The Love You Want

Chapter 27 (Basang-basa sa ulan)

Still Geither's POV

"Ah, eh. Bakit ba? Napaglaruan ko lang yung cellphone mo." palusot ko.

"So ganun, eh bakit ka nandito?" tanong pa niya.

"Ha? Ah, eh, wala tini-test ko lang kung nagwowork yung tracking device. Ayun effective pala. Biruin mo, nahanap kita. Kung hindi pa kita nahanap siguro sinisipon ka na ngayon." Sagot ko.

She glared at me.

"Tsk. Wala ka na namang magawa sa buhay mo kaya you're here to bully me again?"

"So I'm a bully now?" angal ko.

"Of course." Tugon niya. Nagpatuloy lang kami sa paglalakad. She then saw something at hinila ako patungo doon.

"Whoah. Tamang-tama, gutom ako." wika niya, we stopped in front of a fishball stand.

"Seriously?" wika ko at nagsimula na siyang tumusok sa fishball na lumulutang sa milyong-milyong calorie sa mantika.

"Yes, seriously. Don't tell me dok hindi ka kumakain nito?" tanong niya as she started eating one.

"As if? Maselan ang tiyan ko sa mga pagkain." Tugon ko.

"Come on dok, wag kang KJ. Have some. Ang sarap kaya nito." wika niya at tinapat sa bunganga ko yung fishball.

"I don't like."

"Come on dok, isa lang." pagpipilit niya hinawakan ko yung kamay niya para hindi niya tuluyang masubo sa akin yung fishball.

"No!"

"Isa lang oh, ang arte nito!" reklamo niya.

"Ayoko nga." Angal ko pa but before I knew it, nakasubo na sa bunganga ko yung fishball. She was laughing so hard.

Napilitan akong nguyain yung fishball. The taste isn't that bad but I don't really like streetfoods. What's with this woman?

"There you go. Now, ito naman." wika niya at pinulot ang isang itlog.

"Clyde, I don't like hard boiled eggs."

"Who said its hard boiled egg. Balut ito. You don't even know the difference between an egg and a balut. Ilang taon ka lang tumira sa Amerika eh."

"No. I'm not gonna eat a duck fetus." Wika ko at lumayo na ako sa kanya kasi baka isubo na naman niya sa akin yung balut and I swear. I'm gonna throw up like hell pag nagkataon.

"Ow come on dok, kahit tikman mo lang." wika niya nabuksan na pala niya yung balut.

"Hey don't you dare put that in my mouth or you'll be dead!" she is now holding my shoulder.

"Dead agad? Ang brutal mo naman dok." Wika niya as she was trying to shove it into my mouth again.

"Hey! Stop! I'm not kidding!" sigaw ko.

"Tikman mo lang ang arte!" wika niya habang tumatawa.

I can't imagine yung itsura naming dalawa doing that, on top of that, tinitignan kami nung nagtitinda. So embarrassing.

'Tsk, ang arte mo dok."

"I told you hindi ako kumakain niyan." Angal ko.

"Okay, edi bayaran mo na yung mga kinain natin dok." Hirit pa niya.

"Bakit ako? Ikaw halos ang kumain ng lahat."

"May atraso ka pa sa akin, you installed the tracking device in my cellphone without my knowledge kaya ikaw ang mababayad niyang kinain ko." gosh, what with this authoritative girl?

"Whatever." Tugon ko at nilabas ang pitaka ko. She started walking again.

"Akala ko ba uuwi na tayo?" tanong ko.

"Teka, malapit lang yung children's park dito. Tara." Wika niya at hinawakan ang kamay ko sabay hila.

"Hey! What's with you? You're so manic today. Why are we going to the children's park?" angal ko habang hatak-hatak parin niya ako.

"Basta. Wag kang KJ dok." Tugon niya. Nakarating kami sa children's playground and she immediately sat at the swing.

"Why do I feel like I'm regretting setting the tracking device in your phone?" wika ko.

"Wag kang tumunganga diyan dok and have a sit." Wika niya gesturing me to sit on the swing too.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously." Tugon pa niya.

"You're a crazy woman."

"Well, I guess I am." Tugon niya. Then there was complete silence.

"So, what's with that melodramatic scene I saw a while ago?" tanong ko. She looked at me.

"What scene?"

"That 'basang-basa sa ulan' scene." Tugon ko tapos tumawa siya.

"Huwaw dok, may ganyan ka palang nalalaman." Wika niya but her smile disappeared.

"Is this about Zeke again?" tanong ko. What the heck? I can't keep my mouth shut.

"Nung pumunta si Loraine sa bahay, nakiusap siya sa akin. She asked for help."

I don't know what to feel upon hearing that what I just know is that Loraine really love Zeke.

"Well. They're adults now. They can resolve their issues alone. Why do they have to bother you?" irritated kong wika.

"I felt the need to help her so I decided to talk to Zeke. Pero kanina while talking to him, kung anu-ano ang nasabi ko. Nasabi ko na ata lahat ng hinanakit ko sa kanya noon." salaysay niya.

"Well maybe that's what you needed for you to totally move on, or maybe not?"

"Ikaw ba dok, how did you do it? How did you move on?" tanong niya. Oh geez, it's getting serious. I feel awkward that we're talking about our exes who are in a relationship right now.

"It was hell for me. Imagine being away from someone you loved all your life all of a sudden aside from the fact na pinagpalit ka na sa iba. Of course, it was painful. God knows how much struggle I've been through before I got back to my senses. It took me a long time before I reached the acceptance stage. At first, my life was trash. I go to clubs every night. I spend money like water. I almost went to prison for punching someone in the face. So just when I thought I've already moved on, I saw Loraine again. And when I finally talked to her, that's when I realized, I'm totally healed." Whoah, that was along speech. She looked at me with a puzzled face.

"Just like you said before, talking to her was what I needed all this time. And after that I think I can fall in love again."

"Fall in love again?"

"Maybe the reason why I played around all this time was that hindi pa ako nakaka-move on totally and now that I have, I think I can fall in love once again and not just play around. Bakit ikaw, after your relationship with Zeke, why haven't you dated anyone?" tanong ko.

"Hindi ko alam. Siguro nga gaya ng sabi mo, hindi pa ako nakakamove on totally." Sagot niya.

"So you're still not over him?" tanong ko pa.

She looked at me with a blank stare. Tila nag-aapuhap ng isasagot niya.

Just then, the rain started pouring. We were both startled as we felt cold after having soaked clothes for almost an hour already.

"Halika na. Ayokong magkasakit." Sigaw niya dahil hindi na kami nagkakarinigan sa lakas ng ulan.

 She took my hand at sinuong namin ang malakas na ulan papunta sa kotse kong naka-park sa kabilang dulo ng park.