Letters to Cleo #Wattys2016

Chapter 22

Ang pagkakaibigan ay parang wine... it gets better with age. And I can say the same thing with our friendship. Habang tumatagal at dahil mas madalas kaming nagkakasama, nagiging mas maganda ang samahan namin at mas nagiging mas malalim.

Farah and Ailee became permanent fixtures in all our barkada get-togethers. Si Farah, like Dawn, ay girlfriend ni Rafa kaya palaging kasama. Si Ailee naman dahil bestfriend ni Farah at kaibigan ko rin ay palagi na ring sumasama sa amin. Kahit saang gimmick, basta hindi s'ya uuwi sa kanila, ay sumasama s'ya. But aside from barkada gimmicks ay naging frequent 'dinnermates' na rin kaming dalawa. I guess proximity made us closer - literally and figuratively.

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I went home to Batangas for Christmas. The minute my car stopped on the driveway, sumugod agad si Den-Den na parang may hinahanap sa loob ng kotse. I saw the disappointment in her eyes when she noticed the passenger's seat empty. Kahit na paulit-ulit ko nang sinabi sa kanyang hindi makakasama pauwi si Ailee sa akin dahil uuwi din sila ng kanyang Mommy ay hinanap pa rin n'ya ito. Good thing she sent a gift for Den-Den. Kahit papa'no ay nabawasan ang disappointment sa mukha n'ya.

"Good morning Kuya. Merry Christmas," ang bati sa akin ni Den-Den. Pinuntahan n'ya ako sa aking kwarto and joined me in bed.

"Good morning bunso. Merry Christmas. So what brought you here?"

"Wala lang. I just wanted to greet you."

"Really? We've been spending Christmas our whole lives and this is the first time you did this. What's up?"

"Well, baka kasi magkausap kayo ni Ate Ailee eh. I want to greet her also."

"Ayun! Lumabas din ang totoo. Hindi pala talaga ako ang pakay mo. Malapit na 'ata akong magtampo. Mas gusto mo pa 'ata si Ailee kaysa sa akin eh."

"No Kuya, that's not true."

"And besides it's still too early. We don't talk to each other this early."

"But will you call her today?"

"Maybe. O baka I'll just send her a message. Look, she's not my girlfriend para tawagan ko araw-araw at magreport sa kanya kung anong ginagawa ko."

"Bakit kasi hindi mo pa s'ya girlfriend?"

"What?" Surprise was an understatement for what I felt after hearing my sister's question.

"Don't you like her? She's so cool, Kuya! Ang bait-bait pa n'ya, so thoughtful and respectful kina Nanay at Tatay. Plus she's so pretty. Don't you crush on her?"

Ha! Crush?! At my age I don't crush on girls anymore. I feel I'm old to have a crush. Pangteenagers lang 'yun. At this point in my life I should start looking for my forever. I don't wanna play around anymore. Ayaw ko ng magulong buhay kaya I don't go on dates just for the sake of dating. I want my next relationship to be the road to my ever after. Hindi ko kailangan ng crush or fling. I wanna be with the girl na makakasama ko for the rest of my life.