Zayden's POV
Ang lamig ng hangin habang naglalakad ako papunta sa bookstore sa may likod ng university. Madalas tahimik dun—walang masyadong estudyante kasi luma na 'yung shop at medyo tago. Pero kung totoo ngang may natitira pang isang kopya ng Modern Political Theory, doon ko lang talaga ‘to mahahanap.
Seryoso? Bakit sa dinami-dami ng mga libro, ito pa talaga ang kailangan ng buong klase namin, sabay-sabay? At syempre, required daw ni Prof. Dela Cruz, tapos biglang out of stock sa library at sa lahat ng bookstore sa loob ng campus.
Good luck naman sa ‘tin, I muttered to myself.
Pagpasok ko sa bookstore, agad kong naamoy ‘yung familiar na scent ng old books and paper—slightly musty pero oddly comforting. The silence was a relief. Walang masyadong tao, bukod sa cashier na nagbabasa ng pocketbook at isang lalaking mukhang naghahanap ng manga sa dulong shelf.
Diretso agad ako sa Political Science section. In-scan ko agad ang mga titles, and then—bingo.
Isang kopya.
Nasa gitna siya ng shelf, parang spotlighted pa ng maliit na ilaw sa ibabaw. I stepped forward, reached for it—
—but another hand touched it at the exact same time.
Sabay kaming napatigil.
What the—
Lumingon ako sa kaliwa at napatingin ako sa kanya. Babae. Familiar. Mabilis ang kilos. At halatang determined.
Pareho kaming nakakapit sa magkabilang dulo ng libro.
"Excuse me," she said, with a very pointed tone. “Akin na ’to.”
“Funny,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “Kasi akala ko ako ‘yung unang humawak.”
“Una akong tumingin,” she snapped back.
I held my grip on the book and chuckled under my breath. “’Di naman yun ang basehan, ‘di ba?”
Tumayo siya ng diretso at napatingin sa akin—mata sa mata. May halong inis sa mukha niya, but also this strange familiarity. I couldn't place it, but there was something… something about her face, her eyes, her voice.
She looked tired. Probably from school. Messy ponytail, oversized hoodie, at ‘yung backpack niya na parang nabuhay at lumaban. But there was something about her that made it hard to look away.
"Look," she said, calmer now. "I really need this book. May report ako this weekend. I’ve been looking for this for days."
I inhaled, debating.
Same. Literally same.
Pero I didn’t say it.
“Bad timing lang,” I said. “Pareho tayo ng kailangan.”
She groaned softly. “Of course we are.”
A moment passed. Neither of us let go of the book. It was stupid, honestly. Dalawang grown-up na tao na parang batang nagtatalo sa isang laruan.
Pero iba ‘to. This was academic survival.
I looked at her again. The way she bit her lip in frustration, the way she tapped her fingers on the spine of the book—
That gesture... familiar.
A memory flickered in my mind. Playground. A girl arguing with me over the last ice cream at the school canteen.
No. That’s crazy.
Twelve years ago was a long time.
And yet…
YOU ARE READING
WHEN FOREVER MEANT UNTIL (WHEN SERIES #1)
RomanceZayden and Shayla were inseparable, they were each other's first love - two bright, adventurous children growing up in the same small town, sharing tree forts, secrets, and dreams bigger than their backyard. But everything changed the summer they tu...
