The Ugly Duckling (PUBLISHED UNDER PSICOM)

Ugly #4

“Isa…” Nagsimula nang magbilang si Sage. Napakagat naman ako sa labi ko sa sobrang anticipation. Kahit hindi ko nakikita ay alam kong nakataas ang kilay ng magnanakaw ko ngayon dahil paniguradong gusto niya rin malaman kung anong balak ni Sage.

“Dalawa…” Ay shet, nacu-curious na ako!

“Tatlo…” He transferred his eyes on me, giving me a very meaningful look. Sage furrowed his brows like he was trying to make me understand something but I don’t really get him!

“Lima!” I was still trying to process what his stare means when everything happened so fast that I just found myself being dragged by Sage. I don’t know how he managed to do it but he was able to snatch me away from the thief. We were both running when I tried to look at the thief na ngayon ay nakahiga sa kalsada.

Nandilat ang mga mata ko. “O Diyos Ko!”

Tatlo pa lang naman ah! Bakit lima na agad? Hindi ba siya sanay magbilang?!

“What?” Inis na tanong sa akin ni Sage habang tumatakbo kami. I removed my gaze from my supposedly thief who’s now lying on the ground and transferred it to Sage.

“H-Hindi pa naman siya patay diba?” Dahil yari ako kung sakali! Ano ba yan! Yari talaga ako! Sobrang yari! I want to leave Sage and check on him pero I can’t do that naman. Mahuhuli kami! I bit my lip in worry. Damn talaga, yari!

“Of course not.” He spat. “Run faster!”

I followed what he said without a word. I wanted to reach for my shoulder bag and adjust it on my shoulder because it kept on falling but I couldn’t do it because something’s stopping my hand from doing so. Napatingin ako sa right hand ko at napansin ang mahigpit na pagkakahawak doon ni Sage.

For some reason, I blushed at the fact that Sage is holding my hand. Ano naman ang ka-blush-blush ‘don? So what if he’s holding my hand? Pinagalitan ko ang sarili ko sa pamumula na ginagawa ko. I stopped myself from blushing too and reminded myself of the plan.

“H-Hindi ko na k-kayang tumakbo.” I said, having a hard time breathing. Hindi ko na alam kung gaano kalayo na ang itinakbo naming pero basta hingal na hingal na ako. “W-Wala na ata yung m-magnanakaw,”

Sage slowly stopped from running kaya napahinto na rin ako. He turned his head behind us, checking if my fake thief is still following us. The anxiousness in his eyes disappeared when he realized that no one’s running after us anymore. He let out a deep breath.

“Damn, what a facking morning rush.” He mumbled into no one in particular. I bit my bottom lip when I realized that he’s still holding my hand. Before I could even blush again, hinila ko na agad ang kamay ko mula sa kanya at hinawakan iyon gamit ng isa ko pang kamay. I was trying to calm it. Para kasing nag-aapoy sa init.

“Are you okay?” The question’s supposed to be concerned but the way he said it and they way he’s looking at me right now… Parang naiinis pa siya. This guy seriously has an attitude problem.