Portville Village

Day 2

Around 4 am, I jogged around Portville village. Strange as it seemed, lahat ng takot na naramdaman ko kahapon ay nawala na. Welcome to hell! That bastard's voice was resonating in the back of my head as I jogged. Exhausted, I stopped by the pavement and took a rest.

"'Wag ka na mag- aksaya mag-jogging Miss, hindi ka na se-sexy niyan!" sabi ng isang pamilyar na tinig dahilan upang magpanting ang tainga ko. I instantly knew kung sino nagmamay-ari ng tinig na 'yon!

Miffed, I rouse from my seat and turned to face him.

The bozo was wearing a baggy short and a jersey top. He was dribbling as he treaded towards me, smirking lopsidedly.

"Ang aga mo namang sirain ang araw ko," matabang kong wika habang nagpupunas ako ng pawis sa noo ko.

"Likewise," he retorted smugly as he continued to dribble.

"Go away, wala namang basketball net dito! Ano'ng ginagawa mo rito?" I asked petulantly.

"Meron. Hindi mo lang nakikita," he responded with a mischievous grin.

"Ha? Nasaan?" I asked quizzically as I veered around.

He just replied with a wide grin and shot a hoop towards a tree.

"3 points shot!" he hooted as he raised his arms triumphantly.

"Oh, 'di ko napansin na may net pala diyan?" I muttered, dazed.

"So, sino ang dapat umalis sa ating dalawa ngayon?" he asked, grinning devilishly at me.

I threw dagger look at him. I pivoted on my heels and made a face. I didn't want to play bickering game anymore with this guy. He seemed to be perfectly happy as I retreated.

"Have a great day!" He yelled.

I didn't shoot a glance at him, afraid that he might disappear again in the blink of an eye. I could still hear him hooting as he shot hoops. I didn't jog anymore so I resorted to walking. My mind was still straining to gather my wits as I paced absent-mindedly around the area.

In the spur of the moment, I saw a fast approaching car. Its tires let out a high pitch screeching noise as it swerved. Panic-stricken, I let out a scream that died in my throat as I stood there frozen in tracks. Abruptly, someone pulled me away from the impending accident. My back fell flatly on the ground as adrenaline jolted all over me. Panting, I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Damn it, 'di ka ba tumitingin sa dinadaanan mo?" He rasped. It was him.

It dawned on me that he saved my life. I was flabbergasted. I opened my mouth to say something but it went futile. Ngayon ko lang na-realize that he was leaning on me as we tumbled together. With my face flushed in welching shade of pink, I pushed him away and rose up, fumbling.

"Bakit ka ba bigla-bigla na lang nasulpot kung nasaan ako? Multo ka ba?" I asked hypnotically as I composed myself.

"How could you have the guts na magalit pa sa akin knowing that I saved your life?!" He retorted laced with annoyance.

Oo nga naman. Ang kapal nga naman ng mukha ko para magalit pa sa kanya eh iniligtas na nga niya ako. Pero papaanong ganun na lang kabilis siya napunta sa side ko gayung andoon lang siya sa may tapat ng puno ng mangga kanina, busily shooting hoops?!

"Thank...you" I mumbled, unnerved.

He just chuckled dryly. "'Di kita pinipilit magthank you. Sinira mo tuloy paglalaro ko," he reproached.

I scowled. "Well, 'di ko sinabing iligtas mo ako no!" I shot back, gritting my teeth.

"Saka papanong ganun ka na lang kabilis napapapunta sa tabi ko gayung andun ka lang naman kanina meters away from me. Eh, ang bilis-bilis nung sasakyan eh... so how the hell did you get there so quickly?!" I asked, mystefied.