Loving Mystery (Ang P.O.V. ng Babaeng Sawi)

1.2. The Time Zone

Nasa ere na kami ngayon at umiiyak pa rin ako. Iniiwasan ko talagang umiyak sa public places dahil napakapangit kong umiyak at napakatagal ko pang matapos umiyak. Buti nga at may dala-dala akong panyo ngayon. Most of the time whenever I feel like crying I distract myself, focusing my mind to an object so that I would gradually forget about the whole idea of crying. It usually works well before the crying session, I don't know if it do work well during the crying session.

So, I put my handkerchief away and tried to examine my surroundings.

What would be a good object of distraction?

Above. Nothing interesting.

Below. I feel uneasy with this situation.

To the right. Nakatulog na agad 'tong si Nanay? 

To the left. Geez! This guy is scary.

Is anyone even allowed to hide their faces? I mean... His hiding a big part of his face with his black face mask and baseball cap. Sana lang hindi 'to terorista o ano! Baka ma-high jacked kami dito at mangyari ang hindi dapat mangyari. Ito na nga ba ang sinasabi ko! Teka nga! Ewan ko ba pero parang kilala ko ang lalaking 'to. Teka nga... Saan ko ba nakita 'tong lalaking 'to! Teka... Ang hirap naman! Wala akong makita sa mukha niya. 

Pero, in fairness sa kanya, well-built siya. Paano ko nalaman? Well, I can sense it. Grin ^.-. 

Tingin ko rin nga may hitsura 'to.

Nang biglang napatingin siya sa akin. Naramdaman siguro niya 'yung pagtitig ko sa kanya. I could see his eyes now. Mapupungay na brown eyes, too beautiful to be covered up by the cap. 

Mata pa lang nga, gwapo na!

We just stared at each other. It's like his digging up something from my eyes. His eyes seems to ask mine, "Don't you know me?" Weird, right? Moments later, his eyes seems like enjoying what it sees. It has a playful spark now. Jerk! Tsk.

Eyes can be very deceiving. He looked away when something caught his attention.

I look towards the same direction and saw in the screen a report about Vain. It was really about Ivan West. The guy who had never gone to the concert whenever it was held in the Philippines. That's the reason why I don't like him. Knowing that his a half-Filipino, he should be so proud of performing in the Philippines. But I guess his not since iniiwan niya sa ere ang Vain sa tuwing may concert sila sa bansa. But what's more disappointing? He still have a lot of fans in the Philippines, his people still love him despite his manners. And he could not even give the favor back instead he make illogical excuses. Tsk. Well, he's the reason why I'm here. But still, I don't like him. Typical. Conceitedly arrogant.

"Jerk." I blindly said while looking at the screen. The word fell out of my mouth. Unfiltered. 

"Denouncing," whispered the guy. 

A whisper enough to be heard by my ears. I looked at him.

He said something, right? Was he talking to me? Hindi 'ata. He was busy with whatever he was reading now. I should mind my own business. And. Keep on being distracted.

I glance everywhere. Nothing interesting at all. I smiled. Tama. May dala akong libro! Gayle Forman's One Day. It was about an American girl having her Europe tour as a graduation gift from her parents and ended up being tangled in Paris with a stranger for one day. The "One Day" that changed her whole life. Nasimulan ko na 'tong basahin 'eh. Sa totoo lang, malapit na nga akong matapos. Nagkahiwalay kasi si Alison, 'yung bidang babae ng nobela at si Willem, ang bidang lalaki, at 'yung pagkakahiwalay nila ay napaka... What can be a fit description? Hmmm... Napaka-unfortunate? Ill-fated? Star-crossed? Napaka-bad trip! Para silang ginawang miserable ng pagkakataon. Kahit na ayaw naman nila. Walang may gusto. Ang kapalit ng isang buong araw na kaligayahan ay dalawang buhay na bigo. Kaya lang walang ''forever'' sa pagiging bigo! Isang araw maiisip mo na lang na ang lungkot pa la ng pagiging isang dakilang bigo kaya mag-move on na at piliing maging masaya. Tabula Rasa. New beginnings. Parang ako ngayon, nagsisimula ako ng bagong buhay at literal na ''bago'' talaga! Pero, gaya ni Alison, hindi ko 'ata din kayang magsimula ng bagong buhay kung marami pa akong tanong na gustong sagotan. Ang pagkahiwalay nila ni Willem ay naging masakit na alaala kay Alison ngunit nag-iwan ito ng maraming tanong sa kanyang isipan. 'Yun bang alam na alam mong may naiwan kang napaka-importante sayo at gustong mong balikan. At kung hindi mo babalikan, parang ninakawan ka ng buhay, ng pagkakataong maging masaya. Ito na nga! Hindi alam ni Willem na hinahanap siya ni Alison, ginawa na niya ang lahat-lahat para mahanap ito. Imagine, how in the world would you find somebody whose first name you only knew? Pero, nahanap pa rin niya ito, sa pagkakataon namang napagdesisyonan na itigil na ang paghahanap. Kaya lang, may iba na. May iba ng babae.