120 Years Apart

II. YEAR 2016

January 05, 2016

ALIYAH

"She tried to hold her breath until she finally saw him in the water. He was her only hope and her last..."

Ugh! Delete... delete... delete! Ilang araw ko nang sinusulat ang chapter na to pero hindi ko pa rin matapos-tapos. I don't know, kulang lang ba ko sa inspiration o talagang lutang lang ako? Just then, I heard my phone ringing.

*Unknown Number*

"Hello? Who's this?"

"Very funny, Aliyah. Kuya mo to. Don't tell me you didn't save my number."

"Okay, I won't tell you." I quickly replied.

"Where are you?"

"At my office."

"You mean your bedroom?"

"Kuya, it's just the same!" I call my bedroom, my office.

"Ire-remind ko lang sayo yung board meeting mamaya. Everyone's expecting you to be there."

Hindi ako nakasagot. Yeah, I actually forgot that.

"Aliyah?"

"Hm, okay. I'll be there."

He hung up.

I'm really not into business world. I was born to be an author! My grandparents managed to establish a restaurant before and they now have 3 branches operating well in the cities. As one of the granddaughters of the founders, they're all expecting me to contribute something valuable to the company, just like my Kuya and my cousins. Ilang beses na nila kong in-offer-an ng matataas na posisyon (you know, connections), but I just turned them down. Though I graduated in business school, ibang trabaho ang gusto ko.

I'm now 23. Tatlong stories ko na ang napa-publish at fortunately, in demand pa rin naman silang lahat ngayon. I'm currently working on my fourth book, The Rainbow at Night, at wala pa sa kalahati ang natatapos kong isulat. Sumabay pa tong board meeting mamaya.

Mabilis akong gumayak at umalis ng bahay dahil malayu-layo rin ang office mula rito.

I was walking near the park when someone seemed to approach me.

"Ahm, excuse me?"

Napalingon ako sa likod ko at nakita ko... sya.

Napahinto kaming dalawa at parang tumigil ang oras. Tiningnan ko sya mula ulo hanggang paa. Hindi ko alam kung kakabahan ba ko o matutuwa o kung ano ba dapat ang unang sabihin ko sa kanya.

I'm sure it's him!

"Oh, sorry." Tinalikuran nya ko at nagsimulang maglakad papalayo. Hindi nya siguro ko nakilala; Masyado yata syang nailang sa pagkakatingin ko sa kanya.

"C-Chandrix?"

He instantly stopped and looked at me like crazy. Gosh, sobrang tagal kong hinintay na makita ulit ang mala-prinsipe nyang mukha. As in hindi ko in-expect na magku-krus ulit ang landas namin sa ganitong pagkakataon.

"Chandrix!" I couldn't stop smiling. Mabilis akong lumapit sa kanya. "I can't believe it! Ikaw nga!" Sa totoo lang, gusto ko na syang yakapin nung mga oras na yon.

"Huh? H-have we met before?"

"Nakalimutan mo na ba? Ako to, si Aliyah!"

He shook his head while trying to smile. Obviously, he already forgot me.

"Suot mo pa rin yang cast sa mga binti mo?" When I first saw him that day, he was wearing that same cast on his legs. Hindi ko maexplain yung hitsura nya nung sinabi ko yon.

"Walang nagbago sa hitsura mo, Chandrix."

CHANDRIX

I saw myself in an unfamiliar place.

Patay na ba ko?

Nananaginip lang ba ko?

"You'll now be transported in 60 seconds."

Bigla akong napatayo nung maalala ko yung countdown na yon.

Did my time machine really work? Napatingin ako sa machine na nasa binti ko. What a relief, nakakabit pa rin sila sa 'kin.

Nasa ibang lugar at panahon na ba talaga ko?

Napatingin ako sa paligid. Wala akong nakitang floating streets at maps. Wala ring mga tao at sasakyang lumilipad. Napaka plain ng infrastructures at ang boring ng paligid. Everything here looks so... old-fashioned. Definitely, I was transported back in time.

Naglakad-lakad ako hanggang sa nakarating ako malapit sa isang parke. May isang babaeng naglalakad sa harap ko at noon ko palang naisip ipagtanong kung nasaang panahon na ba talaga ko.

"Ahm, excuse me?"

Lumingon sya sa 'kin.

"......"

Hindi agad ako nakapagsalita. To be honest, I was stunned by her. Woah, she looks like a princess. She looked at me from head to toe like she already knew me. Naisip kong wag na lang magtanong sa kanya dahil nailang ako sa ambiance.

"Oh, sorry." I started to walk away.

"C-Chandrix?"

As I heard my name, my heart started to beat faster. Napahinto ako at mabilis na napalingon sa kanya. Did I hear it right? Did she just call my name?

"Chandrix!" nakangiti nyang sabi sabay lapit sakin. Sa expression ng mukha nyang iyon, parang siguradong sigurado sya sa identity ko.

"Huh? H-have we met before?" Alam kong hindi pa. Ngayon ko lang sya nakita. Ngayon lang ako nakarating sa panahon nya.

"Nakalimutan mo na ba? Ako to, si Aliyah!"

Napailing agad ako. In fact, ngayon ko lang narinig ang pangalan na yon.

"Suot mo pa rin yang cast sa mga binti mo?" napatingin sya sa time machine. Oh, she knows something.

Natriple na ang kabog ng dibdib ko. Seriously, who's this girl? Kilala nya ba talaga ko? Nagkita na ba talaga kami dati?

"Walang nagbago sa hitsura mo, Chandrix."

Parang bigla akong tinamaan ng kung ano. Nanlamig ang buo kong katawan at hindi ako makapaniwalang may makakakilala sa kin dito.

"A-Aliyah? Pwede ko bang malaman kung anong eksaktong date ngayon?"

"Uhmm... January 05, 2016."

"2016?" Halos mapasigaw ako sa narinig ko. Sinasabi ba nyang bumalik ako ng 120 years mula sa pinanggalingan ko? This is crazy!

"Yes, 2016! Kahapon ka lang ba ipinanganak?" she said laughing.

Well, if she were me, baka hindi lang sya mapasigaw sa narinig nya.

ALIYAH

Nung una kaming nagkita, tinanong nya rin sa kin kung anong eksaktong date nung araw na yon.

Halos hindi rin sya makapaniwala nang malaman nya kung anong taon noon. That day, I knew he was different. Now that we've met again, he is still that different. There's something about him that I want to find out.