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Theorisinationisimist

Drink for the day: Soju with Yakult (Gin) – it's not so bad to mourn, is it?

Barista Tip: SARADO PO KAMI TODAY THANKS.

"Nakakahiya sa Ate mo."

"Alam mo, Rai, no'ng isang araw mo pa sinasabi 'yan." Miss Mich shook her head in disbelief. "Ano naman kung nakita ka n'yang umiiyak na parang baby? Hindi mo kailangan i-prove kahit kanino na malakas ka."

Ryen scowled at her. It's been a week since they arrived at Ilocos and after that rueful night, Miss Mich kept on calling him Rai. She thought that she and Ryen made a significant connection that made her somehow eligible to call him in his nickname. Ryen doesn't complain anyway.

"Basta nakakahiya." Ryen shuddered as his thoughts led him back to that night again; Miss Mich's sister and husband coming out of the room with an alarmed look that changed to suspicion when they saw how Miss Mich hugged him and cried as well. Of course, in-explain din nila lahat nang mahimasmasan na si Ryen.

Napailing nalang si Lyka Rich at patuloy na naglakad. Nasa National Pandayan Bookstore sila ngayon. Ryen wanted to buy a book, and Miss Mich is actually artsy herself, who knew.

Napahinto sila sa 'paper corner' at hinayaan ni Ryen si Miss Mich mamili ng kailangan n'ya. Then his eyebrows rose when he saw how much coloured paper she got, along with a few blank-paged notebooks.

"You won't even use that, will you?" he mused.

Natawa naman si Miss Mich and turned to him with a sheepish smile. "Ewan ko ba, hilig kong kumolekta ng coloured paper at mga notebook kahit hindi ko naman ginagamit."

"I have a theory for that." Ryen chuckled and picked up a stationary-tape.

Miss Mich just stared at him, waiting.

"Well, I have this thought that whenever we do something subconsciously in our physical self it connects to our subconscious mental state." He smiled at the pink tape he's holding and chuckled. "Like, you, for example, you think your life is boring and you perceive the world as black and white and unadventurous."

Miss Mich dropped some of the notebooks but she doesn't look like she'll pick it up, so with a click in his tongue, Ryen crouched to pick them up for her. She continued to stare at him with a bewildered expression while he tried handing her the notebooks, but Miss Mich was frozen in place.

Ryen waited for her to function again―to which she just gasped and looked horrified at him.

"What?" he asked, annoyed.

"Paano mo nalaman 'yan?!"

"It's funny, now I understand why you enjoy every single thing in front of you, because you want something extraordinary to happen. And you believe that by focusing on one thing at a time, would give you a peace of mind." He smirked. "I judged you wrongly. Now I'm seeing your true colours."

Nag-init ang mukha ni Miss Mich which took Ryen by surprise. For a week that he spent with her, ngayon n'ya lang makitang mamula ang babaeng kasama. He grinned.

The girl, who he thought was an enigma, wasn't such a mystery anymore.

"Paano mo nahulaan lahat ng 'yan dahil lang gusto ko ng coloured paper?" Napailing naman ulit si Miss Mich and finally grabbed the things—she dropped—from Ryen's hand.

"Nagtaka kasi ako," Ryen began. "Napansin kong napaka-raming coloured paper sa lamesa mo tsaka sa drawer mo. And some of them even came from inside the house, dinadampot mo kapag may nakita kang coloured paper, kahit lukot na or may sulat na. Gugupitin mo 'yung side na malinis ta's 'yun 'yung itatabi mo. It made me think." He smiled crookedly at her. "Ah, mahilig ka sa coloured paper kasi walang kulay ang buhay mo. Nag-iipon ka ng kulay sa paligid mo." Then he became serious. "Kaya ba kinausap mo 'ko sa bus? Kasi mukhang wala na ring kulay ang buhay ko?"