Halos mapatigalgal ako sa sinabi niya. The what?
My hands were shaking. Para akong nabingi sa sinabi niya. Comeback? To who?
Then suddenly all the memories came rushing in. Kung paano ako napahiya sa mga kaklase ko. Pati narin sa buong eskuwelahan na iyon. Even the time where I almost wrecked Tyler's condo unit.
Akmang magsasalita na ako ng may humawak sa bewang ko galing sa likod.
"Wife, kanina ka pa hinahanap sa pedia. What are you doing here?"
I looked at the man standing beside me. His right arm snaked around my waist. Kung saan kitang-kita ang singsing nito. Which I had too.
Moie's face was shocked as he looked behind me. Tila ba minulto ng makita kung sino ang nasa likod ko.
Partly, hindi pa talaga tuluyang naputol ang connection ko sa kanila. Dahil itong katabi ko ay Estevan din.
"Sorry, Mr. Estevan here had a slight problem with the way our doctor treated him. Aalis din ako maya-maya."
Moie looked at the man infront of him and i saw how his jaw clenched.
"Nickon." Yes, beside me was Nickon or we call him " Haru." Estevan.
"Wassup, cous." He moved infront to give his cousin a hug pero kusang umatras si Moie.
He looked at his cousin with so much confusion.
"The heck, haru! Why are you here?" His brows furrowed when he looked at his cousins ring finger than mine.
I saw how his eyes looked with rage. Unti-unti siyang humakbang sa amin. We stepped back, agad naman kaming napatigil when he stopped midway.
"Akala ko ba ay nasa Italia ka? Why are you here? You should be running after your girl. Bakit narito ka sa swiz?" He wanted to talk more but he stopped when Haru started talking.
The old Haru is really gone. Ang dating tahimik at mailap na Haru noon ay ibang-iba na ngayon. Simula ng iwan ito ni Marie, she changed bigtime. Naalala ko pa kung paano nagkatagpo ang landas namin ng ugok na ito.
IT WAS A COLD WINTER in switzerland. I was busy looking at the people, who are happily skating on the ice.
The red scarf on my neck was hanging lowly behind me. The terno sweater, beanie and mittens are giving me more heat. I laughed whetnc I saw a couple stumbling on ice. Pawang tumatawa ang mga ito.
I looked at the ground and i laughed ng makita kong unti-unting paglubog ng sapatos ko sa yelo.
I was busy making a figure with my footprint, ganoon nalang ang gulat ko ng may magsalita sa gilid ko.
"Ang layo naman pala ng tinaguan mo, Gaia." Halos mapasubsob ako sa yelo sa marahas kong paglingon.
Haru was sitting on the same bench I was. He was just wearing a sweater, scarf and gloves. Walang nakabalot sa ulo nito that caused his face to look so pale. Kung hindi pa pula ang mga labi niya ay aakalain mong may sakit ito.
"W-what a-are y-you d-doing here?" I said. He looked at me and halos mapaawang ang labi ko.
May sugat siya sa pisngi niya. It looked new.
"She left me behind." Noong una'y hindi ko alam ang ibig niyang sabihin. But when he took out a ring and a familiar white handkerchief.
"Marie, left me behind. She married someone else." Malungkot na saad nito. I saw how he managed to hide his tears but failed.
Unti-unting humagulhol siya. And for the first time i saw him show his emotions. Haru tends to hide what he feels kayaa s much as possible ay wala itong facial expression.
Walang pagdadalawang isip na niyakap ko ito. He hugged me back while he cried. Nagmumukha kaming magb-break na magjowa dahil sa posisyon namin.
But this is not the time to joke around.
Days passed and Haru decide to stay. Nalaman kong nagaaral din siya in the same university where i am in.
Kaya sabay kaming grumaduate and sabay rin kaming nakuha sa hospital ng tiyuhin ko. He bought a house near our premises at ng malaman ng mama na Estevan siya. My mother almost executed him. One thing about our family, o sa pamilya ng nanay ko they own a secret security agency. They give secret services to big people or people with large business.
Ang hospital ay isa lang sa coverup para sa business na iyon.
Hindi naman nagtagal, Instead of living in his condo. My mom offered a room inside the large mansion. And he had no courage to resist my mother.
Kaya ng maging residente kami ng ospital, people would often misunderstand us. Asawa ko raw itong katabi ko. Dahil sabay kaming pumapasok araw-araw.
And to add with, lahat ng mga occasion ay naroon siya sa tabi ko. So others concluded that we got secretly married.
At ang bobong ito ay inisip na masaya ang paglaruan ang mga haka-haka nila.
He bought a ring from pandora. Through the internet. Hindi personally, and ang mas lala ay hindi niya kinuha ang ring size ko. That's why when we tried to put the rings on. Sakto ang sa kanya but mine was so tight kaya naman.
Nasuot ko nga pero hindi ko na matanggal. Nagaway pa kami sa bahay.
Buti nalang at wala akong surgeries for today. Bawal kasi Ang accessories sa loob.
We schedule a session para sa pagpapatanggal dito. Halos bigwasan ko siya. Pandora is pricey!
Napabalik ako sa kasalukuyan when i felt someone pinch my tummy fats.
"Iniwan ako ng babaeng hinabol ko, so i stayed with someone who'd stay forever." Nakangising saad nito.
His eyes never left our hands or the rings to be exact.
Bago ito lumingon sa amin dalawa. His eyes were so clear now. Kaya kitang-kita ko ang mga emosyon na naroon.
Pain, guilt, sadness at higit sa lahat paghihinayang.
"A-are y-you b-both really m-married?" Kahit parang bulong na ito.
He tried to make his voice stern but failed. Tila ba napiyok ito.
At halos masipa ko si Haru ng iangat niya ang kamay ko where the ring was located.
"Yes, we are. Married and happy."
