They were sitting across each other in this quaint cafe. Both silent as they try to compose their speech to each other. It was a Monday at parehas silang walang pasok. And both came from abroad. Ngayon, kahit pa may jet lag pareho, kinailangan nilang magkita to clear things up.
"Uhm… H-how’s Dubai?"
"Masaya. Nakaka-overwhelm yung hospitality ng mga pinoy dun. Eh ikaw? Uhm… How’s…"
"Not fun. Di naman ako umalis ng hotel. I just stayed there and slept all day."
"Ah."
"I’m sorry." he finally said. Umiwas naman ng tingin ang dalaga. She secretly wiped the stray tear from her eyes at saka muling nagbalik ng tingin sa kanya. And she smiled. The moment she did that, para bang nadurog ang puso ng binata. He couldn’t take it everytime she does that. Yung ngingitian siya kahit nasasaktan na ito. "Don’t smile if it hurts, Julie. Alam ko naman na galit ka sa akin eh. And I’m not blaming you. Mali naman talaga yung ginawa ko."
"Ano ka ba. Ang adik mo mag-isip eno? Napuwing kasi ako. Sakit nga eh. Tagos." she said. She cleared her throat at saka nagsalita ulit. "Bakit di ka umalis ng hotel? Bali is a beautiful place."
"Wala lang. I don’t feel like it. Tsaka… hindi naman kasi…"
"Don’t say it, Moe. Don’t." pagpigil niya. Nagbuntong-hininga na lang si Elmo at saka tumango. "I’ve had enough of your games…"
"Julie…"
"Nakakapagod pala no? Yung paulit-ulit yung nangyayari. Yung lagi na lang ako yung talo."
"Julie, no… Hindi ikaw ang talo."
"Really? Then if not, bakit pati pamilya mo, ginaganyan ako? What did I do, Moe? Ano bang ginawa ko para ganyan-ganyanin nila ko? I know they don’t like me for you pero di naman kailangan may ganun diba? May plastikan? May kahati na nga ako sayo, di pa ko welcome sa pamilya mo. And one more thing, pati fans inaaway nila. Okay, mali yung nagttweet sila saying something against you or nagpapatama sila. But that’s just how they express their feelings. Twitter nila yun. And di naman sila nagmemention ng names eh. Sabagay. Di naman kayo tatamaan kung di niyo gawain yun. Alam mo, even some of your solid fans nagtataka sa kilos niyo. Nasaktan sila, Moe. And doble saken yun kasi mahal ko ang fans natin. They maybe bullies at times, pero they love us unconditionally. Overprotective lang sila sa atin. And I don’t think naaappreciate mo yun." she said. "Okay na nga sa akin yung dalawa kaming mahal mo eh. Pero di na okay sa akin yung aawayin nila mga kaibigan ko. Kasi all they did was to understand your decisions kahit pa alam naman nilang mahirap ka intindihin, pinipilit nila. Ngayon na napagod na sila, mga kapatid mo naman ang magsisimula ng gulo. Nananahimik na sila, mga kapatid mo, nagttweet pa sa kanila…" natawa siya at saka napatingin uli kay Elmo. "Sabagay. This isn’t the first time they did that." she continued. Hindi naman nakakibo si Elmo. Tumayo na si Julie and she picked up her bag.
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
"Pero…"
"Kausapin mo na lang ako kapag okay ka na. Sige." and she walked out of the shop.
*****
Hindi siya mapakali sa condo niya. Manunuod ng tv. Tapos maglalaro ng computer games. Tapos tatayo. Lalabas ng unit niya. Then babalik to watch tv again. Then tatayo and pupunta sa kitchen. Paulit-ulit. Aligaga siya pero he doesn’t know why. Maybe because of what Julie said? Maybe because his family is doing everything to push him to a girl he doesn’t love? Maybe because his fans are taking sides already? Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know how to fix these without her. Nasanay kasi siya na lagi niya itong kasama sa ganitong sitwasyon. Pero ngayon, she has given up on him too. At hindi niya kaya na wala ito. He dialled her number. For the nth time, he’s trying to reach out for her. Trying his chances if she is ready to accept him again.
