A Little Bit (One Shot)

"Dear Candy,

I feel weird, writing your name, kahit na I only know you a little bit. I wish I knew more about you though. But that's kind of the reason why I wrote this letter. Para makilala mo ako, and hopefully, para mas makilala pa kita.

My name is Kiefer. I know, it's a handful to spell, no? My Mom really likes playing with words; it's supposed to be Key-fer, kaso pinigilan s'ya ni Dad. Key daw kasi kaming mga anak n'ya ng mga renewed smiles n'ya.

I know it's creepy na I know your name pero 'yung akin, ngayon mo pa lang siguro nalaman. I can't help it though. First year high school pa lang, I already knew about you. Sorta. Kinda. A little bit..?

You see, ako 'yung student assistant ng photographer no'ng first week, no'ng kuhanan ng photos for our IDs. Ako 'yung pinagchecheck ng photographer ng attendance sheet. I was tasked to place a small check beside the name no'ng nakuhanan na ng picture.

When he said your ID number, tapos lumapit ka sa dark green na kurtinang ginagawa naming background, I was stunned. I automatically scanned the piece of paper for your name. I was right - ikaw nga 'yung kinukwento no'ng kapatid kong sikat sa section nila.

Habang bumubulong ng "One, two, three" 'yung photographer, sabay tayong nag "Cheese!"

I couldn't help it. One look at you and napangiti ako for no damn reason.  

Candy Cassandra San Pedro - such a sweet sounding name for an innocent looking face. Ang angelic ng face mo - it's the only word that comes to mind whenever I remember you.

Pardon me, ulit, for being such a fan - I don't really know how to phrase my perception of you properly. But on that day talaga, you just looked like you stepped out of a watercolor portrait. 

I remember you a lot, honestly, and I don't know why. Maybe because I singled you out, dahil do'n sa picture-taking na 'yon? I noticed you more and more after that, kahit na you weren't really trying to get my attention.

One of my favorite memories of you is no'ng talent show ng school. Ikaw daw ang naipush ng mga kasection n'yo na sumali. Kumakanta-kanta ka raw kasi habang nagbibihis - narinig naman ng mga kaklase mo, kaya binuyo ka ng binuyo, hanggang napa-oo ka nila. 

Sabi ng kapatid ko, napakataas daw ng kakantahin mo, so I was really nervous no'ng makita kitang paakyat ng stage, nanginginig at muntik pang magkandarapa. Apparently, your homeroom adviser prodded you to go all-diva, with a deep red dress and high heels. But instead of choosing the contest route and singing an all-out concert piece, you sang a sweet, chill song.

How Deep is Your Love - it's funny how a certain someone singing a song can make you have that song, on repeat, in your mind. I was humming it for weeks, at home. Narindi na nga rin sakin ang kapatid ko - medyo pinag-awayan pa namin 'yon mag-anak. Wala kasi kaming lahing musician, kaya ayon, nanawa sila sa back to back to back na concert ko sa banyo.

You didn't end up winning, but you were certainly breathtaking up there. 'Yung moment na yumuko ka, suddenly shy after singing so beautifully ... that was the moment that I fell for you a little bit more. You were good up there, Candy. Your voice is amazing, and I hope you never stop serenading the world.

The next time I heard that voice sing ... medyo bittersweet na Candy eh. It was our junior prom, and to escape ballroom dancing, you volunteered to sing the song the rest of us were going to dance to. I had to concentrate so hard not to mess up my steps then, Candy. I was supposed to catch my partner kasi, but I had difficulty keeping my eyes off of you.

Inirapan ako ng partner ko, kasi natapilok s'ya from my incompetent twirling. Ayon, iniwan tuloy ako no'ng first sweet dance na. 

I remember looking around, automatically searching for you. It was a beautiful coincidence kasi. How Deep is Your Love ang first dance. Nakatitig ka lang no'n sa kawalan, playing with the dessert spoon from your crepe.