Tied (BS#3)

E-Even

GABI na at pabalik na sila ng Manila but they decided to stop by in a nearby open area. Walang tao roon. No lights but the brightest moon she had ever seen. Napapalamutian ang langit ng mga kumukuti-kutitap na bituin. 

Nilingon niya si West. Balik-trabaho na ito kinabukasan. That means she would be all by herself again starting tomorrow. Sa totoo lang ay hindi pa rin niya maintindihan ang set-up nilang ito. They hang out but really no strings attached. Alam niyang mutually ay magkaibigan na sila. But would he still hang out with her now, that he'll be back to his busy life? Baka pagkatapos niyon ay makalimutan na siya nito. She would miss looking at his eyes in all honesty. Hindi niya napigilang manlumo.

Oh stupid, Dianne. Stop sulking! Huwag mo siyang agawin sa buhay niyang ginulo mo lang naman. He has his own life, for trouble's sake! Let him live his life and work his ass off until he forget his name!

She handed him the draft beer in can. Mayroon din silang iba pang binili sa nadaanang convenience store. Lahat ata ng ginastos nila ngayong araw ay inako nitong lahat. She had to remind herself to pay him without him knowing. Sigurado kasing hindi nito tatanggapin iyon. It has to do with men and their warrior pride.

"No, thank you." Tanggi nito.

"O bakit?"

"I still have to drive you back home, Dianne. Baka magulpi ako ng mga pinsan mo kapag amoy alak ako."

Umangat ang gilid ng labi niya. Umiling siya at pinagmasdan ang kalangitan. Nakabukas ang ilaw ng kanilang sasakyan. Nasa loob sila, sarado ang mga bintana upang di sila lamukin. Pumapailanlang ang ingay ng kanyang playlist.

"Ang ganda di ba?" Wika niya. Malawak na malawak ang langit. Walang katapusan. Madilim ngunit nabibigyan ng liwanag.

Kung iisipin, darkness was kind of scary. But she considered night as beautiful. And night means dark skies. How can people find beauty at night when its dark outside? The answer was simple. Because out of these darkness, there are stars. There's moon. And no one would ever find the beauty of these lights without seeing them in the dark. No one would ever looked at the moon the same way and realized it was bright. Because the darkness was there to give way. To emphasize light. To emphasize the beauty of something that shines behind the great and big sun on daylight. 

"Sometimes we're too blinded with too much light, we're failing to find the beauty that our eyes neglected to see." She muttered. "Tingin mo, paano kung hindi naimbento ni Lord ang gabi?" Tanong niya nang hindi ito nililingon.

"We would be tired all day and... all day?"

She smiled. Natigilan lang siya nang sa pagbaling niya rito ay natagpuan niya itong nakatingin sa kanya. How long was he staring at her that way? Lumunok siya at umiwas ng tingin. It was getting harder and harder for her to meet those beautiful blue orbs. Muling namayani ang katahimikan sa loob ng sasakyan. Nagpakalunod siya sa tanawin sa itaas. The overwhelming feeling that came with it consumed her senses.

"Do you feel it?" She stared at the endless dark sky up there. "Everything feels as if it was never seems like it seems. Like... there's a big... really big thing out there. Na hindi lang tayo ang importante sa mundo. Na lahat ng akala nating dapat ginagawa at pinagbubuti natin..." Umiling siya. "There's more to it. There's more to life. There's more to every damn thing we believe was everything." She looked at him and smiled. He kept his stares on her as if she was an equation with no solution to answer at all.