Love or Life? #Wattys2018

Chapter 2

[Chapter 2]

At the hospital, they performed a battery tests. Nag- CT scan na rin ako, at kailangan ko daw ng additional observation. The on-call ER doctor explained that a neurologist from another hospital would evaluate me in the next few days

Only moments after settling me into my room, a parade of familiar faces trailed in

"Lyric" tawag ni ate sa'kin habang maluha-luha. Inakap niya ako at hinalikan sa noo

"Okay na ako, ate. H'wag kang mag-alala. Okay na ako" binigyan ko siya ng matipid na ngiti at dahan-dahang hinimas ang kamay niya

"Tinawagan ko si Leanna. Sabi niya dadalawin ka daw niya bukas"

Napailing nalang ako "Ate, i'm fine." I said firmly " Leanna has her hands full doing payroll for the store, not to mention a soccer-crazed senior in high school that keeps her on the go. Sabihin mo na h'wag na siyang mag-alala dahil ayos na ako"

Si Leanna ay pinsan ko na sobrang ka-close ko talaga. Four years ang tanda niya sa'kin and she had been there for me in every strange in my life, always cheering me on. Sobrang close talaga kami sa isa't-isa, pero nitong mga nakakaraang araw, naging busy kami sa kanya-kanyang buhay. Leanna and her husband Sam Reyes had been high school sweethearts

May-ari ng isang grocery store si Sam. It was a small, struggling business in the beginning and occupied most of their free time, but it had paid off extremely well. Hanggang sa nakapagpatayo na sila ng kanilang dream store. Reyes's was now the only grocery store in their town, and the business was booming

Dahil sa pagiging busy ko sa pakikipag-usap kay ate, hindi ko na namalayan ang pumasok na bagong bisita "Lyric Ann, what in the world have you gone and done?"

"Lola Bit," tugon ko. Lumapit sa'kin si lola at binigyan ako ng isang napakahigpit na yakap

Naaamoy ko na naman ang matapang na amoy ng Chantilly perfume, ang paboritong pabango ni lola. Si lola Bit ay nakababatang kapatid ng lola kong namayapa na. Close din ako sa kanya kasi likas na mabait at galanti talaga siya

"Kumusta ka na, apo?" She asked, sitting on the bed while holding my hand

"Okay na po ako" i replied and the broke into a smile "May dala ka bang junk foods dyan lola?"

"Wala. You know they won't let you eat that kind of food yet" sabi ni lola sabay tawa kaya nakita ko na naman 'yung gold niyang mga ngipin "Naaalala mo pa ba noong bata ka, sinanay kitang kumain ng junk foods at talaga namang grabe ang galit sa'kin ni Lola Baby mo" si lola Baby naman ang nanay ng nanay ko

"Oh, yeah, i remember that day well" napangiti nalang ako habang inaalala ang ala-alang iyun

"Naalala ko ring noong bata ka pa Lyric. Binabantayan kita noon nang biglang tumawag si Ms. Ruth. Sandali akong lumabas para sagutin 'yung tawag at pagbalik ko, wala ka na sa pinag-iwanan ko sayo. Hay naku! Sadyang malikot ka talaga noon. Hinanap kita at nakita kita sa ilalim ng malaking puno ng mangga sa bakuran, naglalaro ka noon ng--- ano nga ba 'yun? Play-Doh? Basta iyun," she laughed and continued "Sabi ko 'Lyric Ann, anong ginagawa mo sa mga biscuit ko?' Nakita ko kasing hawak niya 'yung kinakain kong biscuit. Ngumiti ka n'un at sabi mo 'I'm making biscuits for the squirrels. What did you think i was doing?'"

The room erupted with much-needed laughter. Sobrang talas talaga ng memorya ni lola Bit. Akalain mo 'yun? Ilang taon na ang nakalipas pero tandang-tanda niya pa 'yung tagpong iyun. Hay naku! Hype kang lola ka

"And, Lord, that child was always obsessed with music" patuloy pa ni lola

Suddenly, i jumped up into a sitting position. The sporadic movement made me dizzy, and pain shot through my head, causing me to immediately lie back down

"'Yung sobre. . .  Nakita niyo ba 'yung letter ko?" Sigaw ko. Kinakabahan ako kasi hindi pwedeng mawala iyun

Ate Charity looked compassionately at me and said cautiously, "Wala nang naiwan pa sa sasakyan mo, Lyric"

Napansin kong biglang hinawakan ni lola Bit 'yung kamay ni ate at hinimas ito. Parang sinasabi niyang now-was-not-the-time-for-gruesome-details-about-the-accident

"Anong sulat iyun, Lyric?" Tanong ni lola Bit

"I made it," i said with defeat in my voice "I got my letter of acceptance for the finals for the AHTN contest but. . ." pero mukhang nawala 'yung sulat "But the information for everything was in the letter on my seat. Now, it's gone. My last chance to finally. . . Well, it's gone"

"Oh, i'm sure they have it on the record somewhere. 'Wag mo munang alalahanin 'yun. Kailangan mo munang magpahinga at magpalakas. Saka na natin asikasuhin 'yan" Lola said as she walked over and give me a kiss

I was certain they had a record of the details but had no idea where to even find a number for the information. Pinilit kong ngumiti sa harap nila, feigning tiredness while i kissed each of them good-night

Maya-maya pa, tumahimik na ang buong kwarto. Habang ako naman, pilit kong inaalala ang mga nagyari kanina. I had a sinking feeling i'd lost the letter, along with my chance of a lifetime. Hanggang sa naalala ko iyung lalaki kanina. I had been so disoriented, and though i was fuzzy about the details, i distinctly remembered him calling me Love and saying he was always with me. Alam kong siya ang nagsabi sa'kin na gumising na ako

Sino ba siya?

Andito pa rin 'yung pakiramdam kong. . . parang kilala ko siya

The only time i had even come close to feeling the way i had in that moment was when i was writing a music ---- particularly the piece i had been trying to write lyrics for so long. I had never really told anyone about those encounters because frankly, i sounded nuts

I had always felt it was equivalent to being in love, and to me, it felt like my soulmate was somewhere near me when i was writing ---- especially that particular piece of music. Something i could not explain seemed to stir deep inside my core when i wrestled with chord progressions. Sometimes it would literally take my breath away

I even sound ridiculous to myself

Naniniwala ako na sa oras na matapos ko ang kanta, mahahanap ko na siya

Maybe the guy in the car was him, my soulmate. But was it real or just a figment of my imagination?