Short Stories (Reminisce)

BRINE OF SEA

Whenever she sees an ocean or sea, call it whatever you want but a wide body of water.

She felt mixed emotions.

It brings chills for it sends fear through her whole system.

Imagining herself, alone, in the middle of the sea with nowhere to go, no direction to swam, don't have anything to support her.

She's afraid of nothingness, she's afraid of not being able to know where she was heading.

"Are you walking home?" She didn't say anything but nodded as a response.

"Pwede ba akong sumabay? May kasama ka ba?" Tiningnan niya lang ito ni hindi nga sila close. But it won't matter anyway. Umiling lang sya.

"So, you don't? You're not with someone but you don't want someone to be with you either, is it?" Dahil siguro sa pag iling niya kaya nabuo nito ang konklusyong iyon.

Hindi na siya nagsalita o ipinaliwanag na namisunderstood lang nito ang pag iling niya hanggang sa naramdaman niya na lang na wala nang naglalakad sa tabi niya.

That's where she noticed him. How foolish of her not to let him walk with her and now she's alone, in the middle, not with the body of water, no water around her but with students surrounding her.

But it's as if it's the same, she feels what she's feeling. The fear, she has nowhere to go, no direction to swa-- or walk rather, nothing supports her.

She have no friend and now, she's here, staring at him. Him who's busy, laughing, doing fun and nasty things with his friends.

She's waiting for the traffic light to turn red--for the car to stop and now it changed, she was about to walk across the road when someone tap her shoulder.

Turning back, his face with a smile etched greeted her "Sana naman ngayon you don't mind if I walk with you"

She's taken aback, strange feelings build inside her, him smiling at her. New feeling. Dahil sa pagkabigla, she can't utter a word. Just like the last time.

Akala niya kung hindi siya magsasalita ay iiwan na lang siya nito gaya nung una but he didn't, she's too shy to say a word, she's awkward. It's her personality, her attitude.

Starting then, whenever her dismissal was 6 pm, he will arrive out of nowhere. Hindi nga niya alam kung paano siya nito nakikita at bakit bigla na lang itong susulpot.

"Pwede ba kitang ihatid kahit sa sakayan nyo lang... brine?" Yun ang unang beses nitong binanggit ang pangalan niya na akala niyang hindi nito alam. Bakas pa na nag aalangan itong tawagin siya sa pangalan.

"O..okay lang" Yun din ang unang beses nyang sumagot.

Simula nun nalessen up yung tension but still, She's awkward. She just loosened herself a bit when she's with him.

She's afraid of nothingness, she's afraid of not being able to know where she was heading-- where it was heading actually. Her feelings.

And when the time comes, the time she's afraid of, she drowned. She drowned when the semester ended and when another semester started, without him.

He's there but it was like, he was on the shore while she was in the middle of the sea.

He didn't care because he didn't know that someone like her is in the middle, waiting for someone to remember her, to find her.

And she's just there, in the middle, waiting to be seen, wanting to have him as her savior. But she's in the middle of the sea, waving but only a tiny figure can be seen on the shore. A silhouette and no one will even pay attention to her.

Not unless, he's on a boat..

"Halos araw araw tayong magkasama pero hulaan ko, di mo alam ang pangalan ko" She face the ground. Shyness enveloped her at feeling nya wala siyang kwenta.

Hindi pa man siya sumasagot 'e nagsalita na ito "My name's Sea as in dagat, S-E-A" Humalakhak pa ito na tila may nakakatuwa sa pangalan.

Sea, the body of water is blue but the Sea whom she know was the opposite, as if he don't or didn't know the feeling of blue. Sadness escapes him.

"Brine, B-R-I-N-E" Napatingin siya dito, simula nung linggong napansin niyang may iba siyang nararamdaman para dito bawat sabihin nito ay namamangha siya.

"I was bored last night, then I just found myself typing your name on the dictionary installed at my phone" Nakita niyang nilabas pa nito ang cellphone.

Mukhang sanay naman na itong hindi siya nagsasalita kaya hindi na rin nito hinihintay na sumagot o may sabihin siya.

"Brine, the salty water of the ocean, sea or salt lake"

He's the sea and she's the water. Without Brine, Sea is nothing.. but even without Sea, brine exists as far as there is an ocean or a salt lake.

But in reality she feels empty without him while in the other hand, he's fine without her. Ironic.

Humakbang siya sa direksyon kung nasan sila, kung nasan siya. Ilang buwan na rin nung huli silang nagsabay umuwi, last sem pa. Narinig niya ang hiyawan. Masaya ito habang siya--

Oo nga, the sea isn't really blue. It's the water of the sea that brings blue, so that the Sea appears blue. She's Blue not the Sea itself. Come to think of it.

"Sea, yung crush mo oh"

"Pormahan mo na" Something inside her tightens. Her heart does this move everytime that it became normal to her.

"Ngayon ka pa natotorpe, ang tagal mo na siyang gusto, pumaraan ka na nga diba" Mas binilisan na lang niya ang lakad niya. Hindi niya kayang makita ito kasama ang gusto nito.

"Bilisan mo na pre, she's moving away, baka makalayo na, nagmamadali ata si Brine mo" Did she hear it right? Her feet automatically stop pero nung narealize niyang hindi dapat siya huminto ay humakbang ulit siya.

Isang pamilyar na tapik sa balikat ang naramdaman niya.

"Brine" namiss niya rin kung paano nito banggitin ang pangalan niya.

Nadinig niya pa ang paghinga nito ng malalim "Siguro narinig mo naman ang sabi ng mga kaibigan ko"

Kelangan niya bang sumagot? Kelangan niya bang magsalita? Hindi ba awkward? Hindi pa man siya nakakaharap dito ay muli nanaman itong nagsalita.

"Brine, matagal na kitang gusto" Saka ito humakbang papunta sa harap niya.

Sea, also brings euphoria to her. Happiness and an overwhelming feeling.

Imagine, if she's in the seashore, where sea breeze can embrace her, where her feet sinks into the subtle sand then leaves a footmarks there, where she can see the blue water and the beauty that surrounds her.

She saw how peaceful and calm (the) Sea is.

Even if Sea brings mixed emotions, fear and happiness to her. One thing is for sure, Sea saves her and now she's not longer in the middle.