Leaving it to chance [ Serendipity Series #01 ]

XIV: dalisay

Dalisay — (adj.) pure, undiluted.

* Should there be any Bisaya words used throughout the chapter, translations & a Bisaya glossary will be provided at the end of the chapter for your reference.

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Saturdays were made for curing hangovers. I swear, I think God created it so that idiots like me perished and lived to regret the stupidity that was the events of the previous night. Swerte ka if hindi mo maalala. Pero may ilan, alalang-alala nila. And in my opinion, that was the worst. Ako 'yon, ako si ilan. I remember most of the night up until Jacob and Lorraine helped me leave the place.

I spent half of my morning groaning in pain and fighting the major head and stomachache. I didn't want to get up, but I knew I had to since sumasakit ang tiyan ko. Ang hilab, super. Everything was so bright, it was hurting my eyes. I literally had to drag myself off of bed. Super hilo ako at umiikot pa rin ang paningin ko. I hated this feeling. I hated it so much.

Idinilat ko ang isang mata ko whilst the other one stayed closed while taking baby steps into the kitchen area. My sight landed on the food prepared on the counter with a note from Astrid saying that she was going to be out for a while and that I should finish the food and a whole pitcher of water she put out for me. Oh, and bwisit daw ako for making her drag my drunk ass to the condo. Such a sweet friend!

I sighed as I poured some of the water into the electric kettle, starting my rehydration journey. I read that warm water with a slice of lemon helped. I ate my breakfast and drank my lemon infused water which made me feel a little bit better. I decided to take a warm shower to wash off last night's grime. Also since I had to go to school to meet with my org in the afternoon. The headache was still there, but at least I could function like a human being again. I filled my flask with water and left for school.

Thankfully, the hangover wasn't that bad and I was able to leave the condo without wearing sunglasses. Medyo hilo pa rin, pero keri na. Nakalalakad naman ako nang maayos and hindi na nag-i-slow motion ang world. Dumaan ako sa JSEC para kumain ulit before heading to my meeting.

Towards the end of my meeting, Astrid sent me a text.

From: Astrid

What time are you coming home?

I momentarily diverted my attention from the presentation to reply.

To: Astrid

I think patapos na tong meeting namin. Why?

I didn't get a response from her. Maybe she was worried that I wasn't home. I shrugged it off and went back to the meeting. I could say that I went about my day successfully since I was close to finishing the water inside my flask and I didn't feel as groggy as I was this morning. Since there was nothing else to do, I ended up going back to the condo; I just wanted to pass out on my bed.

". . . I'm sorry, Astrid. I don't deserve you. It was a mistake. Hindi ko mahal si Michelle. Ikaw, Astrid. Ikaw mahal ko. Please. I am so sorry."

I froze, eyes widened at the scene in front of me. I didn't expect to see Franko in our condo—no, I did not expect to see him ever. What was worse was Astrid was hugging Franko. Not after what he did to her.

My friend immediately tore herself away from her ex-boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend nga ba? We both stood in silence, not sure what to do or say. I didn't mean to walk in on their conversation, it was so awkward. Though I was kind of angry at what I just witnessed. Iyak nang iyak 'tong si Astrid nang nalaman niyang pinagtaksilan siya ni Franko, ngunit isang 'Ikaw lang mahal ko' lang at parang nakalimutan na niya lahat ng sakit na pinagdaanan niya over the past few weeks. She could tell I was upset, disappointed, actually. She opened her mouth to say something, but I looked away.