In The Arms Of An Angel (ON HOLD)

CHAPTER 27

"Wehhhh? Di nga, Dei? Baka nananaginip ka na naman, bes? Nakita mo talaga si Mr. Man of your dreams sa bundok? Asan ang ebidensya?! Kailangan ko ng resibo!" Valerie demanded from her with raised eyebrows and with one palm extended out to her. That triggered an idea in her head that she suddenly stood up and ran towards her bedroom.

"Huy! San ka pupunta? Nag-uusap pa tayo!" Valerie shouted after her but she did not reply.

She and Valerie were just having a chat after dinner that day she returned from her retreat at the mountain to tell her friend about her accidental meeting with a man that she believe is Richard. In the middle of their conversation she suddenly thought of the idea of searching for him on social media to check if the man she saw at the mountain is not just a figment of her over active imagination. That he really exist. So she dashed inside her own room to retrieve her laptop and she is now back at the sofa searching for information online.

They were seated facing each other at the sofa in their condo's living room. Both were busy. Valerie was eating yogurt while she also has her own dessert forgotten on the center table before them as she determinedly browse online.

She was also busy berrating herself in her head for not thinking of doing this a few months back.

"Ang shunga mo talaga, Menggay! Dapat dati mo pa ginawa ito after mo marinig ang full name nya sa hospital para di ka na nag-emoterang frog ng dalawang buwan!" She litany silently as she type in his name on to Google to search for information about Richard.

"Haler! Devastated nga ang drama ko nun di ba? Ang alam ko nga tsugi na sya di ba?" She answered back to herself as she waited for information to load in her laptop.

"Huy, bes! Ano na naman yang ginagawa mo? Asan na ung resibo ng pagkikita nyo ni mystery man mo? May selfie man lang ba kayo together or at least yung phone number nya para matawagan natin. Ano ba yang pinagkakaabalahan mo?!" Valerie interruped her internal debate with her questions as her friend try to peak over her shoulder at her laptop screen.

"Aha! Sabi na di ako nananaginip lang! Sya nga iyon. I knew it!" She exclaimed as she gaze at a smiling photo of Richard on his profile picture.

"Uy! Patingin, bes!" Valerie grabbed the laptop from her as she got lost in the happy realization that he was indeed the one she saw at the mountain.

"Ohmayghad, bes! Tao ba ito? May nabubuhay pa palang ganito kagwapong nilalang dito sa Pilipinas?! Mukha syang anghel! No wonder ganun mo na lang sya iyakan dati. Kung ako yun baka naglaslas na ko ng pulso, bes..." Valerie's words fade out as she realized what she said. Dei's happy bubble immediately bursted with the words.

"B-bes, sorry..." Valerie timidly apologized as she gave back Dei's laptop to her. Dei took it silently as she stare again at his face on the screen.

"No worries, bes. Ang ipinagtataka ko lang bakit di nya ako naaalala? O talagang sinadya nya na magpanggap na di nya ako naaalala? Bakit ganun sya, bes?" She asked her friend in confusion.

"Dei, umaandar na naman ang pagiging pessimistic mo. Di ba sabi mo sa akin sa panaginip kayo nagkikita dati. Gurl, nasa realidad ka na! Gising. Iba ang panaginip sa real life. Wag mo paghaluin..." Dei fell into deep thought at what her friend said.

"Oo nga naman. So ano ngayon dapat kong gawin? Ganun na lang yun? Kakalimutan ko na lang din sya since di naman na nya ako kilala?" She thought glumly.

"Cheer up na, gurl. Istalk na lang natin ang account nya para maplano natin next move para mahanap mo uli si Mr. Man of your Dreams. Wag na pessimistic." Valerie said while making herself comfortable beside Dei to browse again at Richard's social media account.

"Yan gusto ko syo, bes eh! Very supportive sa mga kagagahan ko. Pero spell pessimistic muna." She joked.

"Anong pessimistic? Ang sabi ko wag kang nega! N-E-G-A, okay na??? Bilis na istalk na natin profile nya! Grabe ang gwapo nya talaga! Wala bang kapatid or pinsan man lang yan? Check natin, dali!"

She laughed out loud, her concerns momentarily forgotten.

A few minutes later.

"OMG!" Valerie suddenly broke the silent browsing that they are doing with her shriek.

"What?!" She asked in panic.

"May common friend kami, Dei! Tignan mo dali! Di ba si Dr.Kris yang isa sa nasa list of friends nya? Remember yung friend ko na doctor na tumingin syo nung nadala ka sa ER? Mukhang close sila kasi ang dami nila pictures together dito sa account ni Doc Kris, oh!" Valerie enthused as they start browsing through the doctor's account.

"Oo nga, Val. Mukhang pareho silang mountaineer ni Doc Kris. Halos puro sa bundok ang photos nila. Buti pa si doc masipag mag-update ng account nya. Ung kay Richard sobrang private ng account information at almost five years ago pa ang huling post." She commented as they browsed through the doctor's photo gallery.

"Bes, I think alam ko na kung paano mo makikita uli si Mr. Man in your dreams mo. Ngayon pa lang excited na ako!" Valerie said enthusiastically.

"Baka kung ano na naman iyang pinaplano mo, ah! Kabahan na ba ako ngayon, bes?" She asked doubtfully.

"Ay basta, bes! Trust me on this. If everything goes well you gonna see Mr. Man of your dreams again soon and you gonna owe me bigtime after this!" Valerie was so excited that she hugged Dei tightly before she sprang up from the sofa, grabbed her own phone and started dialing as she sashayed towards her bedroom.

"Ughhh! Lord, kayo na po ang bahala sa kung ano man po ang pinaplano ng luka-luka kong kaibigan. Wag po sana kaming mapahamak. At syempre magtagumpay po sana sya para magkita pa kami ulit ni Richard..." She prayed pervently as she leaned her head back at the sofa, heaved a deep sigh then stared again at Richard's photo on her laptop screen.

"I hope to see you again very, very soon Mr. Richard Faulkerson, Jr.!"