Dedicated to my friend, Sheen.
I tried to make a story with mostly dialogues in it. And this was the result.
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A Chance Encounter
“So, Michael,sinong inaantay mo dito?” she asked.
Kakakilala niya lang sa babaeng ‘to. Bigla na lang kasi ‘tong pumunta sa table niya at umupo. Wala naman sigurong masama kung makikipag-usap siya.
“A girl,” tipid niyang tugon. “Wait... pa’no mo nalaman ang pangalan ko?”
Using her lips, she pointed out his I.D. “Okay na ha, baka isipin mo stalker ako.”
He nodded.
“Para sa kanya ba ‘to?” she said, pointing a bouqet of roses beside him.
A sigh left his lips. Thereafter, he nodded again.
She took a sip from her coffee. “Magkwento ka naman.”
His eyebrows furrowed out of disappointment. ‘Ang daldal naman ng babaeng ito,’ he spoke on his mind. Pero hindi lang dahil madaldal ‘to kaya siya nainis, there’s something on this girl that makes him remind of Nicole.
He bit his lower lip, holding a bad word not to come out from his mouth. He took a deep breath and then took a glance at her. “Ano ang dapat kong ikwento?”
She lightly rubbed her chin, thinking an answer to his query. “About yourself or that girl, you choose,” she said, gesturing quotation marks on the word ‘girl’.
“Where did you get your confidence? Mukhang confident ka na talagang magku-kwento ako sa’yo, to think na kakakilala ko lang sa’yo.”
“From this,” she answered, raising her cup of coffe. “Bilis na kasi, ang KJ mo naman! Para nga hindi ka ma-bored kakahintay.”
His lips tightly pursed for brief moment, ignoring her answer. And after a matter of seconds, an idea struck his head. “Ikaw muna ang magkwento, tapos ako naman.” He smiled sheepishly.
“Fine,” she muttered. “Kung iku-kwento ko ang buhay ko malamang abutin tayo ng ilang araw. Sasabihin ko na lang kung bakit ako nandito, sa table mo. Oops, hindi kita crush ha!”
Umiling si Michael. “Defensive.”
“Hindi ah!” she retorted. “Promise mo muna na hindi ka magsasalita hanggang ‘di pa ko tapos magkwento.”
He nodded. “Fine.”
“Oo nga pala name ko is Sheen. Nakita kita dito, sa coffee shop, nag-iisa. I saw that eyes, that face––one that I have a week ago.” She cleared her throat. “Broken-hearted ka diba?”
He just stared at her blankly. No words came out from his mouth.
“Ui, sumagot ka naman!”
He raised an eyebrow. “Kala ko ba hindi ako magsasalita?”
She chuckled. “Permission to speak granted.”
“Did I ask for one?” He took a sip from his coffee. “Kung broken-hearted nga tawag dun, siguro nga. Your turn.” He glued his brown eyes onto her.
