It was certainly not the kind of first kiss she had dreamed of. She had always imagined her first to be slow and gentle...something that flows beautifully like good poetry. Elmo's kiss had been too passionate and hungry even bordering on harsh and punishing that it stunned her. But that was 'him'-unpredictable, full of surprises, and exciting.
She didn't know if the kiss somehow sealed whatever they have between them. Neither does she have an inkling as to where their 'relationship' was going. All she knew was that it felt right just knowing that she was taking the small steps with him.
They saw each other after the 'kiss' and yet again, he had surprised her by not giving her that same sort of 'kiss' during their times together after that. He was sweet and considerate and a perfect gentleman and she could only smile at the thought of what sort of further suprises she was in for whenever she's with him.
Close your eyes, Julie. He had told her once in the middle of their funny conversation during their break at the volunteer site. Her heart had begun to flutter dahil hindi nya alam sa pagkakataong yun kung ano na naman ang binabalak nito. Overcome with excitement, she closed her eyes anyway at napakunot-noo when she smelled something pleasant that she opened her eyes to see what it was.
Apparently he had brought some fresh mint leaves and crushed them under her nose, para malanghap nya ang sariwang amoy nito. He knew about her horrible nasal condition. Hindi man ito tumigil sa pagyoyosi, somehow she felt being cared for with that thoughtful gesture.
Minsan naman, while they were in the middle of a weekend brunch, may kung ano itong biglang inabot sa kanya.
Open it.
Napangiti na naman sya sa pagkakataong yun. Wala naman kasing espesyal sa araw na yun but he had given her a gift anyway. She was even more amused when she saw that the gift was wrapped with an orange paper.
The gift turned out to be a matroyshka, a wooden doll that originated from Russia. It's actually a set of dolls that are decreasing in size and are placed one inside the other.
Hahaha. Thanks, Elmo. Ang cute nito. Komento nya as she arranged the dolls on the table according to size. Pero bakit magkaiba ang mukha? Di ba dapat magkapareho lahat?
She remembered how somber he looked before answering. He had placed the larger dolls over the smaller ones until it became one doll again.
This is you, Julie. Sagot nito habang inalis ang pinakamalaking manika, which then revealed the next one.
This is you, again. Inalis ulit nito ang manika revealing yet another one. This is you. These are all you. Nakangiti ito habang nakatingin sa kanya.
Parang tayo ngayon. We're spending time together again and I discovered na ang mas gusto mo pala ang kalamansi kesa sa vinegar for your sauce. Hindi ko alam yun noon. Mababaw pakinggan but I guess what I'm trying to say is that every moment na kasama kita, is a discovery for me. That's why I chose a matroyshka set with different faces because they're like you and I'm happy to have seen the many layers of you. He said without taking his eyes off her.
Bigla nyang naalala ang sinabi ng daddy nya noon.
If he can't see you, he's not a keeper. He has to discover you.
Muntik na syang maiyak sa pagkakataong yun. Buti na lang ay napigilan nya. To her, it was the moment that defined everything about what she and Elmo have. It was the moment that she felt invincible...unafraid to give her every best to him...to love him fearlessly, at last.
