Pasado alas sais na nang mapadala ni Tita George ang duplicate keys ng aking kapitbahay rito sa apartment. Nang matanggap ko ang tawag mula sa kaniya na nasa labas na ng gate ang rider, nag-prisinta ang aking kapitbahay na siya na raw ang kukuha. Tumanggi ako at sinabing ako na lamang. Tutal sa akin naman iyon nakapangalan. Bukod dito ay nais kong lumabas ng bahay dahil dalawang oras ko na siyang kasama. Pakiramdam ko ay masisiraan na ako ng bait kapag hindi ko iyon ginawa. Dahil magmula ng pumasok siya sa aking bahay, hindi na tumigil ang kaniyang bibig sa pagsasalita. I couldn't count the number of times I told him I'm not interested with his stories and I don't care about his misadventures in life, but that guy doesn't know how to listen to me. Hindi siya tumitigil kahit na blankong ekspresyon lamang ang nakukuha niya mula sa akin.
And I know for a fact that hiding my displeasure toward a situation and a person isn't really something that I excel at. Hence, the pronounced grimace on my face whenever he talked nonsense. I rolled my eyes whenever he tried to throw his lame jokes. My eyebrows raised when he was being sarcastic. Half the time, a detached and an apathetic look was all he got from me. But he doesn't seem to be fazed by my nonchalance at all. Because whenever I tried to ignore him, the more his annoyingness ricochets, and it becomes worse.
Fine. His pep talk wasn't pure gibberish the entire time. He opened up a new conversation when he laid his eyes on my turntable. He said that his mother is a fan of vintage stuff, too, and his passion for film photography was taken after her. He also mentioned that back at home, they have one Technics SL-1500C and a collection of vinyl records. He added that they have a room full of vintage film cameras from medium to large format, rangefinder, SLR, and point and shoot.
Inadvertently, I can't help but notice how he's well-acquainted with both phonographs and film cameras. It's so easy for me to distinguish if a phony is only trying to sound smart when it comes to these matters. But startlingly, he knows what he was talking about. And when he shared with me his knowledge about these things, I didn't feel the need to listen because it was like he was preaching to the choir.
However, even I was surprised when I picked up a few insights from him. He asked if I have ever tried to process films myself, I said no. I always go to developing labs like Fujifilm, Sunny 16 Lab, and Fotofabrika. He spoke briefly about how he once did and he walked me through the process of doing it. Truthfully, I find it a hassle to do it myself when developing labs exist. It's toilsome and tedious on my end. I don't have the luxury of time to do that myself. Ngunit kahit ganoon ay pinili ko na lamang manahimik. Tutal mayroon namang kabuluhan ang pinagsasabi niya at kahit papaano ay may natutunan ako mula sa kaniya.
However, as usual, his profoundness didn't last for a long time. A few minutes after our meaningful chat, he found a gateway back to his goofy land. And that's when he completely lost me.
Mabuti na lamang at iyon na ang punto kung kailan natanggap ko ang tawag mula kay Tita George. Nakahanap ako ng dahilan para iwanan siya.
Pagdating na pagdating ko sa labas ng aking unit, pakiramdam ko ay nakahinga ako nang maluwag. Sa wakas ay hindi ko naririnig ang kaniyang boses at hindi ko na nakikita ang kaniyang mukha. Halos maalibadbaran ako sa kaniyang taglay na daldal. Parang hindi siya napapagod magsalita.
It must be tiring to have a mouth like that.
Kahit na hindi na ako nahihilo, binagalan ko pa rin ang aking lakad. Ang bawat minuto na hindi siya kasama ay langit para sa akin kaya naman aking ninamnam ang bawat paghakbang ko papunta sa gate. And God only knows the lengths I'm willing to go in order to buy more time away from that chatterbox.
"Ms. Calli po?" tanong ng rider nang makarating ako sa labas ng gate.
Tumango lamang ako bilang tugon sa kaniya. He handed me a jute string pouch. Kumaluskos ang mga susi sa loob nang hawakan ko ito. Sa isip-isip ko ay napangisi ako dahil ang tunog na ito ang hudyat ng aking kalayaan. Sa wakas ay matatapos na ang dalawang oras na pagdurusa ko kasama ang lalaking iyon.
