East

Chapter 2

Binalot kami ng katahimikan sa loob ng sasakyan. We exchanged seats — dahil first off, kotse ko 'to, second, sino ba siya? Tsk. 

My inability to socialize — I mean, I'm capable pala but not around her...and to see that she's not considering it as a reason to stop from asking questions...damn.

Hindi ko alam kung paano makikisama sa mga taong tulad niya— she seems gullible — uh? yeah damn right I judge people pretty quickly by their looks.

"So what's your name, beautiful?" 

I side glanced and there I catched her looking at me, umiwas kaagad ako ng tingin. Beautiful? Good for her she can hype up other woman, girls supporting girls is hot as fudge. 

But I'm not in the mood entertaining her right now so I remained silent. Hindi naman ako mamamatay kapag inignore ko siya, she's just a mere stranger who happen to hide inside my car. 

Wait, kailan niya balak bumaba? 

"Hey kid what's your name?" Now she was asking Shiro, the kid looked at me with a questioning look so I translated the question, for him to understand.

Agad itong tumalima.

"Ahh Shiro po, Ate." 

Naramdaman kong napatingin sakin ang babae, seems like she understand my look since they started having a conversation after that. Sila lang ang nag-uusap buong byahe, patungo kami sa isang fast food chain na alam kong bukas pa. Hindi ko na kasi maipagluluto si Shiro sa bahay mamaya dahil dinapuan na ako ng pagod.

Kung anu-ano na ang napag-usapan ng dalawa. I have learned that Shiro came from the Southern part, hmm tama ako, and he just ended up being here because his grandfather lives here, who happened to throw him away — the cruelty! Damn that man.

Shiro only able to finish his third grade kaya pala hindi siya marunong mag-ingles. Simula nang mamatay daw ang magulang niya naging pulubi siya ng ilang taon hanggang sa mahanap siyang pakalat-kalat ng lolo niya. It must be so painful to finally find hope then lose hope again.

Pero buti nalang, hindi siya nauubusan ng pag-asa at tumatanggap parin siya ng tulong mula sa 'kin. 

Ilang minuto pa bago kami makarating sa fastfood nang makatulog na si Shiro sa backseat. The eastern girl and I were both quiet the whole ride, bewildered about the story of this kid.

"He's a tough one," I blurted. Hindi ko alam, nasabi ko lang out of nowhere habang nakasilip sa rear view mirror. 

I admit, napahanga ako.

Narinig ko naman mula sa kanya ang pinaka-unexpected na mga katagang galing sa isang katulad niya, damn? For the first time in forever! I blinked, she said, "Wag mong sirain ang tiwala niya. Tingin ko hindi na siya makakasurvive pa sa lintek na lugar na 'to kung mawala pa 'yang pag-asang binigay mo — shit ang drama pero legit 'yan."

With that, silence envelopes us again. Ngayon tanging tunog nalang ng car flicker ko ang tumutunog.

Nasa tapat kami ng walang katao-taong fastfood chain, nag-park sa maluwag na parking lot. 

With what she said, for once, I thought people like her have a heart too. 

You know, I never opened myself for the likings of her, it's like my defense mechanism. The likes of her are mostly the ones who love inflicting pain on someone. Self-centered selfish bitches. I hated them, and yes I'm generalizing again dahil lahat nang nakasalamuha kong tulad niya? They know how to throw shits over anyone who bumps them, they never missed a thing, at lagi nila akong suki, and everything they say, sinasalo ko. I hate them for that. I hated myself too, nagpa-paapekto ako.