When It Rains

1

As soon as I finished signing the last batch of the documents para mamaya ay pabagsak kong nilagpag ang pen ko at sinandal ang ulo ko sa headrest ng aking swivel chair. I turned to the glass window...

It's still raining.

I just sighed, and masakit na rin katawan ko. Pakiramdam ko malalaglag na ang mata ko, ang aga pa naman

"Good morning, Mr. Montes" bati sa akin ng aking secretary mula sa answering machine.

I pushed the answer button "Yes?"
"May I remind you, Sir. Na arrange ko po yung schedule nyo as per your request. Your last meeting will be at 10 o'clock am" I checked my watch. Well, I still have 2 hours

"Good. And please don't let anyone disturb me for 2 hours. Thanks Ariane. "

Then I went back facing the glass window, again. I tried to sleep. But cant. The rain kept me reminding of the girl I saw.

That was two months ago. I just finished my work and planned take some at home. It was raining, and naghihintay ako na tumila yung ulan but hindi. So, sinunod ko na lang si Manong Richard, inihatid ako hanggang dun sa parking lot na nasa left side lang ng building. I was holding my briefcase habang si Manong ay pinapayungan ako.

Nang makarating na kami sa sasakyan ko, minadali ko itong buksan. But when I was about to go inside, I noticed this girl who's holding a green umbrella, nasa kabilang pavement sya. Seems like naghihintay sya ng masasakyan.

Pumasok na ako ng sasakyan at naghintay muna saglit just to look at her. I can't see her face clearly, she has bangs. It looked good on her. And when she turned her face towards her front, I thought for a second that she's looking at me.

Nakaramdam ako ng kaba, kasi parang nakikita nya ako kahit tinted itong sasakyan ko. Her eyes. It seems like they were talking to me. And then she walks away.

Kala ko naghihintay sya ng masasakyan

So I started the engine, and tried to follow her direction. Medyo traffic kaya I lost sight of her.

Nagulat ako ng pagliko ko sa kanto ay nakita ko syang nakikipag pag usap sa ice cream vendor. She smiled, I felt my heart fluttered.

Ang weird nga eh, kasi bumili sya ng ice cream to think na naulan. Di ko namalayan na nakangiti na rin pala ako. Minadali kong ipark ang sasakyan ko sa parking ng Ministop at lumabas. I don't know what I'm doing, really. But I'm liking it.

"Manong, pabili ng ice cream" I called out sa nagtitinda. Lumingon naman sa akin yung babae, while her spoon still on her mouth.

"Magkano iho?"
"Uhm, magkano ho ba?"
"May 5, may 10, may 15, may 20"
"20 po" I took out my wallet to see na wala akong barya, so I handed him a hundred pagkaabot ng cup ng dirty ice cream, saka lumingon naman yung babae na katabi ko na ngayon, kasi medyo hindi na kami kasya sa payong ni Manong, yung tipong parang rainbow yung kulay at medyo may kalakihan.

"Iho, wala ka bang barya?"

"Ah eh. Sa inyo na po manong yung sukli"

"Sige po tay, salamat. Ingat kayo, naulan" sabi ng babae at umalis na, ubos nya na pala. Talk about mag ingat, she didn't took out her umbrella. Nagpaulan lang sya

"Mabait na bata.." sabi ni manong at parehas naming sinundan ng tingin yung babae.
I was taken aback ng tinawag na muli ako ni Ariane para magready.

...
Natapos na ang meeting at ang akala kong makakauwi na ako ay hindi pa pala. Nagkayayaan ang mga managers at supervisor ng bawat department ko na maglunch. So I decided na sa Vincentian na lang kami kumain which is sa tapat lang ng building namin.

Through the glass, it's still raining and felt the nostalgia. Napansin ko rin ang babaeng nakatayo sa gilid ng column ng building. I think she's looking at the sky...

That girl.

"Hey Ryle, buhay ka pa?" tanong sa akin ng kaibigan ko na si Jules.

"Teka pare" I tap his back and excuse myself, went out the store at nilapitan sya

"Hey" tawag ko sa kanya ng paglapit ko. I tried to sound cool, pero parang hindi nya narinig. I noticed she's wearing earphones. Kaya kinulabit ko sya, my heart jumped as soon as tinitigan nya ako.

Nawala ang confidence ko bigla. She took out the earpiece and looks at me like she's waiting for me to speak.

Her hair is long, and messy. Some of it are kinda wet. May bangs pa rin sya. The last time I saw her naka bun sya.

"Ah! Yung kuya ice cream?" tanong nya sa akin
"Yes? I'm Ryle. Anyway, n-naalala mo?"
"Yep, actually laging kasalanan ng ulan"
Sagot nya. Kasalanan ng ulan?

"Lagi na lang kitang nakikita at saktong umuulan"

Napa 'huh' na lang ako

"The first time eh patawid na ako para kunin yung tuta na nakita ko na black sa kabilang kalsada, but naunahan mo ako. Parehas na kayong basa nun dahil sa ulan" nagulat ako sa sinabi nya, so kung medyo nahuli pala ako ay sya makakapulot kay Giddy? I took Giddy home that very day, at inalagaan sya, I remember that was 7 months ago.

"The second was, i saw you on your glass window. You seem sad, looking outside. Naulan din nun-"

"Wait what? Pano mo ako makikita?"
"Nagtatrabaho na ako jan. And I was just applying that time" sabay turo sa Vincentian Building, sabagay kita ko rin yung mga tao from my building.
"Call center?" i asked, she nods

"Yes, Tech Support. The third one was when I passed all my requirements. That was raining again. I saw you entered your car. And napansin ko na sinusundan mo ako. Hanggang sa makakita ako ng ice cream vendor. Nagulat pa nga ako kasi nakita ko yung kotse mo na nagpark-" i cut her off

"So, kilala mo na kotse ko?"
"Plate number. Then nagulat ulit ako kasi bumili ka ng dirty ice cream"
"Ano namang nakakagulat dun?"
"Una, kasi bumili ka. Pangalawa, dirty ice cream yun"
"So you thought...maarte ako?" I scoffed, I liked that ice cream though.
"Kinda. So, mauuna na ako may pasok pa ako" I was alarmed when she opened her umbrella
"T-teka you're still studying?"
"Uh, oo? Part time ko lang jan" I'm amazed na nakakaya nya yung puyat at pagod, plus nag aaral pa sya. Pano kasi, after I graduated my father made me handle this company so that I can handle the rest of ours soon.
"W-hat's your name? I asked, parang gusto kong murahin sarili ko sa pagtanong. Bakit ba ako kinakabahan? Like, this is isn't my first time to ask a girl's name.

She smiled
"Do you like me?" nagitla ako sa tanong nya. Straightforward. Sya lang ata nagpapagulat sa akin lagi. So random, spontaneous.

"I might" I answered honestly. Well, why wouldn't I? I keep thinking about her these past two months.

Medyo nalungkot ako ng binuksan nya yung payong nya. Kala ko aalis na sya

"It's Ame..."

****A/Note!
Ame means "Rain" in Japanese.

Subaybayan po natin ang series nito. Balak ko sana talagang one shot lang. Pero tuwing may nakakasalamuha akong tao, napapaisip ako ng mga plot

Anyway, sorry sa mga wrong grammar. I'll proofread it soon pag hindi na ako busy. Sabog lang talaga.