Vincent ✓

Epilogue

Ruben Diced

"Mag ingat ka, Ube!" Dinig kong sigaw ni nanay bago ako lumabas ng bahay.

I'm currently making my way to school. Mabuti nalang at Friday ngayon so I'm comfortably walking while wearing my PE Uniform.

When I reached school, I headed straight to our classroom. Hindi ko nasinagan ang mukha ni Vincent ngayon. Pero okay lang sa 'kin. He told me we were going to meet up earlier. May sasabihin daw siya sa 'king importante.

Quite intriguing if you ask me.

Hindi nagtagal ay nagdatingan na ang iba ko pang kaklase at ang teacher. Nagsimula na din ang klase. I paid full attention to the class until the bell rang. Unti-unti kaming lumabas ng room at pumunta sa canteen.

Pagdating namin doon ay bumungad sa aking ang mahabang pila. I chuckled. Namiss ko din ang canteen na 'to ah.

Pumila na din ako. Pagdating ko sa harap ay umorder ako ng makakain.

Humanap ako ng pwesto. Once my eyes landed on my friends, I paved my way to their table.

"Hey Rubennn!" Bati ni Dada. Ngumiti ako at binati din siya.

Umupo ako at nakipag usap sa kanila. You know, normal usapan eme eme na ganyan. It was fun, really fun. I missed the feeling just sitting here and spending time with my friends.

I'm well aware na hindi na mababalik sa normal ang aking buhay after what happened before. It was so sudden it put my life in shock. Sure I can still act normal, live normal, be normal. Ang nagbago kasi sa buhay ko is yung takot. Yung kaba na halos araw-araw na nararamdaman. Lagi akong natatakot dahil iniisip ko na mangyayari ulit ang nangyari nung nakaraan. It shocked my life so much that it left a scar in my memory.

"So how about you and Vincent?" Biglang tanong ni Claire. It took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting his name to be brought up in the conversation.

"Anong meron sa kaniya?" Tanong ko pabalik sa kaniya.

"May connection parin ba kayo?"

Tahimik akong tumango.

"Kayo na ba?" Tanong ni Marcy. Nagulat ako.

Natahimik ako at napaisip, "Actually... No..."

I saw their reaction. Shock and confusion are written on their face.

Totoo naman. Hindi pa kami. And that surprised me too. Kasi naman diba, we act like we're couples when we both know we're not. Nagsama na kami. Naghalikan na kami. Hell, we even went to a freaking resort together!

"What? How? Halos lagi na kayong magkasama. You guys even act like couples!" Ani Claire.

My thoughts exactly.

"I suggest, you tie the knot." Suhestiyon ni Marcy. Binatukan naman siya ni Dada.

"Shunga. Magpakasal yung meaning non."

Marcy just chuckled and scratch the back of his neck.

"Pero kahit mali yung sinabi ni Marcy, I got his point. Ruben, you should really take a risk and ask him to be your boyfriend." Claire looked at me, worry is evident on her face.

Tahimik akong tumango. Siguro nga kailangan ko na ito gawin. We've been through alot together, I think it's fair enough to ask him to be mine.

We went back to class and contiued our day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pagkatapos ng klase ay agad kaming lumabas ng classroom. Medyo napatagal kami sa loob dahil as usual, sermon nanaman. Wala atang araw na hindi kami nasesermunan ng isa sa mga teacher namin.

Paglabas namin ng school ay agad kaming pumwesto sa waiting shed sa labas ng school. Pati itong waiting shed, namiss ko din.

I missed the whole school, to be honest— Only the school ha, not our terrible teachers. Jusko, nakakasura sila.

Habang kinakalikot ang cellphone ko ay biglang may nagtext sa 'kin. Si Vincent. He told me to enter the car that was parked close to our school.

Bahagya akong tumayo para makita kung may kotse bang nakaparada malapit sa school. May nakita ako kaya agad akong nagpaalam sa mga kaibigan ko at pumunta doon.

When I went close to the car, the window opened.

Bumungad sa akin si Vincent na nakangisi. Ngumiti naman ako.

"Hey." Bati niya. Bumati din ako.

Tinanggal niya ang lock ng pinto kaya pumasok ako. Pagpasok ko ay tinignan ko ang damit niya. He looks breathtakingly handsome, that's for sure. But the fact that he was wearing this kahit kakatapos lang ng klase piqued my interest.

"Kaya pala hindi kita nakita kanina. Hindi ka pala pumasok." Umirap ako. He chuckled.

"Sorry about that. I was busy." Ani niya, "So, let's go?" Tanong niya.

"Teka. Pwede ba pumunta muna tayo sa bahay ko? I just wanna take a bath and change clothes."

He looked at me up and down and smirked, "You're already good. Gwapo ka parin."

Umirap ako, "Tara na nga."

Tumawa siya saka pinaandar ang sasakyan.

While we're in the middle of driving, I was in deep thought. Am I ready to ask the risky question? I mean, I think I am ready. I'm just scared, probably from rejection. Siguro wala na akong magagawa. I'm here already. There's no turning back.

Huminto kami sa isang parke. Akala ko'y dito na kami bababa ngunit humarap sa 'kin si Vincent at humingang malalim.

"What's happening? May sasabihin ka ba?" Tanong ko. He looks uneasy.

"Uhm. Ruben... Matagal ko na din itong gustong itanong. I was scared. Hindi ko alam kung kailan yung tamang panahon para itanong ito. Then I realized na wala namang "tamang panahon" para dito. I just have to take a moment, and make it perfect." He said.

Nagulat ako.

Is this what I think it is?

"Ruben, will you be my boyfriend?" He asked after a long pause.

I was stunned. Here I was, scared of asking the same question HE DROPPED.

"I- I.... Yes! Oo!" Sagot ko.

He quickly smiled from ear to ear. Dumukwang siya palapit at niyakap ako. He leaned back and gave me a kiss.

"Ahh. I'm so happy!" He laughed.

"So, dinala mo ako para itanong nito?" Tanong ko.

"Actually, no. We stopped here just to ask you question. We're actually going to our first date—" He winked, "As a couple."

I laughed.

I'm lucky. To have him.

Fin.