Inked Star

eight.

The first thing I saw when I woke up was Cairo, looking at me with a small smile on his face as he was leaning on the steering wheel. I sat up straight, and upon checking our surroundings, I figured we were in a pitstop.

"You can sleep more," he said.

"No," I shook my head. "Sorry, did you wait long?"

"In what sense?"

"What?"

He chuckled. "We just got here, if that's what you're asking. What do you want for lunch?"

"I'll know when we get there," I said. "I'm craving halo-halo, though."

"As you wish," he replied. "Wait here."

Cairo alighted the vehicle, walked in front of the car and opened the door for me. "Let's go?"

"Do you always do this to your passengers?" I joked.

"No," he replied, without a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"I was just kidding," I said.

"I wasn't."

We stared at each other. His gaze lingered, and I knew mine did, too. Not knowing how to respond, I cleared my throat, and he made way for me to alight the vehicle. The heat made the air thick and heavy. The concrete beneath us hissed.

"Your eyes," I said. I nodded at him as we walked across the lot. "They're a little red."

"Oh," he blinked a few times. "It must be my hay fever."

"Have you taken your antihistamines?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Thanks."

"For what?"

He grinned. "For noticing. That means you're actually looking at me."

I wanted to tell him that it was hard not to look at him, but something held me back, so I stayed quiet. We perused the different stalls, and ended up having cafeteria food. I settled for igado, while Cairo had pineapple chicken. The both of us had a small bowl of free broth on the side.

We ate in silence. I wasn't used to having conversations while having a meal. When we were done eating, Cairo cleared our plates for us, and he came back with two cups of halo-halo.

"Are you heading back to work soon?" Cairo began.

I nodded. "Tomorrow, actually. And you?"

"Tomorrow, as well. Here," he gave me the cup he had already mixed, and took the one in front of me which was still untouched. I could only stare, simply because I was not used to that kind of treatment.

"Why are you doing this?" I heard him say.

I looked up at him. "Pardon?"

He smiled. "You can always ask me that, Aster. Why don't you?"

I chewed on the inside of my lip. "I think it's too soon."

He smiled. "All right, then."

There was this silence acceptance about him. He was steadfast. All these thoughts flooded my head.

"What are you thinking of?" Cairo asked, upon noticing my silence.

"We're the same age, but I think you're more mature than me."

"What makes you say that?"

I shrugged. "It's the way you respond to things. You have this certain firmness, while remaining gentle."

This certain pause lingered around us. His lips broke off into a smile, and it slowly reached his eyes, which weren't as red anymore.

"My heart is full," he said. "Thank you, Aster."

The rest of the ride home was unhurried. If I had it my way, I didn't want it to end. Just the road ahead of us, and the indolent sunshine streaming through the windows. The lazy hum of the air conditioner, muted by the radio at low volume.

Was it the journey, or the company?

No matter what it was, in that moment, life was good.

🌻

I had already unpacked and showered when Cal called.

"You got home safe?" he said.

"Yeah," I replied.

He chuckled. "I didn't even have to ask. You were with Cairo, after all."

"What's with you trusting him to that extent?" I asked.

"He's just that kind of person, Aster," my brother answered. "Well, was the journey all right?"

"Yeah, it was," I took out a glass from the cupboard and poured water into it from my fridge's built-in water dispenser. "It was comfortable."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Oh, by the way, how much did you give to Cairo?"

There was a slight pause. "What?"

"The gas money. Cairo said you gave him some. That's why he didn't charge me anything. He didn't even give me his receipt."

Cal, upon realizing what I was trying to say, burst into laughter. "I could lie, but this time, I won't. I didn't give Cairo anything, Aster."

"I owe him, then," I remarked.

"He's not asking for anything in return now, is he?"

"But still..." my voice trailed off.

"I hope you learn how to depend on others, Aster," Cal muttered. "It's not a bad thing to have another person you can trust."