The F- Buddies

22. Tale of Two Tragedies

I went to Terraces' fountain area without thinking about Justin. Occupied na masyado ni GT ang utak ko. Kaya noong nakita ko si Justin sa tapat ng entrance ng mall, ni hindi ko man lang siya nagawang batiin nang matino. Tumayo lang ako sa harapan niya at saka nagsabi ng "O?"

"Galing ka sa work?" tanong niya at saka ako inakbayan.

It was kinda weird to think na parang nag-iba ang tingin ko kay Justin. Something na hindi ko ma-explain. Uncertain pa if that was good news or bad. Basta.

"If you read Gregory Troye's first published novel, that's my love story."

Paulit-ulit na nagre-rewind sa utak ko ang sinabi ni GT saka ang itsura niya bago siya umalis. Ina-analyze ko talaga ang connection ng first book niya sa buhay niya.

Edward's character was an electrical engineering graduate. Licensed and passer ng exam. Hindi siya gaya ng ibang characters na haciendero o kaya CEO. Romantic stories tend to have that kind of archetype kasi, lalo na sa imprint kung saan nagsusulat si GT. Edward wasn't rich, but he wasn't poor. His father died of a heart attack when he was nine. His mother passed away before he turned eighteen because of breast cancer. His wife, Beatrice, was a regular cashier sa isang fast food restaurant and was currently studying sa timeline ng story premise. Five years ang age gap nila. 25 si Edward and 20 naman si Beatrice. Something na, I thought, hindi bebenta sa pub house nila because they wanted dream-like characters. Isa sa highlights ng prologue ang civil wedding nila as backstory.

Nagkaroon ng existential crisis si Edward sa first conflict. Occupied siya ng anxiety and depression dahil natanggal siya sa trabaho dahil sa paninira ng mga katrabaho niya sa kanya. He was good at his job, then the man versus society conflict appeared. Naging downside iyon ng life niya, pero crucial for his character development. Naging inactive siya, nawalan ng permanenteng trabaho hanggang sa kailangan nang suportahan ni Beatrice ang buhay nilang dalawa.

Beatrice needed to stop studying kahit na graduating student na siya. She worked as a management trainee sa isang lending company hanggang sa makilala niya ang antagonist ng story—si Walter Del Costa. He was the boss of that company and na-love at first sight siya kay Beatrice. And I fucking hate his character, sagad. Cliché na kung cliché because he did everything para makuha si Beatrice. Nagkataon pang mentally and emotionally unstable si Edward sa story and he couldn't fight for what he had.

Ang nakakainis sa story, si Beatrice ang nasa matinong state, pero imbes na maging loyal siya kay Edward, mas pinili niya ang boss niya. Why? Kasi Walter had everything she'd dreamt of! Mayaman kasi kaya niya pinili. And the most annoying reason niya sa story? She was tired dealing with Edward's shit. Na imbes na ipaglaban niya ang asawa niya, kinalaban niya ang asawa niya. And she even blamed Edward for his problems kasi nadadamay siya. Ipinamukha niyang kulang si Edward, and Walter was able to and could provide what Edward could not.

I was expecting na mare-realize ni Beatrice na dapat nag-stay siya kay Edward noong panahong kailangan siya nito. That she would go back to him and tell him everything was going to be okay, but no. And the saddest part of the story was that Edward fixed himself alone. And how hard could that be for a mentally unstable guy to return to the right path if siya mismo, wala nang kakampi pa.

I thought the resolution would be Edward's suicide or sudden death, but no. He changed his life goals and became a better man without the "best" woman he ever had. Masaya siya sa ending, pero ako, hindi. It was a tragedy hidden behind this so-called happy ending.

Cliché man ang reasons and actions ng characters, pero kasi, sobrang natural basahin. The lines were heartbreaking, parang naririnig sila sa utak. Ganoon siya kalinaw sa imagination. At kung totoo nga ang sinabi niyang iyon ang love story niya . . . fuck, I couldn't imagine how strong he was at that time. He could've killed himself!