Forgotten Love

Chapter XLII

(A/N: Walong chapters nalang, tapos ending na nito.)

XLII

Pride and Fears

"GUSTO KONG MATUTO mag-drive," Ria said out of the blue.

My brows furrowed. "Bakit naman?"

"Para hindi na ako magpahatid-sundo. Saka, malapit na akong mag-eighteen. Kung sakaling marunong na ako, madali nalang ako makakuha ng driver's license."

"I don't want you to learn," I said.

"Bakit naman?"

"If you learn, hindi na kita mahahatid-sundo. I want you to depend on me."

Her lips drew into a smile. "Talaga hah? Ang cute mo talaga." She pinched my nose and kissed me quickly on the lips. Afterwards, she put on her seatbelt.

"Fine, I'll teach you," I said. "But Adrian better not know, or else he will kill me."

"P is for park. R is for reverse. N is for neutral. D is for drive," I told her. "P is when you completely stop. R is when you make a turn—left or right, or a U-turn. Drive is when you go all the way."

She nodded in understanding.

"Okay, so you have to step on the gas. Wag mo masyadong i-diin, pero wag din yung kulang sa diin. As for the accelerator, this controls the speed. Kung ididiin mo masyado, malakas ang magiging speed." Then, I pointed at the steering wheel. "Iiikot mo ang steering wheel kung sakaling mag left or right turn ka."

I gave her the basic instruction, and she nodded. When she couldn't understand some part, she'd ask me to repeat it again.

"When you turn on the engine, you have to twist it till it roars to life," I said.

We got out of the car to switch places. I went into the passenger seat, and she slid into the driver's seat. She turned on the engine, and she looked nervously at me. "W-Wag nalang kaya natin 'to gawin."

"Ba't kinakabahan ka?"

"B-Baka masira ko 'tong Sedan mo. Wala pa naman akong pera pambayad," she muttered nervously.

I chuckled. "If you can't pay with money, then you'll have to pay me with your body," I said playfully.

Namula siya sa sinabi ko. "Benedict! Ano ba! Ayoko na!" she exclaimed.

"We haven't even started."

She took a deep breath, and stepped on the gas. She drove slowly, going through the driveway. Kinakabahan siya sa una, pero matapos ay nag-relax na siya. She made a U-turn, and came back to where we parked originally before.

"Nagawa ko!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

"You're good," I said, patting her shoulder.

"Ang ganda naman dito," namamanghang sabi ni Ria. Iginala niya ang paningin niya sa planetarium.

"I know." I smiled.

Maraming tao ngayon sa planetarium. Mostly teenagers and children with their parents. We had to tilt up our head to see the stars above. I'd always liked going here ever since I was thirteen. After all, the stars and universe fascinated me.

I liked it because it made me see how wide the world is. There were many possibilities. There many unknowns.

Nagsimula ng gumalaw ang mga projections. The solar systems were shown, and one-by-one, it showed what was inside each. Someone spoke, telling us the distance of Mercury to the sun, its temperature, the gases inside, etc.