all for you

// nine

Thea.
October 21st, 8:46 PM.

Maagang natapos ang trabaho namin ngayong araw kaya maaga rin akong nakalabas ng office. Pagkarating ko sa Cubao, naisip kong tumambay muna sa kapihan na malapit sa mall. Um-order ako ng palagi kong binibili, hot latte na grande, at umupo sa isang tabi. Kaso, nag-init ang ulo ko nang makita ko kung sino ang katabi ko. Oo, mas mainit pa sa kapeng hawak ko.

Yung stalker sa StarMall.

"Hi," bati niya nang nakangiti.

"Oh, it's you again," I answered, trying to keep my composure. "Small world, eh?"

"Sorry if I annoyed you," sagot niya.

"'Di, okay lang. Okay nga 'to, eh, may nakakausap ako. Nakakasawa na rin kasing mag-isa."

"Wow, hugot. By the way, what brings you here?"

"Wala lang. Nagpapalipas lang ng gabi. Galing ako sa work pero ayoko pang umuwi, eh. Ikaw?"

"Same. Maybe we just need to de-stress a bit before we go back to our regular lives, tama ba?"

"Yeah."

Guess he really has no bad intentions after all.

"Malapit ka lang dito?" I asked, unknowingly keeping the conversation going.

"Yup. Sa Manhattan. Yung condo d'yan sa kabila."

"Ah. Sa Katipunan pa kasi ako umuuwi. Mag-isa lang ako doon kaya madali akong ma-bore. You know, kain, trabaho, tulog, repeat. Kaya as much as possible, naghahanap ako ng time para lumabas-labas. Syempre, nag-iingat pa rin naman ako."

"I see. I can really relate to you kasi I live alone as well. Pag nag-iisa ka, feeling mo hawak mo oras mo, pati yung mundo mo. Pero there is always something missing."

"Right."

Sandali pa lang kaming nag-uusap, pero gumagaan na ang loob ko sa kanya. I think I just made a new friend tonight. Wow.

I looked through the glass panel for a moment while taking another sip from my not-so-hot latte. After a while, we exchanged questions.

"Where do you work pala?" tanong ko.

"Makati. You?"

"Somewhere along Ortigas."

"Are you single?" he asked out of nowhere. Syempre, I played along, pretending not to understand him.

"What?"

"Are you single?"

"Ah, no. I'm taken," sagot ko. His eyes widened. "Just kidding! Single pa ako, for a year and four months already," matawa-tawa kong pagbawi.

"Matagal na pala. Do you still wanna date again, though?"

"I'm still waiting on someone I like, but I can't have. Yet."

"Why?"

"It's like this. I've had a crush on him since last month, and our paths already crossed a number of times. Ang kaso, langit siya, lupa ako. Literally."

"Is he from the upper class?"

"No, no, hindi gano'n. He's a celebrity. To be exact... a boy band member."

"I think you're just overacting."

"A lot of people say that."

"...But I find you cute, though."

"Thanks."

"In fact, you really remind me of somebody I met last year. Parehong-pareho kayo magsalita, even your facial expressions are the same. She just looked a little... sadder. I think her name was Althea? No, not Althea. Just Thea, if I recall correctly?"

Hindi ako makapaniwala sa narinig ko. Totoo nga na nagkita na kami dati. Naaalala ko na ngayon. Oo, ganoon kabilis.

"So... ikaw si Lui? Yung nagbigay sa akin ng tissue noong umiiyak ako noon sa labas ng coffee house sa MOA?"

"Yup. Nice to meet you again, Thea."

"Ah, shit, how come I only remember it now? I'm so sorry. Hindi pa nga ako nakakapagpasalamat sa'yo since that time. Thank you for comforting me last year, Lui. Thank you din for coming back."

"You're always welcome, Thea." He pulled out a pen from the pocket of his shirt and wrote on a sheet of tissue paper. "Heto number ko. Call me if you need help."

Kinuha ko ang tissue na sinulatan niya ng number at hiniram ang ballpen niya. Isinulat ko rin ang number ko sa panibagong piraso ng tissue. "Here's mine. Text-text na lang if you need something, or if you just wanna talk over coffee again."

Napatingin ako sa oras sa relo ko. "Oh, 9:30 na pala. I have to go."

"Ihahatid na kita."

"Naku, 'wag na. Nakakahiya sa'yo. Also, I can book a Grab naman."

"Sayang pamasahe mo. And we don't get to see each other often—unless, you know—so sulitin na natin."

"Ang weird mo talaga."

"Please. Don't worry, dala ko motor ko. Makakalusot tayo kung ma-traffic man."

"Okay, sige, sige. Eh, may extra ka bang helmet?"

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

10:09 PM.

"Lui, thank you talaga," bungad ko pagkasauli ko ng helmet niya. "Hindi mo na dapat 'to ginagawa, eh. Sapat na yung nagkita tayo ulit.

"Sus, wala 'yon."

"Pero thank you pa rin kasi nakalibre ako ng pang-Grab ngayon."

"May bayad po 'to, Madam."

"You're crazy, aren't you?"

"Joke lang. 'Wag mo na 'kong sungitan, Thea. Nagmamagandang loob na ako rito, oh."

"Ang OA mo rin, eh. I'm not even mad at you. In fact, I'm grateful. I can never thank you enough for being a good friend, kahit medyo hindi ganoon kaganda yung first impression ko sa'yo."

"Ay, so you only see me as a friend?"

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, I like it. It's been a while since I did something for a friend. Sige, Thea. I'll get going."

"Ingat sa pag-uwi! See you soon?"

"Sure."

Pagkasabi niya noon, umalis na siya. Ako naman, dumiretso na sa lobby ng condominium at sumakay sa elevator.