Lost in History

Chapter 2

Gio always had nightmares. It would take him twice the effort to wake up every morning, and so would set his alarm two hours ahead. Today was no exception, but it was harder to get up than usual.

He can see and feel it again. The vivid color and smell of grass after the rain. The soft breeze the rain carried along. And her. He called her name, and she hugged him, before the nipa huts. How she smiled when he did. And how it quickly turned into a bloody frown when a bullet pierces through her from her back, exits, and hits him as well. How they both fell, her in his arms, and how the sky was the last thing he saw before they both died.

Gio quickly wakes up, his forehead beaded in sweat and his heart beating faster than before. Faintly, he can hear his alarm blaring from a distance. He turns his head and sees that it's already eleven o'clock in the morning. But if he doesn't get up any time soon, he'd be late to an interview his students had scheduled. Knowing this, yet, Gio doesn't have the will to stand up. He opens his bedroom window, wears his glasses, and lights a cigarette. From a distance, he can see the Katipunan traffic building up. At least he can have a reason to be late.

Ever since the car accident involving him two years ago, he can remember pieces of his past life. But mostly, the only thing he can remember vividly is the moment he died. The grass, the girl, the bullet and then the sky. It was the same narrative ingrained in his brain, as if he's forced to remember a piece of his past life for an eternity. But he couldn't remember who the girl was, their relationship and why they were killed by a bullet through the heart. She faintly looked like him though, he noticed.

Gio lifts up his shirt and touches the small birthmark on his chest, as if it was a reminder how he died. It perfectly resembles a bullet hole, too much that sometimes he thought he could feel the pain of a bullet piercing through him. His cigarette turns short. Reluctantly, Gio takes out the fire and stands up. Before getting ready, he sends an email to his students that he'd be late due to traffic.

After taking a short bath, he wore the button-down shirt he ironed last night and paired it black straight pants--not formal for a paper presentation, but good enough for casual fitting. He considers for a moment to wear formal shoes along with it, but chuckles as soon as he realizes that he's going for smart-casual. Instead, he reaches for his white Onitsuka.

Finishing his look with a watch, he set off to the university where he teaches journalism as part-time. The Katipunan traffic is much lighter than when he woke up, and the tricycle could ease itself in between cars. Within 15 minutes, he had arrived in front of the building, just 5 minutes late from the intended meeting. The guard greets him as he passes, and Gio easily returns it with a smile. He then enters the room where the interview will take place and find his students talking with the professor as she drinks a cup of coffee. She's rather young than he imagined to be, about a year or two younger than him, and he could tell, given his journalistic background and skills, than she still has the same drive she had in her undergraduate, which was different from her peers.

"...The concept of Inang Bayan, where kanlungan and kalinga is mostly associated with women, and thus everything that is regarded that cares are often associated and called along with names pertaining to women or mothers."

"That's a very good insight professor." Gio decides to compliment her, and the professor decides to turn around. She blinks twice as she stares at him, her mouth slightly agape and Gio fights the urge to laugh at her face. Be professional. He tells himself.

Gio closes the door behind him and drops his bag on one of the chairs. "It is nice hearing someone talk passionately about history." He says, walking over to where she was along with his students, and takes note of her clothes. It was an attempt of semi-casual, donning a clean striped long-sleeved shirt tucked inside a pair of wide denim. She also wears slightly worn-out Converse and a scarf seems to peek out from her backpack.