Way back into Love

Way Back 36

Iya's POV

That incident happened two weeks ago. Medyo magaling na iyong mga kalmot ko. Nag sorry si Eric kay Tita pati na rin sa akin. Pero hindi pa kami nagkita ulit matapos iyon. Si Chesca din hindi ko pa nakikita ulit. Galit naman si Krizel at Rein nang malaman nila ang tungkol doon.

Today, Nathan and I are going to celebrate. Nalaman ko kasi na pasado rin siya. Pero dumaan muna ako sa Home for the Angels. Sister Maria invited me to have lunch with them. Pagdating ko doon, sinalubong agad ako ng mga bata. I hugged them back.

"Congrats po, Ate."

"Yehey! Dito ka na din po ba, ate?" tanong ni Gela.

"Soon." I said with a smile.

"Kids, let's have a lunch with ate Iya niyo na. Get up." Kinuha sila ni Ate Hanna at sinenyasan ako na sumunod na. At yun ang ginawa ko.

"Congrats! Licensed ka na din. Welcome to the club!" Bati ni Kuya Eli.

"Thanks, kuya."

"Congrats, Iya!" Lumapit si Ate Sands at niyakap pa ako.

"Thank you po sa inyo."

"Halika, kumain na muna tayo." aya ni Sister Maria kasama ang iba pang sisters.

The lunch went well. Umikot ang kwentuhan sa pagbati nila sa akin. They prayed for me as well. And wishing that here would be my first job if ever. I assure them of that. After ko sigurong mag ayos ng papers at makuha ang license ko.

By 3pm, nagpaalam na ako dahil nga may lakad rin kami ni Nathan. They all agreed. I waved them goodbye and also to the kids.

Dinaanan naman ako ni Nate. We decided to go to where our "friendly date" happened.

"Akalain mo 'yon, pasado na tayo. After all our hardworks for the past years."

"Oo nga, eh. Welcome to the real world!" I answered. We both laughed.

"Yeah, cheers to us!" We tossed our glass of wine.

Nagkwentuhan pa kami about sa mga buhay namin at mga future plans. Until he open one topic.

"Kamusta pala bakasyon sa Batangas?"

Napaawang ang bibig ko. How did he know? Wala naman kasing may alam bukod kay Tita. Hindi pa nga din ata alam nila Krizel, eh.

"P-paano mo nalaman?"

"Sabi ng Tita mo. I visited you once in your house. Pero sabi ng tita mo, you're on a Batangas trip with Eric."

Saglit akong natahimik. Muntik na kong mapapikit at umiling. Si Tita talaga! Well, di naman sa ayaw kong ipaalam pero I think it shouldn't be that way. Kung malalaman niya man, sa akin dapat.

"So ayun, I confirmed it when I saw your Instagram pictures..." pagpapatuloy niya.

IG pics?? Magsasalita at magtatanong na sana ako nang magsalita siya ulit.

"In Eric's IG account to be exact. He followed me that week so I followed back." shet.

"You seems so happy in those photos. I've never seen you that happy, Iya."

Now, I don't know what to say.

"A-ah, yeah. I had fun." Amin ko. Because I really did.

Pero sinabi ko na rin ang tungkol kay Chesca kaya baka ayoko na rin siyang kitain ulit. He held my hand pagkatapos kong magsalita at siya naman ang nagsalita ngayon.

"Hindi na ako magpapaligoy-ligoy pa. I like you, Iya. But seeing you that happy... with him, makes me want to give you up. It's like knowing I already lose even when the battle don't even started."

"N-no. It's not what you think. Hindi kami ni Eric. He's just a part of my past now."

"Yeah. But maybe deep in your heart, he's still the one you love. You can't just accept it."

"Sayo na rin galing na, baka guilty ka kaya hindi ka gumanti sa ex niya. Malaki ang possibility na... mahal mo siya. Mahal mo pa rin siya."

Namumuo na ang mga luha sa mata ko. Naguguluhan pa rin ako. I think I'm falling for him again. Pero may parte sa utak ko na ayaw ko na. Lalo na noong nangyari iyong kay Chesca.

"Naalala mo nung una kitang nakita? Sa seaside, 'di ba? Tapos nung nakita ulit kita, it was the time I handed you your handkerchief back. Eh, yung tinawag ko sayo?"

"...Runaway girl!" we said in chorus. Me with a tears in my eyes and slightly laughing. Yeah, I do remember.

"Joke lang naman 'yon, eh. Wag mong panindigan. I'm saying that, you don't have to run away when things get hard. Trust me, that's normal. When you bleed, that only means you're alive. Try to face your fears. Hindi mo 'yon palaging matatakbuhan."

Nakayuko ako. Ayokong makita niya how I cried. I never cried to any other people like this except to my best friends. He lifted up my chin and look me in my eyes.

"If you love him, then go to him. Wag niyo nang pahirapan pa ang isa't-isa. Hindi mo pwedeng idahilan palagi na natatakot ka. Lahat naman natatakot, eh. Pero nagawa pa rin nung iba. Alam mo kung bakit? Kasi sumubok sila. Try, Iya. Edi kung mag-fail, edi mag-fail. Again, that's normal."

I just nod my head.

"I'm letting you go because you deserve to be happy. Hindi ka naman ngingiti nang ganoon kung hindi siya ang happiness mo. At hindi ka iiyak nang ganyan kung hindi mo siya mahal."

Maybe... Siguro nga tama si Nathan. But how? Should I really jump even when I am afraid to?

We ended our conversation that 9pm night. I wiped my tears and laugh. "Sorry, nakita mo tuloy kung gaano ko ka-wasted umiyak."

"No worries. We're professionals now, right?

I laughed again before tosing the last glass of wine. "Yeah, professionals."