Love of the Lifetime at a Wrong Time

Chapter 6

Tapos biglang dumilim. May nagtakip ng mata ko. Kinapa yung hands to identify or at least get a clue on who it was. OH MY GOSH!!! Can't be!!! OH MY GOSH talaga!!!!

"Pare?" I asked, then took hold of his hands and pulled him closer to me.

"OUCH!" he said. "Hindi pa rin talaga kita maloko! Huli mo pa rin ako." Sabay flash ng kaniyang killer smile. Tapos he hugged me with matching whisper sa ears ko ng "I missed you." SHOCKS! Mangiyak ngiyak na ko nun. Tapos upo siya sa tabi ko. We sat there for a while, tahimik lang. Parang ninanamnam na lang naming dalawa ung moment na yun. Kasi feeling ko, pag bigla akong gumalaw or magsalita, biglang mawala. Then he suddenly broke the ice.

"Pare congratz nga pala." Sabi niya.

"Huh?! Saan?!" nagtataka kong tanong

"I heard you already got your PhD na."

"Ah... oo, thanks." Tapos another moment of silence, tapos,

"Pare, I missed you. Sobra." Sabi niya with malalim na buntong hininga then tingin sakin, pero nung tignan ko siya, biglang tingin siya ulit sa sky.

"I missed you too." Sabi ko in a soft tone. Ewan ko lang kung napuna niya ung sadness sa boses ko.

"What have you been up to lately?" tanong niya. So, nagstart na kami magkwentuhan. Kwento ng mga happenings sa life ng isa't isa pero ewan ko lang kung napansin niya pero, I noticed na neither of us were talking about our love lives. Tapos pagusapan ang present, nabalik kami sa nakaraan. Ung mga memories namin. Ung mga kalokoan namin and all the good and bad times we've been through.

"Grabe! I've been through so much na pala! Buti na lang meron akong taga salo!" sabi ko.

"Syempre. Iwan ba kita?! Kaw pa?! Eh pare kita eh!" sabi niya. Gusto ko sabihin, "talaga lang?!"

"Ahahaha!!! Dapat lang nuh!!" sabi ko, pinilit ko na magbiro, para maitago ung nasa loob ko.

"Lahat ng important and most memorable times natin was shared with each other nuh?!" sabi niya.

"My graduation was special for me. But you were not there." Sabi ko with a tone of pagtatampo.

"I was there." Sabi niya.

"Huh?!" I looked at him to see if he was just bluffing or what. But I saw in his eyes na he's telling the truth.

"I was there on your graduation. I was at the back." He said.

"Pero... Baket... Baket di ka nagpakita?! Baket di mo ko nilapitan?!" sunod-sunod kong tanong sa kaniya. Bigla kasi ako naguluhan. Biglang bumilis ung heart beat ko.

"Nahihiya ako eh. Tagal ako hindi nagparamdam tapos bigla bigla akong susulpot?!" I just looked at him. Speechless ako eh.

"When I saw you get your diploma, I was very peroud. Lalo na when you gave your speech. Kinalabit ko pa nga ung katabi ko, just to tell him na the one in front is one of the most important people in my life. I had never seen you that happy before. Seeing you that happy was already enough for me." Sabay pause.

Hindi na talaga ako makapagsalita. Parang biglang may bumara sa mga arteries ko, bigla ako nahirapan huminga and parang biglang nagstop ung flow ng blood sa mga veins ko.

"I don't know what to say." Un na lang ung nasabi ko. After a moment of long silence, bigla ko na lang nasabi na,

"You know, when I was up there, I was very nervous. Pero I thought about all that I've been through to get to this point. Naalala ko din ung mga times na, urge mo ko to do my best and to believe in myself. I was thinking na if you were there I'd be more comfortable and all my worries and fears will be gone." Sabi ko tapos another moment of silence.

"You know what?" sabi ko bigla

"Ano un?"

"You said you saw me very happy that day ‘di ba!?" I asked and he nodded in response.

"Well, I was happy pero it felt kinda empty."

"What do you mean?" he asked sabay tingin sakin with curiosity in his eyes.

"Kasi you’re not there. Every single memorable moment in my life was spent with you beside me. I felt like I was alone. Like I don't have anyone to share it with." Sabi ko na mangiyak ngiyak na.

"But I was there with you on your special day. Un nga lang, I was not by your side literally but I was there." Sabi niya, tapos naiyak na ko. He hugged me to comfort me. Medyo matagal din kaming ganun. His arms around me and my head leaning on his shoulder. Just the way it used to be. Those simple days just him and me. Tapos nun, nagkayayaan na kami na bumalik na sa loob. Awarding na nga eh.

Ewan ko ba kung sadya. Pero sakto kasi ung timing eh. Pagpasok namen ang award, "Most Popular Couple in High school". At ewan ko ba kung trip or whatever. Ang nanalo eh, KAMI! Ahahahaha... gulat kami tapos tinginan pa silang lahat samin dalawa. Eh di wala na kami nagawa. We just walked towards the stage together. Palakapkan naman ung mga people. Napangiti na lang kami. Kinuha namin ung award. We were already on our way pababa ng stage when the crowd yelled, "KISS! KISS!" grabe talaga! Hanggang ngayon ba naman my peer pressure pa rin? Kaya as usual, we gave in and he gave me a peck on the cheek, like before. Tapos palakpakan ulit. Parang mga bata ulit na ngayon lang nakakita ng two people na nagkiss. Eto namang si nakangiti lang. Feel na feel ung award. So, after quite a long night, sa wakas uwian na.