Ciao, Mister Stranger (18+) (Wattys Shortlist Finalist)

Twenty

𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚘❤️️: 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝?

Ibinaba ko ang aking plastic spoon and fork at nagpunas ng tissue bago humawak sa phone. Sumagot ako.

𝙼𝚎: 𝟾 𝙿𝙼. 𝙲𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚊 𝟻. 𝙸 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜.

𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚘❤️️: 𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚗.

𝙼𝚎: 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍. 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞?

𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚘❤️️: 𝚈𝚎𝚜.

𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚘❤️️: . . .

𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚘❤️️: 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎. 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚜. 𝙱𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛.

I blink. Twice. Thrice.

Then, I stare at the people passing by my table.

Matteo missed dinner. The dinner he promised to have with me. And now, it seems like he might miss the movie too. Kasi nga five minutes na lang bago ito magsimula. Napailing ako.

I put my plastic spoon and fork in the used paper box before closing it up and dumping it into the recycling bin. Sa hindi ko mabilang na pagkakataon, nahuli kong may tumingin na naman sa'king ibang tao, marahil ay nagtataka kung bakit ang ganda ng ayos ko pero mag-isa naman akong kumakain. . . at dito pa talaga sa Jollibee.

Not that I care. I've always eaten alone at fast food places—but never in a dress like this, and never with makeup on. Sinabi kasi ni Matteo na dadalhin niya ako sa isang sosyal na restaurant kaya naman naghanda ako. But he's late. And since I don't exactly have the money for fine dining, I stick with what I can afford.

My grip tightens around my phone, my thumb hovering over his last message.

Aniya, pumasok na raw ako sa sinehan. But he's given no explanation and no apology. Just an order. I don't know what to feel about it. Pero sumunod na lang ako.

Bandang gitna ang pinili kong pwesto para sa'min. The movie is science fiction—high-budget, full of action. Matteo's choice. I usually go for romantic dramas, lighthearted comedies or even horror, but I didn't argue when he picked this. Maybe because I wanted to see what he'd pick. Maybe because a part of me wanted to understand him.

"May kailangan kang malaman tungkol sa kanya."

I hug myself. Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba ito sa ginaw dito sa loob ng sinehan at sa kawalan ko ng jacket, o sa sinabing iyon ni Luke sa'kin kanina.

Ano nga ba ang gusto nilang sabihin sa akin ni Direk? May kinalaman kaya ito sa naging emergency meeting nila noon? And why did Luke look like that? Nakakatakot ang pagkaseryoso ng hitsura niya.

I try to pull my focus back to the big screen. The plot is interesting, the cinematography beautiful. Pero hindi nito kayang alisin sa isip ko ang maraming magugulong katanungan.

Maybe if Matteo were here, I'd actually enjoy this. Maybe he'd make it easier to forget.

But he isn't.

And now, he is all I can think about. . . for reasons I wish I didn't have.

I check the time. 10PM.

Matteo is still not here. At wala na rin siyang kahit na anong text o tawag.

I exhale, pressing my fingers against my temple. My first-ever dating experience, and I've spent most of it alone—eating dinner by myself, watching a movie by myself, waiting for someone who isn't even sure if he's showing up.