Leaving it to chance [ Serendipity Series #01 ]

XVI: kahilom

Kahilom — (n.) tranquil silence [ cebuano/bisaya ]

* 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.

***

I exhaled when Mikie finally texted me. Pinagalitan na naman ako ni Astrid kasi para daw akong tanga, natataranta at napa-paranoid sa napakaliit na bagay. Sinamaan ko lang siya ng tingin bago ko binuksan ang text ni Mikie.

From: Mikie

Nandito ako kina Lolo. Don't worry about me. Pahinga ka na, ha? I'll call you tomorrow. Thank you for today. I appreciated it. Sobra <3

I unconsciously smiled at the text, biting my finger as I did. May pa-heart-heart pa siyang nalalaman.

"Ayan! Ayan! Just a while ago, you were an anxious mess and now kinikilig ka. Amp—ewan ko sa 'yo, Korine." Binato ako ni Astrid ng throw pillow. Wala na. Nawala na ang kilig. Bad trip. "See, you were worrying over nothing." My best friend shook her head, standing up. "Matulog ka na nga."

To: Mikie

Ingat ka. I'm going to bed na. Pahinga ka na rin. Update me if ever <3

Yes, nag-reply rin ako na may heart! I squealed and kicked my feet in the air sa kilig. I actually didn't go to bed kasi hindi pa ako inaantok. I scrolled through my social media feeds for a while. Daming hanash sa Twitter kaya hindi ako nagtagal doon. I moved on to Facebook, scrolling through the memes and posts only to realize that Mikie and I weren't friends there. I put my stalking and FBI skills to use. Okay, I was being dramatic. It was easy to find him since we had mutual friends. Without thinking twice, I added him, pero bakit kinakabahan ako na hindi niya ako ia-accept?

Again, I should stop with my baseless paranoia. It wasn't helpful. I sighed and closed the app, opening Instagram. Nawala ang kaba ko ulit when I saw a notification. Mikie tagged me in his story. It was the picture we took after the competition. Of course sh-in-are ko naman. I wanted the whole world—well, those people who follow me rather—to see how proud I was of him.

In-edit ko nang kaunti ang post at nilagyan ng caption. Keep swimming, fishy! Para naman akong tangang tumatawa mag-isa sa sala.

From: Mikie

Kala ko matutulog ka na? Bakit nang-add ka pa sa Facebook?

To: Mikie

Heto na nga! Matutulog na! Accept mo muna ako tapos matutulog na ako pramis.

Jeremiah Kiel Ceniza accepted your friend request

From: Mikie

Ayan inaccept na kita. Matulog ka na.

Paano na ako makatutulog niyan? Eh abot-langit kilig ko! Ikaw talaga, Mikie. But he was right. My day was kind of draining having to drive to Laguna and back. It was worth it, though, but I was tired.

I took a quick shower, changed into some comfortable clothes, did my skincare, and instantly passed out when my head hit the pillow. Thank god my classes did not start 'til midmorning the next day, else I would have overslept.

I was not prepared for a busy week ahead. Mikie did keep his word, though, and called me, but it was brief since he seemed to be somewhere noisy and I, on the other hand, was waiting for my next class. Midterms were coming up for me and so studying consumed most of my time. My communication with Mikie became less frequent as the week went by. He would give me brief updates or ask how my day was, but we never really got to talk for long. I tried not to be bothered by it, knowing he had other things to think about. He, too, was graduating and had his own set of priorities.