Journey With You
Chapter 5: Come DownTumungo kami sa parking lot sa ground floor, and walked up to his car.
"Saan tayo pupunta?"
"Dinner nga..."
It wasn't long before I found myself on the front seat of his car, enjoying the nightscape of Clark.
It's as if the place is in a different time zone. Buhay na buhay tuwing gabi. Bars. Clubs. Graveyard shift ng mga BPO industries. 24/7 operation ng hotels.
All those are fascinating to me. As I mused about it all, I began to feel a bit sad. In this place, people are doing their best to shine and live their lives to the fullest. My brain did a series of self-criticism and loathing that I did not notice how quickly time passed by.
"KFC nalang tayo." He said few minutes later and I realized that we have exited the expressway and have reached the City of San Fernando, the province's capital city. I was immersed in my train of thoughts for too long.
"Gutom na gutom? Hindi ka ba kumain habang tulog ako? Kailan ka ba huling kumain?" Tanong ko.
"Kahapon?"
"Kahapon?! At talagang hindi ka pa sure sa sagot mo?!" I exhaled. "Fine, KFC na tayo. Kapag ikaw nahimatay, kargo de kunsensya ko pa.”
Saka paano kami makakauwi kapag nahimatay 'to? Eh hindi ako marunong magmaneho!
Pagkarating namin sa KFC sa may Intersection ay sinabihan niya akong maupo na. Siya na daw ang mag-oorder. Pero tumanggi ako at sumama na sa pila. Wala naman kasing gaanong tao at gusto kong magdecide para sa sarili ko kung ano ang kakainin.
"Ano'ng sa'yo?" He asked.
"Hmm, chicken."
"Drinks?"
"Ano... iced tea. Bawal ako sa softdrinks, eh."
"Fries?"
"Hmm..."
"Sundae?"
"Teka lang naman!” Protesta ko. Gutom na gutom ba?! Atat ba?!
"Carbonara? Burger?" He fired away.
"Ano ba naman ‘yan..." Reklamo ko.
"Hani, please,” frustrated niyang sabi. “May nakapila pa sa likod natin."
"Alam mo pala ang pangalan ko?" Panunukso ko at sinamaan niya ako ng tingin.
"Ganiyan din kami ng asawa ko noong bagong kasal pa lamang kami." Biglang kumento ng matandang ginang na nakapila sa senior citizen lane sa tabi ng pila namin. Sa cashier niya iyon sinasabi pero pasulyap-sulyap naman siya sa amin.
Mukha ba kaming mag-asawa ng gunggong na ‘to? Ganito ba mag-usap ang mga mag-asawa? Si Lola, napaghahalataang may poor judgment of people and situations.
"Ay hindi po kami mag-asawa..." Paliwanag ko sa ginang pero biglang hinawakan ni Sven ang kamay ko na animo’y pinapatigil ako sa pagsasalita. Binawi ko ito pero bigla niyang hinawakan ang bewang ko... dahilan para tumigil ako sa paghinga.
Good thing the counter attendant started taking our orders, or else I would have died on the spot. No one has ever touched me before. I mean, no guy ever did. So it's awkward, and a clear invasion of my personal space.
Ako na ang nagkusang umalis sa pila para maupo na. Pahawak hawak pang alam ang hudas!
When he arrived with the food, he was so nonchalant about everything that it pissed me off.
BINABASA MO ANG
Journey With You (Completed)
General FictionDesperation. It's like the string that pulls humans into a death spiral. But when we realize the consequences of our decisions, it's often too late to go back.