te quiero (novel)

prelude

Warning:
The story is in its skeletal first draft. Meaning, there will be errors in between because I'm not editing this heavily as I write. Scenes, dialogues, narrations are also subject to change anytime I want. It's also a simple story about life. Not written for fluff / kilig / humor. If you're not up for slowburn romance and slice of life, this story isn't for you.

Anybody being rude to me despite this disclaimer will be blocked without warning.

Thank you.

_____________________

Callie

Waiting for a flight had never been this long. It was almost four in the morning but I was antsy and full of nerves.

For the first time in my life, I was going on a trip alone, without any supervision from anybody. I planned everything; I booked the accommodations and planned the itinerary from where I'd be staying to where I'd be eating, even up to the places where I'd be going. I budgeted everything and squeezed the sights I wanted to experience in five days, which was a definite first for me. Usually kasi, umaasa lang ako sa mga kasama ko. Lagi lang akong nakadepende sa magiging plano nila.

But in a few hours, that would change. The slight foil in the plan lang, may kasama ako in the morning, but come evening, ako na lang mag-isa kasi uuwi si Ate Nellie para sa night duty niya.

"Don't forget to take lots of photos," Shane, my best friend, told me, her brows furrowing as she rehashed her requests one by one through the video call, "and bring home a guy with you, bitch. Baka 'to na ang sagot sa dasal namin."

I laughed into the audio piece of my earphones and poked out a tongue at her. "Never. I'm there to experience flying solo, not to boy hunt. And I don't do love, okay. I'm not interested."

Not that I was hurt before or anything, ayoko lang talaga. Para akong allergic sa relationships, something that my cousins and friends would love to end. I was already in my early twenties kasi but NBSB pa rin by my own choice. Ang toxic lang kasi sa 'kin ng idea ng commitment and besides, I didn't think I had the right emotional tools to actually trust a guy and get myself out there. Medyo nakakapagod din ang paulit-ulit na pressure from my friends and family to get a boyfriend but I was the obnoxious kind. The more people push me to do something, the more I fight back and prove people wrong. That never failed me so far. In the end, they'd give up and accept my decision. Yeah, I was that stubborn.

"Fine, don't boy hunt, but take videos! And photos! Post mo sa IG para updated kami. We don't want to hear news na you went missing," Ance, my other best friend, added with a huff.

I grinned at their subdued expressions. "Sure, I can do that."

"You better," Shane said with a glare before her tough facade melted into an excited smile. "Grabe, still can't believe you actually did this. Parang kahapon lang, you were this very dependent and very G.I friend." By G.I, she meant Geographically Impaired, a condition they coined to describe my lack of sense of direction.

Ance nodded. "Oo nga, bro. Ang surreal talaga. Imagine, you? The great Callie, alone for the first time? Shocker talaga."

"Wala, e. Things change." I shrugged my shoulders, smiling smugly.

Two months ago, I went crazy and booked a flight to Bacolod for myself. Yeah, for myself lang. For the longest time kasi, my friends were teasing me that I couldn't go anywhere by myself, that I couldn't do anything alone. They even dubbed me as the señorita of Manila, a nickname I both hated and dreaded, but the cold facts didn't lie. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I knew they were right. There was never an instance when I went out and did something all by myself. In all my trips, someone was always with me, making sure I wasn't getting lost or going overboard with my expenses. Someone was always taking care of my pathetic geographically-impaired ass. Kaya naman matapos nila akong asarin na hindi ko kayang gumala mag-isa, as soon as we came home from that booze night in Poblacion, I booked a ticket to Bacolod to prove them wrong. I'd always wanted to see The Ruins din naman, and I figured maybe this was my chance.

The funny thing was, my best friends and even my guy friends didn't know what I did until last night, so here they were, equal parts frantic and excited for me. The Titas of Manila were all over me.

"I'm looking forward to your trip. Sure kang dala mo ang mga necessities mo, ha. And your essentials. Like your wallet, your phone, your cards. Always check kung nasa bag mo. We never know what could happen out there. Ikaw pa naman, may golden hands ka. You lose everything you touch."

The gap between my brows creased into a light frown at what she said. I hated that she was right. "Grabe, babe, it's just a few days. What could go wrong?"

"Many things, bro. You getting lost for one," Ance interjected in a raspy voice after she took a screenshot of our faces. Syempre, siya lang ang maganda sa photo na 'yon. Beech.

"And you losing your stuff," Shane added with a nod.

"And you forgetting to take photos. The list can go on and on and on, Callie."

I faked a scandalized gasp. "So much support, people! Where's the faith here?" Then I pouted. "Relax, okay. I researched a lot for this trip. 'Tsaka Ate Nellie will pick me up at the airport naman. I won't be totally alone. Not at first, anyway."

"Yeah, but that's just for the morning, babe. I swear to God, if you don't blog this shit, I'm gonna haunt you," Shane warned. Between the three of us kasi, she was the brand influencer and the youtuber, so she really loved all things vlogging. Ance was more lowkey, preferring to keep things to her IG stories instead. Girl didn't know a thing about photography, that was why si Shane ang laging nag-aayos ng feed niya.

I was the middle ground sa 'min. I loved documenting my adventures, but I wasn't diligent enough to actually record videos, edit them, and upload them on the net. I leave that bit to Shane. I tried blogging, but it was more of a personal journal than anything.

"Oo na, oo na." The speakers then came on, announcing the boarding. I stood up and secured the bag around my shoulder. "Alright, that's my cue. Need to go. Love you both."

I smiled one last time for another screenshot, then hung up. I joined the line, walked down to the tarmac with the rest of the passengers, and finally stepped onto the plane that would bring me to Negros, dubbed the sucarcane capital of the Philippines, thinking this was finally my chance to shrug off any preconceived notions about me. What I didn't know was, it would soon lead to the start of my many firsts.

There was no way I could've known that I was venturing right into the great unknown I feared all this time.

How could I?

I was just a simple lady wanting to do right by myself for once. Testing destiny wasn't part of the plan.