She smiled to herself habang nagtutulak ng isang maliit na cart na may lamang gravel. Naalala nya pa rin kasi ang facial expression ni Elmo nung nakaraang araw when she called him an alien. Di pa rin kasi sya nakapag-move on sa ginawa nitong pang-aasar sa kanya and she had been thinking of ways to redeem herself. Pakiramdam nya, bawing-bawi na sya sa sagot nyang yun.
Crush kita pero di ka exempted sa mga banat ko no. Hahaha.
Ahem.
Bigla syang napalingon when she heard Elmo clear his throat at nagulat nang makita nya itong naglalakad papalapit sa kanya. He wore this silly grin on his face dahilan para kabahan sya ng konti.
Hi, Julie. Looks like you're having fun. Alone. Bati nito sa kanya with the emphasis on the word 'alone'. Wanna share a laugh? Hehe.
Papalapit pa lang si Elmo, she already had a gut feeling that he heard her laughing alone at tama nga ang hinala nya. She's also sure that he was up to no good dahil sa ngiti nito. She smiled back.
Sure, Elmo. May joke ako. May isang...
Bigla syang natigilan nang tumitig na naman ito sa kanya. Kung noon ay mukha muna nya ang tinitigan nito, this time his eyes were focused mainly on her lips as he was half-smiling dahilan para ma-conscious sya. She wasn't used to this kind of 'treatment'. The only gaze that she could get comfortable with is an honest eye contact.
After what seemed like forever to her, nag-angat ito ng tingin, still having that lopsided smile.
Continue. Sambit nito.
Huh?
You were about to tell me a joke. Continue. I wanna hear it. Sagot ulit nito, his eyes smiling, teasing.
Hindi nya maintindihan kung anong nangyari sa kanya but after the lip-stare, she felt like all words abandoned her. Wala syang maisagot na tila ba na mental block syang bigla. This was not just one cute guy. Elmo is her crush, someone who she likes very much...and the thing he just did drove her a little bit mad. And now, she was left tounge-tied. She woke up from her stupor nang magsalita ulit ito.
You know what, Julie, cute ka sana eh. But it'd help if you stop your habit of laughing alone.
He then gently pinched the base of her chin and winked.
Babaeng mental.
At pagkatapos ay iniwan sya nitong nakatulala.
.......
Gustong nyang sabunutan ang sarili. Naiinis sya na naisahan na naman sya ni Elmo.
Isang titig lang, bumibigay ka na, Julie. Wag ganyan. Waaaaah.
Buong araw nyang iniwasan ito. She joined a group para dun makipag-kwentuhan. Ayaw nyang mag-isa kasi natatakot syang baka lapitan na naman sya at asarin nito.
Alam nyang napapansin din nito ang pag-iwas nya. He would look at her na parang may gustong sabihin pero nilalampasan lang nya ito. During their lunch break, she also made sure that she was seated farthest away from him. Baka kasi may banat na naman itong sasabihin sa kanya. Mahirap na.
......
He was smiling to himself. He felt smug dahil aliw na aliw sya sa mukha ni Julie when he gazed at her. Napapansin nyang grabe pala itong mag-blush. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, when he gazed at her lips. Hindi naman talaga nya balak na asarin ito sa ganung paraan. Hindi rin nya alam kung bakit nya ginawa yun but right now, he felt happy that he did it. It occurred to him that the short moment with her had somehow made him forget the business-related problem that had been bugging him.
You're a good distraction, Julie. Keep it up.
He was about to go back to the tent nang maramdamang may nahulog and his heart skipped when he realized that it was his key chain that held an important set of keys. Nagkataon pang doon nahulog sa may damuhan habang naglalakad sya. Agad-agad nyang hinanap ito and cursed silently as he saw the tall grasses in the area.
Of all places, sa damuhan pa. Tsk.
Napangiti naman sya nang makitang may kumikinang sa may di kalayuan and was relieved to see that it was indeed his keychain. Pinulot nya ito and as he did so, he sensed movement from among the tall grasses and before he even knew it, a snake crawled out of nowhere and bit him on his wrist.
It happened all so suddenly that out of shock, he didn't know what to do. Hindi nya alam kung venomous snake ba ang kumagat sa kanya. He quickly ran back to the tent as he gripped the area where he'd been bitten to immobilize the spread of venom.
Medyo natigilan sya nang bumungad si Julie na andun pala sa loob ng tent. Tumingin ito sa kanya na tila nagtataka.
Elmo, you ok? Tanong nito na ngayon ay nakatingin sa kamay nya.
I was bitten by a snake. Yun lang ang naisagot nya as panic began to rise. He sat down.
Hindi sumagot si Julie but instead quickly went to the medicine cabinet at may kung anong kinuha and within seconds ay nakalapit na agad ito sa kanya. Seryoso pero kalmado ang mukha nito.
Keep calm, Elmo. Maganda yang ginawa mo. Keep that area immobilized. Keep that grip. Ngumiti ito sa kanya. A smile of reassurance.
Kumuha ito ng bandage and splint and he couldn't help but notice how she expertly unspooled the bandage na tila ba palagi itong ginagawa.
Anong kulay ng ahas? Did you see it? Kalmadong tanong ulit nito sa kanya.
He saw it only for what felt like split second but vividly remembers the color.
It had a large head and a little bit gray. Or brownish.
Tumango si Julie na tila nag-iisip.
How's your hand feeling? Numb or what? Tanong nito habang nilalagyan ng splint at bandage ang kamay nya.
Nothing. Hindi naman masakit or numb. I...I'm just scared. He said quite honestly.
No, don't be. Keep calm, Elmo. I think you were bitten by a pet snake. More specifically a dog face water snake. Hindi sya venomous. Teka. Stay put. I'll tell John to drive for us.
.....
You're lucky. Sambit ng doctor na nag-alaga sa kanya. The snake that bit you was not venomous. It's a water snake. It's even become a popular pet now.
He let out a soft laugh nang maalala si Julie. Tama nga ang sinabi nito.
It's a good thing na may nurse doon sa site nyo. Dagdag ng doctor habang may kung anong sinusulat sa medical records nya.
Uhm...no. Walang nurse doon sa site when it happened.
That lady you're with. Nurse sya di ba?
No. As far as I know, she isn't.
The doctor shrugged, pero nakangiti ito na tila nanunukso.
Well, she sure did one hell of a good job with the splint and bandage. Ngumiti ang doctor.
You're good to go, Mr. Magalona. Kung mag-iingat ka, you'd live to be a hundred or more.
Haha. Thanks, doc. Nakipagkamay sya dito.
He was about to open the door when the doctor called out.
Also, bagay kayo ni Nurse. Kaya seguro nagpakagat ka sa ahas eh. hehe
Napangiti na lang sya, umiling at sandaling natigilan.
Bagay kami ni Julie?
