Three years ago, Mika and Ara decided to part ways and take on the world without each other. But when challenges and struggles forced their paths to cross once again, they slowly realize that it was another chance for them to finally begin again.
I checked the clock and it was 10:52 AM. Napaupo ako sa couch. Napatitig ako sa movie, it was the scene where Louisa took Will sa pustahan na karera yata. Favorite scene ko rin 'to. Actually... okay, lahat favorite scenes ko.
Later on, dumating na rin si Cienne. Of course, I told her about Ara and I's meeting later. Sigaw naman ng sigaw si bruha, kinikilig daw siya, and insisted that it was a date. Kahit sabihin ko sa kanyang hindi naman talaga date yun and mag-uusap lang kami, naasar lang din ako sa unconvinced face niya. Sarap ipa-reality check at ipakilala sa kanya yung Ara ngayon na hahaba muna 'yung buhok hanggang pwet bago ako i-ask makipagdate!
Wait...
"Ciennang! Gusto mo sumama? Tara, catch up ka rin with Ara!" I said to her excitedly.
Cienne, however, shook her head in full force. "Ulol, gagawin niyo pa akong third wheel? 'Wag na, maglilinis na lang ako ng bahay!"
Napakamot na lang ako sa ulo ko. Hay nako 'tong bruhang 'to.
Later that afternoon, naligo na ako and put on a sky blue polo shirt with white denim shorts and a pair of white Nike Air Max. I checked the clock and it was 3:58. According to Waze, ang estimated time from my condo to Truck Park is 45 minutes, exacto lang kasi ayaw ko namang maunahan ako ni Ara dun, mag-t'transfigure 'yun sa halimaw form niya pag na-late ako. I got my Uber driver na rin at ngayon, naghihintay na lang ako.
Maya-maya tumunog na 'yung phone ko and I saw na nasa baba na yung Uber driver ko. I waved goodbye to Cienne (na tinignan ako nang nakakaasar habang winawalis 'yung living room) and left my condo. I rode the Uber at napasandal na lang sa seat ko.
I thought maaga ako makakarating, pero oooooh I THOUGHT WRONG. Traffic na ngayon at ten minutes na lang, 5:00 na. According to Waze (yes, I still use Waze kahit nasa Uber ako just to make sure that I'm going the right way), fifteen minutes pa raw bago ako makarating sa destination ko. Mukhang ma-l'late ako ng 5 minutes, and 5 minutes may not mean much to a lot of people but to Ara? 5 minutes might as well be 5 hours. I braced myself to the halimaw that I was about to face pagdating ko.
At last, nakarating na rin ako sa Truck Park at binayaran na si kuya bago ako bumaba. I was planning na magmadali at pumasok na kaagad since 5:04 na pero parang na-glue yung mga paa ko sa ground nang makita ko 'yung itsura nung place. Halos lahat yata na naging presidente ng Pilipinas naka-paint sa harap. Para siyang isang malaking truck, and honestly, no matter how silly the design looked, the place was beautiful.
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I went inside and medyo kaunti lang 'yung tao, I'm guessing kasi alanganin 'yung time, it was too late para mag-merienda, at too early para mag-dinner. Ewan ko ba dito kay Ara kung bakit 5:00 gusto makipagmeet.
Pagpasok ko, nakita kong ang daming food stands na nakapalibot sa buong place. These brands were not common, wala akong makitang isa na nakainan ko na. Every single one of those stands looked unique, and I was pretty excited to eat until... my gaze landed on Ara. Nasa table siya in front of a stand called Unidentified Frozen Object and she didn't look upset despite my 5-minute tardiness which calmed me a bit, pero, she did look quite uneasy. She wore the same exact expression nung una niyang nakita 'yung mysterious photo. She kept glancing at her phone kaya hindi niya ako napansing papunta na sa table niya.
I sat on the seat in front of her as she finally lifted her head and saw me.
"You're late," She said.
"Uhm..." Napakamot ako sa ulo ko. "Na-traffic lang."
She looked at me for a while, as if waiting for me to say something else, and when she realized I wouldn't, she sighed.
"I was late for five minutes, Ara," I said to her. "Limang minuto!"
The last thing I would've expected Ara to do was to laugh, and yet, she laughed her head off as if she just heard some silly joke. "I meant it as a joke, actually." Napakunoot 'yung noo ko. "Once again, you didn't fail to offend me. Palagi mo na lang ba akong i-o'offend, Mika?" She asked in a sad tone, and I could've sworn I felt a hint of guilt, except, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be guilty of.
"Okay, feeling ko High School ulit ako at nag-t'take ng Geometry exam," I said. "Wala akong maintindihan."
Ara chuckled. "Akala mo ba talaga magagalit ako sa'yo dahil lang late ka ng 5 minutes? Sobrang nakaka-offend."
"Well," I chuckled with her. "To be fair, halimaw ka kaya. Mabuti nang safe." I looked at her and she was just looking at me, too. "'Di ko nga alam kung bakit aakalain ni Cienne na nakikipag-date ka sakin e," I half-whispered, half-hoping she didn't hear it, 'cause I was only half-thinking.
"Ha?" Tanong niya. "Cienne thought that we're dating?" Turns out, narinig niya nga. Great, Mika, great.
"Uhm, pinipilit niyang date daw 'to. Of course I said to her na hindi, sabi ko hahaba muna buhok mo hanggang pwet bago mo 'ko i-ask makipag-date," Ara laughed. "Which is, never, kasi seeing your hair after three years, walang nagbago. So I'm assuming na palagi mong pinapapugit buhok mo kasi ayaw mo humaba. So, never hahaba buhok mo hanggang pwet."
"And... never ako makikipag-date sayo," Ara said rather seriously.
I nodded in reply.
"Okay, ang lalim na ng usapan natin," Ara stood up. "Order na tayo." She smiled.
I nodded again and followed her. I looked around and Ara seemed to know exactly where to go, so I walked closely beside her. Finally we stopped at a stand called Bucket O' Shrimps. I looked at Ara and she was beaming at me.
"Shrimps were your favorite, diba?" She said. "Is it still your favorite?"
"Oo naman," I answered, smiling back at her. Ara looked at the cashier and gave her a card after ordering. I'm assuming that's how you pay for food here.
Later on we sat on our table that was now full with seafood. Ara and I ordered the Big Boss which consisted of one crab, a dozen of shrimps, a handful of mussels, and corn. Okay na ako dun so nagpa-add na lang ako ng extra plate with extra rice, whilst Ara ordered a solo meal of Fish 'n Chips. I noticed, however, that her chips had a mayonnaise dip. Nakita ko ring din'dip niya yung chips niya sa mayo and didn't seem to be disgusted like how she would be three years ago.
"Akala ko ayaw mo sa mayo?" Tanong ko sa kanya habang binabalatan ko 'yung shrimp ko.
Napatingin siya sa dip niya. "Ah, well, people change, Mika." She popped another one of her mayo-dipped chips on her mouth and looked at me. "Like the seasons."
I nodded and proceeded eating. 'Di ko alam kung masaya ako sa sinabi niya, pero, it only confirmed one thing: Ara really did change. Her sudden like of mayo is a poor evidence of her change, but, it's just not that. There are a lot of signs that Ara has, indeed, changed. And honestly, 'di ko alam kung paano ako mag-r'react.
"Anyway," Ara put down her knife and fork and interlocked her fingers in front of her lips. "Pag-usapan na natin 'yung dapat pag-usapan."
For a moment, I didn't know what she was talking about, then I remembered why we were here. I nodded as I put down my spoon and fork. "Okay, let's talk about that picture."
//
double update cos why not HAHAHAHAH sorry again for not updating for two weeks ;-((
