ABIGAIL"Ano ka ba? I can't take a picture of him."
"At bakit hindi?" tanong ni Cecilia sa kabilang linya.
Sinabi ko sa kanila ni Allen that Tony have finally shaved his beard. Allen was ecstatic pero gusto ni Cecilia ng ebidensya.
"Hindi nga puwede. Isa 'yon sa mga agreement namin. No pictures."
Huminto ang taxi na sinasakyan ko sa harap ng Avalon. Ibinigay ko sa taxi driver ang bayad ko.
"Thank you po."
Bumaba ako ng taxi at binitbit ang malaking plastic containing Tony's clothes from the laundry shop.
"Just do it secretly. Huwag mong ipaalam na kinukunan mo siya ng pictures."
Napatawa ako sa sinabi ni Cecilia.
"Parang detective lang, gano'n?"
"Sige na, Abbie. Ang sabi mo gwapo siya, di ba? Hindi na kami mapakali ni Allen."
"Ayoko nga. At isa pa, I'm sure makikita nyo pa si Tony sa personal."
Natahimik si Cecilia sa kabilang linya.
Lumabas ako ng elevator at dumiretso sa apartment ni Tony.
"Cecilia, di ba sabi mo magpapagupit ka ng buhok?" tanong ko kay Cecilia habang binubuksan ko ang pintuan.
"Oo. Gusto ko ng bagong hairstyle."
"Paano kaya kung magpapagupit din ako?" Matagal ko na rin kasing sumubok ng bagong hairstyle.
"Ano ka ba? Ang ganda kaya ng buhok mo. Kung gusto mong magpaganda para kay Tony huwag yang buhok mo. Maganda ka naman, eh."
Ako? Magpapaganda para kay Tony?
Napatawa ako sa sinabi ni Cecilia habang papasok ng apartment. Kaagad kong isinara ang pintuan.
"Sino bang may sabi sa'yo na nagpapaganda ako para kay —"
Napatigil ako nang makita kong nakatayo malapit sa sofa si Tony. May hawak itong gitara.
ANTHONY
I slept late last night.
Gusto kong tapusin ang diary ni Abby. Sam's plan might work so I'll give it a try.
Hindi ko mahanap si Abbie nang magising ako pero nag-iwan ito ng breakfast sa table. Siguro ay may pinuntahan ito.
Dinala ko ang gitara ko sa living area at inumpisahan kong pakinggan ang mga kanta ni Taylor Swift. Some of her songs were great. No wonder Abbie likes her.
Ilang oras pa ang lumipas at dumating na rin si Abbie. Galing pala ito sa laundry shop.
May kausap ito sa cellphone. She's talking about cutting her hair. Maybe she's talking to Cecilia.
I smiled at her when she saw me. She smiled back. She looked nervous.
"Abbie, halika. Sit with me." I called her and pointed to the empty space to my left.
Dahan-dahang siyang lumapit at naupo sa tabi ko. Napatingin siya sa gitara ko.
Nakaponytail ang mahaba niyang buhok. She's wearing a shirt, a short skirt, and black tights.
Hindi ko pa siya nakikitang naka-shorts or jeans. She has shapely legs. I'm sure she'd look really nice wearing those.
Concentrate Tony!
She looked at me with her big, expressive eyes that she tries to hide behind her eyeglasses. Gustong-gusto kong tanggalin ang mga ito mula sa mukha niya.
"Anong ginagawa mo?" tanong nito.
My heart was beating so loudly I can barely hear myself. I hope I won't fuck this up.
"There's...there's something I want you to hear."
"Ano 'yon?"
I started strumming the guitar to Taylor Swift's song. I stared at her.
"Alam kong alam mo 'to. If you want, you can sing along."
Bahala na...
"You're on the phone with your girlfriend she's upset. She's going off about something that you said. 'Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do..."
Tumawa siya nang nagsimula akong kumanta.
"I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night. I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like and she'll never know your story like I do."
"But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts. She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers. Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find that what you're looking for has been here the whole time."
Habang kumakanta ay naalala ko ang diary ni Abbie. Dahan-dahan kong naintindihan ang nararamdaman niya para sa akin noong high school pa kami. She must have sung this song a million times while thinking about me and Cheryl.
Naintindihan ko ang sakit na naramdaman niya.
"If you could see that I'm the one who understands you. Been here all along so why can't you see. You belong with me, you belong with me."
Nakatitig ako sa kanya hanggang sa matapos ko ang kanta. May naalala na ba siya?
She was just smiling.
"Ano sa tingin mo?" tanong ko sa kanya.
"Marunong ka pa lang kumanta."
Of course, I know how to sing! I'm Jacob's backup vocals.
"Nagustuhan mo ba?"
May naalala ka ba?
She blushed.
"Maganda pala ang boses mo," ang sagot niya. Alam kong naiilang siya pero parang wala siyang naaalala.
"I have another one," I said and started strumming the guitar again.
She just laughed.
"You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables. Left a small town, never looked back. I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling. Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts."
This time ay naging seryoso ang mukha nito. Hindi ito tumatawa. Ni hindi nga siya nakangiti.
"I say, can you believe it? As we're lyin' on the couch. The moment, I can see it
yes, yes, I can see it now."
"Do you remember, we were sittin', there by the water. You put your arm around me for the first time. You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter. You are the best thing, that's ever been mine."
Tinitigan ko siya pero iniiwasan niya ang mga tingin ko. Napayuko ito.
"So? Nagustuhan mo ba?" I asked after I finished the song.
Nag-angat siya ng tingin at tumingin sa akin.
"I hate Taylor Swift," mahina niyang sabi.
I leaned in closer to kiss her on the lips but she moved back when she noticed what I was about to do.
"I...I...I promised Cecilia that I will call her back."
Mabilis siyang tumayo at pumunta sa kanyang kwarto. May naalala kaya siya?
I shouldn't have tried to kiss her. Ano kaya ang iniisip niya ngayon? Sigurado akong iiwasan niya na naman ako.
BINABASA MO ANG
Falling For the Rockstar (Published under Pop Fiction)
Romance***I wrote this story so many years ago, back in 2019, when I didn't care about errors and grammar, basta makapag-sulat lang. I'm really thankful because, despite the grammar lapses, you continued to read this and helped it reach 4.3 million reads...