Shipwrecked Hearts

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Sinapak ko naman siya dahil sa kan'yang sinabi. "A-Ano ba ang pinagsasabi mo!" Umiwas ako ng tingin. Bumungisngis lamang siya, he then offered his arms, pinaikot ko naman na ang kamay ko roon, then we walked out of the elavator.

Sinalubong kami ng madilim na basement, tanging mga dim lights lamang sa mataas na dingding ang nagsisilbing liwanag at mga torches na nakadikit sa bawat pillars. There were a lot of people around. And like us, they all had masks on.

I can easily distinguish who is from the Renaissance pirates and who weren't because of the color coding. It seems like everything were planned carefully and smoothly. Tila hagdang pababa ang ayos ng sahig. Sa bawat hakbang ay may hilera ng upuan sa magkabilang dulo. Sa pinakababa ay ang entablado kung saan maipapakita ang mga items.

Biglang namatay ang lahat ng ilaw kaya naman humawak ako sa braso ni Maximo, tumawa siya nang marahan. "It's okay." Aniya, saktong iyon ay may nakabubulag na ilaw ang biglang tumutok sa amin. It was a spotlight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the head master and mistress of the event are here!" Tumingin ako sa pinanggalingan ng boses, it was from the stage, it was Meliodas.

"Let's go." Maximo said, I nodded and we walked down towards the stage. I can feel all eyes rooted and locked at us. Nang nasa entablado na kami ay bumukas lahat ng ilaw ngunit lahat ay tumutok sa harap.

Kinuha ni Maximo ang mikropono mula kay Meliodas na agad na tumungo sa backstage kung saan naroroon ang items. "May I request everyone in the room to settle down. We are about to begin the auction in 10 seconds. Those who are still up will be shot down, dead." Maximo said in his serious tone. Napaawang ang aking mga labi. Kasabay nito ay ang tawanan ng mga tao sa silid. That's when I realized that he was just kidding. I can see Maximo's corner and upper lip raise. "Thank you for cooperating, y'all."

Napako lang ako sa aking p'westo. Naglakad si Maximo papunta sa aking tabi, "do you want to lead the auction? I'll just introduce the items, you work on the bidding to ensure it goes as high as possible."

My eyes twinkled. I've always wanted to do that! Since papa was always taking me to auctions before, I wanted to emcee one. I nodded. May sininyesan si Maximo mula sa backstage. May isang tauhan na lumapit at nagbigay ng mikropono sa akin. "Okay, we'll be starting." Bulong niya sa akin.

"All right, the first item to auction is an alexandrite, a gemstone much rarer than a diamond." Habang nagsasalita si Maximo ay may isang lalaking tumungo sa gitna ng entablado, may hila-hila siyang cart. Sa gitna nito ay ang alexandrite. I was awed because of its beauty—it was so pure and peculiar. It's like one of the biggest treasures of the world.

Tumikhim ako, it was my time to shine. "Everyone, let's start with 10 million."

Halos karamihan sa mga babae ay nagtaas ng kamay, I looked at Maximo and he mouthed "You are doing great. Just enjoy." I smiled and nodded.

"Okay, let's double the bid. 20 million."

Nabawasan ang mga nagtaas ng kamay ngunit marami pa rin. "Okay, you are all given the freedom to speak out your bid higher than 20."

"21!" Sigaw ng isang babae sa dulo.

"25!"

"30!"

"60!"

The bid went higher and higher until it was only two ladies fighting over a small gem.

"70!"

"70 million it is, anyone else?"

Nobody said a word. I smiled. "Alright, the alexandrite is closed for bidding. With the highest bidder, on chair #90, please pay as you claim later."