What if aside from being worlds apart, one acts on impulse and believe in signs and the other depends on logic? This is an alternate universe (AU) where it's Maine who's the celebrity and Richard is a private citizen and not a fan. In fact he doesn'...
"Eh kasi RJ, yung topic...." Wally attempted to reason out.
"Binigay naman sa inyo ng social workers yung lahat ng materials. I'm not underestimating her, pero hindi po siya sanay, dapat may orientation muna siya. Saka nakakahiya, bisita siya at hindi naman niya trabaho 'to."
"Tisoy, nakiusap naman kami at pumayag siya. Binigay din namin yung materials kagabi. Nabasa at napag-aralan na niya. Puwede naman kami kaya lang yung topic nga...."
"Kahit na Kuya Wally, hindi pa rin tama...." RJ insisted.
Unknown to them, Meng followed them outside. "May problema po ba tayo?" she had to intervene
"Look, Meng, it's not about you, it's about them. We had an arrangement and this is their assignment."
"Simple lang ang solusyon diyan Richard. Ikaw kaya magturo? Siguro hindi mo na kailangan ng orientation."
"Pero Meng..." protested Kuya Wally, scratching his head and looking from Meng to RJ.
"Hayaan natin siya Kuya Wally. I'm sure simple lang sa kanya 'to." she said, the expression on her face unreadable.
They stood there taking measure of each other. RJ doesn't know if she's provoking him but his principles as the leader of the group is at stake. He should make a stand.
"Asan yung materials?" he finally asked, making up his mind that he should provide the example for the group.
"Andoon po sa loob sir, be my guest." she said with all seriousness but feeling triumphant inside.
Determined to prove that he's right in this case. RJ entered the room, and picked up the source material. Meng followed him and stayed on the side to watch, arms crossed over her chest.
Upon reading the title, RJ looked up to the audience. That's when he noticed that the room is full of Mangyan women and teenage girls. Then he looked down at the document and read the title again.
Kalinisan, Susi sa Kalusugan: Panahon ng Buwanang Dalaw at Pagkatapos Manganak: Leksiyon Para sa Kababaihang Katutubo,
(National Commission for Indigenous People, Series of 2016) .
He handed papers back to Meng. "Sabi ko na nga, ikaw na eh"
Oops! Ang larawang ito ay hindi sumusunod sa aming mga alituntunin sa nilalaman. Upang magpatuloy sa pag-publish, subukan itong alisin o mag-upload ng bago.
Meng almost laughed at the expression on his face but tried to maintain her own serious facial expression. "Ano? Ayan kasi, di muna nagtatanong. Alam mo, 100% ka na sana eh."
"Ganon? So what happens because of this?" he asked her, recovering from his embarrassment. He tried to assess if she's annoyed with him because she's still not smiling.
"Alam mo, buti na lang talaga napatawa mo ko kagabi. Kung hindi, balik ulit kalahating katawan mo sa penalty box."
"Ibig sabihin buo na yung 100%? Kagabi 75% lang ah" RJ asked heaving a sigh of relief, trying to hide his smile.
"Ayaw mo?" she asked coyly, defenseless against that smile.
"So, what changed?" he pressed on.
It's the day after tomorrow. "Wala, nabawi ko na kasi yung puyat ko." she told him smiling, finally meeting his gaze.
Somebody cleared his throat from across the room breaking the spell.
"Ehem, excuse me, mawalang galang na po sa inyong dalawa pero hindi kasi nila nasubaybayan yung kuwento mula sa umpisa, nagtataka sila o." Wally remarked, pointing to their audience.
"Basta Wally, walang basagan ng trip, kinikilig ako! Yiheee!" said Jose, sabay tulak kay Wally.
------------------------
She is really a natural.
He watched from afar (all the men were shooed out of the room) as she conducted the training with the help of the interpreter. While the topic was sensitive, she was animated as she was explaining, even eliciting laughter from her audience. She made the women comfortable. It was clear from their facial expressions and the nods that they now understand the importance of cleanliness for their health and that of their children.
Even if he wants to stay and continue to watch her, he had no choice but to go back to the forest with the menfolk to get materials for the roofing of the center. He has to help assess the type of vines they will get that will be appropriate for their need.
They will have more time later. What's important is she has already forgiven him.
It's a new beginning.
----------------------
The sky was perfectly clear and the sun shining when they enter the forest, it's now cloudy when they returned to the village and it's just 2pm. He looked at the sky. It's not just cloudy, thunder storm clouds are rolling in. There will be heavy rains.
Weather is really unpredictable in the mountains. It can change dramatically in one hour to the next. They were just fortunate that the sun held up for the past 3 days, but it definitely looks like rain today.
They need to transfer the supplies and materials to a place that will be kept dry. They need to move fast.
Imploring the help of the villagers, they have just finished moving things around when it started to drizzle. He seek shelter at a nearby hut when Kuya Jose and Kuya Wally came up to him with Paolo who was obviously distraught.
