Diary of an Introvert 2

12: The ones with broken hearts.

Doc Marty invited me to his birthday party. It was in a cafe that he owned. I went there with my sister.

"Oh? Sabi ni Jay nandito na siya." My sister said while looking around.

"Si Jay? Ano naman ang gagawin niya dito?" I asked and my sister just gave me a surprised look.

"Hindi mo alam? Isang doktor si Jay. In fact, he was the one who took care of you while you're still unconscious." 

"Ha?"

"I thought alam mo na? Hay naku---oh! Nandoon pala siya malapit sa stage. Tayo na." 

My sister hurriedly went to the front table and I just followed.

I saw Jay with Doc Marty.

"Hi, Eucee. Buti at nakarating ka." Doc Marty happily greeted me.

"Happy birthday po, Doc." I said, handing him our family's gift.

"Oh! Nag-abala pa kayo. Salamat dito ah." 

"You're welcome po, Doc.

Jay stepped forward and greeted us. Doc Marty looked surprised.

"Magkakilala kayo?" 

"Magkapitbahay po kami, Doc."  Jay answered.

"Wow. What a small world!"

Jay laughed with him and I just smiled. I looked for my sister and she's now with her collegues.

"Siya nga pala, Cee. Hinahanap ka ni Oliver." Doc Marty said with a happy smile on his face.

"Ha? Bakit daw?" 

"Oh, that I don't know. Here." He handed me his phone. "Just call him."

I did what he told me. I dialed Oliver's number and a man with a listless voice answered.

"What is it this time, uncle?"

"Ahhh~ It's Eucee. Hinahanap mo raw ako?"

"Oh! You're here? Good! Nasaan ka?"

"Nandito ako ngayon sa table nina Doc Marty."

"Pumunta ka sa second floor. Bilisan mo." 

"Ha? Bakit---" And he turned it off. Hay, what's wrong with him?

"Anong sabi?" Tanong ni Doc Marty.

"Puntahan ko raw siya sa 2nd floor, Doc."

"Hay, I'm pretty sure that guy's bored again." He said. "I'm sorry, Cee. Pero pwede mo ba siyang samahan muna?"

"Pero...bakit po ako?"

Doc Marty smiled. "Well, I guess, my unsociable nephew finally found a friend."

Friend, huh? Wala ba siyang ibang kaibigan?

I agreed to Doc Marty's request but before going up, I got food for us first. I went up and saw him drinking a glass of wine. Wait---he's not drunk, right?

"Oy, ba't mo naman ako pinapunta dito?"

"Hm? Ah, ewan. I don't like parties like this but when I heard you're coming,  I thought I can stay and wait for you."

"At bakit naman?"

"Sabi ni uncle, I should look for someone who can be my friend and I thought of you. Heh~ you'll be my friend, right?" He chuckled and gulped the red wine.

Well, this is obviously not the Oliver that I know. Hay. Lasing na nga siguro.

"Ahh, siguro kailangan mo ng tigilan ang pag-inom, Oliver. Parang lasing ka na eh." 

"Am I? Haha. I don't think so. Here." He offered me a drink but I said no.

I sat on the chair in front of him. "May problema ba?" I asked.

"May problema ba ako? I don't know. Hey, do I look like I have a problem?" 

I looked at him after swallowing a piece of lettuce from the salad I got. "Hmm. You look tired and...sad?"

He laughed. "You know what? You're definitely like her."

Her?  I wanted to ask more but there's this unseen force that told me it's not yet the time.

"By the way, I wrote a song. Tell me you're thoughts about it." He handed me an mp3. I plugged the earphones on and  I pressed the play button.

"I didn't know you're writing a song." 

"Oh, di ko ba nasabi?" 

"I guess we're not close enough to share such things to each other."

"Well, to celebrate our first day as friends, let me share this with you. I'm in a band since high school and studied music in college. Right after graduation, I had an accident and became unconscious for a year. I tried writing a song after I recovered by I can't. Not until I met you and heard you sing." He gave me a sad look. A look that misses someone he loved. "You look and sound like her." 

"Girlfriend?"

"I don't know."

"Ha?"

"I don't know who she was. I kept seeing her in my dreams. I don't know if she's part of my past or what." 

Now, I think I know why Doc Marty wanted us to meet. He's just the same as me.

"So? What'd you think of the song?" 

"Beautiful and sad. It seems that you missed her so much." 

"I missed her so much that I just want to sleep and maybe...disappear. Be lost in my dreams."

We're the same. The ones with broken hearts. The ones who wanted to disappear along with our dreams.

......