya nila.
Hindi naman na niya uli napananigipan ang lintik na manika. But still, he couldn’t help but be paranoid that anytime, the ugly cursed doll would come out and drag him to hell. At hindi siya papayag na mabuhay nang ganito.
“He said his name is Bea. Sinong magulang ang nagpangalan sa kanya ng ganon ka-generic na pangalan? And for a boy at that.” Ang hirap tuloy nito hanapin sa social media lalo na at hindi niya alam kung ano ang epilyido nito. He stopped pacing and held up the computer tablet in frustration. “There’s thousands of Beas in this one app alone! How the heck am I gonna find him in this lifetime?!”
Padabog niyang initsa ang tablet sa mesa niya. Kumuyom ang mga kamay niya at tempted na talaga siyang durugin ang gadget. Hindi lang niya pwedeng gawin iyon dahil naroon ang mga importanteng busines files niya kaya napabuntunghininga na lang siya nang malalim.
He put his hands on his hips and stared at the poor tablet. In his mind, he was replaying his encounter with that young boy.
Young boy? He doesn’t look that young though. Maybe he’s about eighteen or nineteen. Looks like a freshman.
‘I am not a kid. I’m twenty seven years old.’
“That kid.” Somehow, bigla na lang naglaho ang iritasyon niya at napansin na lang niya na napapangiti na siya.
Isang beses pa siyang bumuntunghininga at maayos na uli ang pakiramdam niya. Iiling-iling na lang siyang bumalik sa silya niya sa likod ng kanyang office table. He leaned back on his chair and let his mind wander to that day and that boy, remembering how those luscious long black hair tumbled past his shoulders and down his back that almost took his breath away. Coz for a moment there, he really thought the boy was actually a girl. A woman.
A beautiful young woman, with a slim body and small face.
Kaya siguro binigyan ito ng sariling mga magulang ng pangalan na pangbabae. It suited him though, for having such a delicate feminine features.
“Yeah…he’s really pretty….” Tumango-tango pa siya sa sariling obserbasyon. Nang bigla niyang tampalin ang sariling mukha. “Oh, dear God! What am i thinking?! He’s a damn boy! What the hell’s wrong with me?!” Tumayo siya habang patuloy na malakas na tinatapik-tapik ang mga pisngi bilang parusa sa sarili sa mga pangit na isiping iyon.
Nang bumukas ang pinto ng opisina niya at basta na lang pumasok ang nakatatanda niyang kapatid.
“Anong ginagawa mo?” nakabunsangot nitong tanong.
“Nothing.” He straigthened up his posture. “Just trying to wake myself up.”
“Inaantok ka na? Ang aga pa, ah. Ni wala ka pa ngang nabubuklat yata sa mga papers dyan sa table mo.”
“Napuyat kasi ako sa pakikipagkuwentuhan kay Maribeth kagabi. You know her. Hindi siya nauubusan ng kuwento.”
“Yeah, I know her. Siya rin ang latest fling mo na ilang beses akong tinawagan para itanong kung single ka daw ba and I didn’t even know how she got my number.”
“Her family has shares sa dalawang pinakamalaking telecommunication companies sa bansa and her father has worked as NTC director few years ago. Baka doon niya nakuha ang number mo.”
“You mean, pinagana niya ang kuneksyon ng pamilya niya para makuha ang private number ko.”
“And ‘yung private number ko. That’s why I told her we’ll change our numbers and if she ever gets ahold of it again, magsasampa na tayo ng kaso. Kaya huwag ka nang mag-alala na baka ma-leak uli ang number mo, Ate. Everything’s been solved. By me. Yes. Thank you, self.”
“’Sarap mong batuhin ng sapatos.”
Tumawa lang siya. He knew he was right kaya wala nang maisagot pang iba ang ate niya. Naglakad na siya pabalik sa kanyang silya.
“So, what brings you here to this god-forsaken place again, Ate Cindy?” Yeah, that’s how his older sister call his office. Wala raw kasing kapaki-pakinabang na bagay ang nangyayari sa opisina niya. Because apparently, according to her, he’s not working his ass of like she did. “Ah, wait. Bago mo ako ratratin ng monologue mo, gusto mong magkape muna?”
“No. Nakadalawang tasa na ako ng kape. Dahil maaga pa lang, tambak na ang trabaho ko.”
“Ako, mukhang kakailanganin ko ng kape.” Sinenyasan lang ni Carlo ang personal assistant niyang si Berto na nakaantabay lang sa labas ng kanyang opisina. Na agad naman nitong tinanguan.
“Anyway, here. Para magkaroon ka naman ng silbi this time.” His sister slapped the folder she was holding onto his office table. "That's the new Malaysian project na joint venture ng kumpanya natin with San Cristobal Corporation. Pulido na yan. Wala ka nang gagawin kundi pag-aralan iyang mabuti bago ka sumugod sa Malaysia para i-oversee ang implementation ng project na iyan.”
“Paano kung may makita akong problema?”
“Ako ang nag-polish niyan. Anong problema ang pinagsasasabi mo dyan?”
Lagpas-langit talaga ang ego ng ate niyang ito. “I’m just saying, what if--”
“Are you saying you’re more competent than I am?”
“No.” He picked up the folder, look at it without opening the files inside, and laid it down back on his table. “Hindi ba’t ikaw ang nag-propose ng project na ‘to? Ikaw nga din ang nag-present nito sa board of directors. Bakit itinatambak mo na ‘to sa akin ngayon?”
“Because, once again, Papa wanted to make you look good in front of his colleagues and business partners. His perfect unico hijo,” puno ng sarkasmo ang bawat salita nito.
BINABASA MO ANG
UNTITLED
RomanceBea loves to cosplay. But one day, she decided to cosplay as her favorite support doll on a Halloween costume event where she accidentally met Carlo, who thought her doll had cursed him when he touched the said doll the first time they met where she...
