Payb Takes

Il Mio Amori

May 30, 10:30pm, NAIA:

M arrives in the Philippines. After, going through the immigration, luggage and customs, she walks to the arrival area with her group. She is beaming happy and excited to finally be home.

The driver approaches and takes her bags to the van. M checks around to see if any of the cars around look like any of R's cars. None of them are. She checks again if any of them is DB's or Kuya RD's, even Kuya Nico's or Dean's. None of them are. Finally, she takes one more quick swipe with her eyes if any of the cars look like any of his friends cars that she's seen. None of them are.

She sighs and gets in the van before it drives away. She laughs at herself for checking behind her seat and around the van to see if R is somewhere hiding. He's not there.

M takes a deep staggering breath, trying her best not to feel so down. So, it's just the EB service. No family. No RJ. No big deal, right? "No." A voice in her head protests.

"So, he's a no show. Understandable, madaming tao sa airport. He knows that. Baka naman nag-text or tumawag. You didn't even check your phone, dummy." She thinks, pulling out her phone from her bag.

She checks her phone.

No messages. No missed calls.

She feels a sudden pang of pain in her heart. It was too real, she had to place a hand to her chest. She is suddenly extremely sad... disappointed... angry. "So, ganoon na lang? Kung kailan nandito na ako. Wala lang? Asan ang "I miss you" mo? Asan na yung "di ko na ata kaya na wala ka"? Asan na yung "I can't wait to see you and hold you."?" She snarls under her breath while scanning through the social media sites for updates.

She sees that R might be in his restaurant. "Ofcourse. Ikaw, Meng eh. Busy yun." She mumbles as she dials the direct line to his office.

***RING! RING!*** The sound echoes through the office walls that hold framed pictures of them together. ***RING! RING!*** The phone alerts beside a specially framed picture of M on R's office desk.
***RING! RING!*** The call bounces in the dark empty office.

"Wala sa office siguro nasa dining area." She dials the trunk line.

RING! RING! RING! RING!

"Shoot! Natural walang sasagot. Sarado na. " M says, trying hard not to cry.

"Nasaan ka ba RJ? Did you forget na uuwi ako tonight? What are you up to? Parang di mo naman ako na-miss." M sulks, staring at the ring on her finger, feeling a little frustrated.

********
May 31, 12:30am, M's condo:

M: Kuya, okay na po ako dito. Ako na po magpapasok. Nauwi naman na po ni Alden karamihan sa mga gamit ko. Kaya ko na po yan.

Driver: Sure ka po, Maam?

M: Opo. Umuwi na po kayo at magpahinga. Ginabi na po kayo sa pagsundo sa akin. Salamat po.

Driver: Wala po yun, Maam. Una na po ako. Salamat din po sa pasalubong.

M: Sige po. Ingat po.

M waves goodbye.

She opens the door to her condo unit and pulls her luggage and bags in.

She closes the door and turns to see a surprise waiting for her.

The room is dimly lit with standing candle lamps shedding their glow and forming a path to the dining area. There are rose petals scattered on the floor following the rose trail.