“Oo.”
“Well, your expectation is wrong.”
“Why wrong? We’re strangers.”
“So iyon lang ba? Fine! Let’s not be strangers anymore. My name is—”
“Celeste Cheng.”
Kumurap ako. “Excuse me?”
“Ikaw si Celeste Cheng.”
“OMG, paano mo nalaman?”
“Nagpakilala ka kaya noon.”
I frowned. “Noon? What do you mean noon?” I asked, confused. I leaned closer to him to get a clear look of his face.
He cleared his throat and moved away. “Masyado kang malapit.”
I blinked. “OMG! Kaya pala familiar! Now I know! You’re that guy in Barrio Vienna!”
He just sighed and shook his head.
“What happened to you? Who did that? OMG, we need to stop the bleeding!” natataranta kong tanong.
“Titigil din ‘to.”
I ignored what he said and looked around. “May panyo ka ba? Tuwalya?”
“Wala akong dalang panyo, pero mas lalo akong walang dalang tuwalya,” he said, giving me a funny look.
“But we have to have something to cover your sugat!”
“Wala akong—”
“I know!” I said. I immediately grabbed the hem of my dress. Pinunit ko iyon at itinali sa braso niya. “There. This will temporarily stopped the bleeding, pero kailangan talaga nating magpunta sa hospital.”
He shook his head. “Hindi puwede.”
“Why hindi puwede?”
“There will be questions.”
“Eh ‘di sagutin mo.”
“Hindi puwede.”
I gave him an exasperated sigh. “What do you mean, hindi puwede?”
“Hindi ko maaaring sagutin ang mga katanungan nila. At ayoko namang magsinungaling.”
“Eh bakit kailangan mo kasing magsinungaling? Tell them the truth. Explain to them na… wait, what really happened ba?”
He pointed to his cut. “This. I got these from a frat war.”
Napakurap ako. Medyo hindi ko na-capture eh. “Frat... excuse me? War?”
He nodded.
“OMG!” I squealed. “Frat war? Are you a—”
“Oo. Ngayon, sabihin mo nga sa akin. Sa tingin mo ba eh makakalusot ito sa mga awtoridad? Magtatanong sila.”
“Then answer their questions! Isumbong mo ang gumawa nito sa’yo!”
“Hindi mo naiintidihan. Hindi iyon ganoon kadali. Sa oras na makalabas ito, magiging kumplikado ang lahat.”
My head was spinning. Hindi ko alam kung anong katimangan itong pinasok ko. “Then what are we going to do?” I asked helplessly.
He gave me a funny look. “We? You don’t have to concern yourself over this. You should go home.”
“Home? One, I just can’t leave a wounded guy here. Two, do you think my family won’t panic when they see me looking like this?” I asked, gesturing to my stained dress.
He sighed. “Then what do you suggest we do?”
I bit my lip. “I could call my cousin. Hindi siya magsusumbong.”
“Then what?”
“I’ll ask her to help us tapos we sneak papasok sa loob ng bahay namin.”
“Hindi ba’t mas delikado iyon?”
“No. Walang tao sa bahay kasi nasa party ang buong pamilya namin. We could sneak inside and clean up. I could let you borrow my brother’s clothes. He won’t notice naman eh.”
He looked at me for a long time, then he sighed. “Fine,” he muttered. “I never thought a girl would rescue me.”
“Anong sabi mo?” curious kong tanong.
“Wala. Ang sabi ko, kailangan nating mag-ingat dahil baka nasa paligid lang ang mga humahabol sa akin.”
“Why were they chasing you, anyway?”
“Hindi mo na kailangang malaman pa.”
“Fine!” I snapped back and searched for my phone sa bulsa ko. Agad kong ini-dial ko ang number ni Cassiopeia. “Cass? Cass!”
“OMG, Celeste! Where are you!?”
“Huwag kang maingay!” dali-dali kong sabi.
“Fine, fine. So nasaan ka na? Alam mo bang kanina ka pa hinahanap dito? Sabi ni Kuya Cielo, hindi ka na raw babalik dahil for sure ay pinagtataguan mo lang daw si Lolo para hindi niya makita ang Artwork mo.”
“Of course not!” I said hotly. “Something… something came up. I need your help.”
“What kind of help?”
“Paki-distract sina Mama diyan. Make sure hindi sila uuwi sa bahay until mga after midnight.”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“OMG, are you okay, Cel? They are really looking for you here!”
“Just distract them. I don’t care how you do it, but just distrct them.”
“Fine, fine. But—”
“Catch you later, Cass.”
After kong ibinaba ang tawag, nilingon ko ‘yung lalake. I blinked. Right. I still don’t know his name! I should…
“Wala na sila sa paligid,” he suddenly muttered.
OMG, he must be talking about those guys na humahabol sa kanya. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Ligtas nang lumabas.”
We went outside the playhouse. Indeed, mukhang wala nang tao sa paligid. I pointed to our street. “Diyan ang street ko. Malapit lang ang bahay namin. Let’s go.”
He didn’t move. “You should not let strangers inside your home, Celeste Cheng.”
I put my hands on my waist. “I thought we’re past the strangers stage. Oh, right. I still don’t know your name. Tell me your name so that we won’t be strangers anymore.”
He looked at me, his eyes piercing my own.
“Cirrus. My name is Cirrus Sandejas.”
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Blog Entry # 26:
His name is Cirrus Sandejas.
That’s right. He’s the stranger I met on that fateful night. He is the who crashed into me. He was being chased by a group of guys. He got a bleeding arm and refused to have it treated at the hospital. So what did we do? We sneaked inside our house to get cleaned up from the stains of blood. My mind is muddled right now that I could not even think clearly.
OMG.
Seriously…
Ano ba itong pinasok ko!?
Celeste Cheng
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Blog Twenty Six: Strangers No More
Start from the beginning
