But then, as I kept watching, I started to notice something.
She looked happy on the outside. Pero sa totoo lang, hindi.
Kahit nakangiti siya, hindi 'yon umaabot sa mga mata niya.
She looked like she was just going with the flow of life. Like she didn't know what she wanted to do.
Like a bird trapped in a cage.
And that made me do the unthinkable.
Dapat umatras na ako. She already rejected my offer, after all. Pero pagkatapos kong mapansin 'yon sa kanya, hindi ko mapigilang maging mas persistent.
Maybe. Just maybe. If she joined us, she would feel free.
Maybe she would finally be able to spread her wings and fly toward the sky. Like a bird.
At dahil sa naisip kong 'yon, hindi ako sumuko. Halos araw-araw ko siyang kinukulit tungkol sa track and field team.
At dahil doon, nagkaroon tuloy ng mga tsismis.
"Eli! Balita ko abot daw ang punta mo kay Luna? Kayo na ba?"
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. Biglang bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko.
"A-anong pinagsasabi mo?" Sunod-sunod ang iling ko, pero mukhang hindi pa rin siya kumbinsido.
Nakangisi lang siya na parang may alam na hindi ko pa alam.
"I want to be in a band."
Isang araw, biglang sinabi ni Luna. Hearing her say those words reminded me of the dream I had already let go of. And just like that, I stopped recruiting her. Her reason for rejecting my offer was more than enough for me to back off. Ang magagawa ko na lang ngayon ay suportahan siya at ipagdasal na matupad niya ang pangarap niya. Because as someone who once had the same dream, I wanted her to achieve it.
I thought that would be the last encounter-or at least the last conversation-I'd have with her. But I was wrong.
The next time I saw her, she was different. There was determination in her eyes, a fire that wasn't there before. It was the kind of fire only someone with a dream had. Something I once had.
I should be happy for her. Pero hindi ko nagawa.
"I'm not joining you, Luna," seryoso kong sabi. "Bakit ba ako ang inaaya mo diyan? You already rejected my offer, and I respected your decision. Alam mong nasa track and field na ako. I can't leave it just to join you."
"But you were in a band back in junior high," she said, her voice unwavering. "I heard from Rive that you're really good, so I want you to join our band, Eli."
Napapikit ako sa inis. Ano bang hindi niya maintindihan sa ayoko? Bakit ba ang kulit niya? Is this how she felt when I kept recruiting her? Was I this insensitive?
I ended up telling her my reasons. About my dream, and how I let it go. I thought that would make her understand, but maybe dahil na rin sa inis ko, I said something that made her serious all of a sudden.
She almost looked... angry. And for some reason, that rendered me speechless. It was the first time I saw her like that, and I got... scared.
It felt like I had disappointed her.
"This is the best time to pursue what we want to do because we might not be able to after we pass up on this opportunity. We will all just wallow in regret, and I don't want that. That's why I'm doing this. I don't want to live with regrets my whole life," sabi niya.
Natigilan ako. Her words hit me. Harder than I expected.
She's right. This is the best time to pursue our dreams. It's an opportunity we can't let slip away.
YOU ARE READING
Strings of Memory
Teen Fiction"Hating the one thing you love is a pain worse than losing it." - Wynther Fynne Clemenceau Wynther never had a dream-until he heard his father play the bass. In that moment, music became his purpose, his passion, his future. He dreamed of standing o...
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