SILENT UNIVERSE (FRANKIANA)

Chapter 20

Dion's POV

Napatingin ako sa mahiwagang singsing na nasa desk sa tabi ng bed ko at tiningnan ang sarili ko sa salamin. I've switched bodies with Diana again. Chineck ko ang book ko about parallel universe. Siguro nga possible na mangyari ang lahat ng ito. Diana probably got this ring as well.

Tinawagan ko agad si Veah para pumunta dito. Alam niya ang lahat, pati na ang pagpapalit anyo ko bilang si Diana.

"Hmm possible ngang mangyari yun. Sa ibang universe buhay si Diana and hindi niya alam that you're actually switching bodies. San mo ba talaga nakita yang magic ring na yan?."

"Paulit ulit te? Sabi ko nga nagising nalang ako na suot suot ko na to. Diana died four years ago. Ngayon bakit kami nagpapalit ng katawan?. Who's really in control?."

"Does that mean na patay ka dun sa mundo niya?."

"Exactly. People will absolutely freak out by now V. Okay maybe, I've used Diana's identity for a few times for some reasons."

"Anong maybe? You're using that to manipulate people. Especially, Franki. Niloloko mo siya Dion."

"Alam mo naman diba? Simula pa nung highschool mahal ko na siya."

"And now she's falling for Diana's identity. Siraulo ka."

"Yun lang. Pero magagawan parin naman yun ng paraan diba?.V--help me, please."

"Ewan ko sayo. Bahala ka sa buhay mo. Alis nako. Pinapunta punta mo ko dito para lang maging witness dyan sa kahibangan mo? Wag na no. Ay sya nga pala--kasal ngayon nung ex ni Diana."

"That jerk."

"Chill lang. Meron ka pa naman ngayon."

"Anong meron?."

Tinuro nya yung nasa pagitan ng mga hita ko. Seriously?

"May napkin diyan sa drawer. Binili na kita. Ikabit mo ng maayos ah haha bye." Alis nito. Aaaargh!

..

Diana's POV

"Ah Dion. Malapit na pala ang birthday ko. Punta kayo ni Diana ha." She said holding my hand, I mean Dion's hand. Pero pano naman yun mangyayari Franki eh mahina ang kalaban? Ako lang to. Si Dion at ako ay iisa.

Baka tama nga si Argel na dapat sabihin ko na kay Franki ang totoo. Pero pano?. Kung andito lang sana yung totoong Dion, hindi na sana aabot sa ganito.

"Dion, please. Promise me na pupunta kayo."

I never break a promise, yan yung mahirap dito eh. Pinapangako niya sakin yung isang bagay na imposibleng mangyari.

"S-sige. Gagawan ko ng paraan."

"Thank you." As she flashed an appreciative smile.

"Kailan ba yun?."

"Ah next week. Sa Sunday. At saka pakisabi kay Diana na dapat kumanta siya sa araw na yun ah."

"Ano?!."

"Oh? Ba't parang gulat na gulat ka? Haha."

"W-wala. Oa lang talaga ako minsan hehe." I swear pinagpapawisan na ako ngayon mula ulo hanggang talampakan.

KINABUKASAN

Bumalik na rin ako sa katawan ko. Nag cr ako saglit, wait may period ako ngayon. Sino kayang naglagay ng napkin sakin?

Tinanggal ko na to para palitan nang may nakita akong nakasulat sa likod nito.

Hi D, it's Dion. I know this might sound crazy but, we're switching bodies. I'm from another universe.

Nagulat ako. What the heck? Seryoso ba to?

I think pinaprank lang ako ni Argel.

Pagdating ko sa office perfect time din na pumasok si Argel. Pinakita ko agad sa kanya ang pic ng note sa napkin ko kanina. Yeah I know it's gross.

"What's this?."

"What's that?."

"You wrote this right? Haha quit the act."

"What are you talking about?."

"Pinaprank mo ko. You wrote this on my uhm eherm my, my pad."

"And why would I do that?."

"You didn't?."

"Of course I didn't. Oh by the way, sinabi na ba ni Franki sayo about your appointment with Mr. Princeton today?."

"Yup. Last week pa. Wait, where's Franki?."

"Good morning po Ma'am Sir. Ma'am Diana, ready napo yung mga gamit nyo sa sasakyan." Biglang pasok nito tila hinihingal.

"Okay. Argel, see you later." As I kissed Argel's cheek.

"Mag-ingat kayo. And please don't forget our dinner date tonight." Paalala ni Argel. Pansin kong umiba ang expression ni Franki. That's just nothing Diana.

"Ngayon ba yun?."

"Oo. Hay naku, ikaw talaga. Masyado kanang nagiging makakalimutin."

"Parang ganun na nga. Sige, see you later." Huling sabi ko at umalis narin kami ni Franki.

Tahimik lang siya hanggang sa makasakay na kami sa kotse. Ihahatid kami ngayon ng company driver kay nasa backseat kami ni Franki. Nasa likod naman namin ang sports bag ko na inihanda na ni Franki for me.

Nakatingin lang siya sa bintana sa side niya. Himala, she's not trying to initiate a conversation hmm.

Tapos bigla pa kaming naipit sa traffic.

"Hindi ba tayo malelate?." Tanong ko kay Franki. Nakatingin  parin siya sa bintana.

"Hindi po. We still have 3 hours before the appointment." Walang expression lang nitong sagot. Bakit ba ayaw niya akong tingnan?. May nagawa bakong mali?.

"O-okay." Sabi ko lang.

Silence.

Tiningnan ko lang siya. Naalala ko yung isa pang sinulat ni Dion sa journal niya.

Her silence says a lot, and I think that's enough for me to fall. Just like how people admire the beauty of the universe. It doesn't say anything, but the more you pay attention the more you fall in love. You learn something new about it everyday. And the more you learn, the more you see different kinds of possibilities. I guess reality is just a concept and imagination is what's really there. We kept on finding what reality is that we didn't realize  the what ifs. Like what if we're just a pigment of someone's imagination? What if everything is just an illusion? Gaya nga ng sabi ni Diana,

FLASHBACK

"Everything that's beautiful is an illusion. So don't think that something is worthy just because it's beautiful. It will all end, it will all fade. Even the Silent Universe that you kept on admiring Dion."

"Franki's worth admiring Diana. She's my silent universe. I know mawawala din siya someday. But I promised myself that I'll make her feel what love should feel like before that happens."

EOFB

And the sad thing about it is that he failed to fulfill that promise. So he really did mention her once before. Unfortunately, I just didn't pay more attention to it. Now everything's slowly coming back to me. Naiintindihan ko na why he's so obsessed with this girl. I mean Franki truly is something else. Silent or not, she's still interesting.