A/N: I pray that June will be kind and will bring good news to us. 🙏❤
KABANATA 47
I was staring at the same line of codes for the third time and nothing seemed to make sense to me. I heaved another sigh. It's almost a week since that night and I had yet to receive a response from him.
After I said our son's name, he only grinned through his tears and just stared at me for a couple of minutes until he passed out. I thought we could talk the day after, but I woke up on an empty bed and a note stating, 'Sorry for the trouble. We'll talk soon. –SF' I remembered being disappointed after reading it but was still hopeful because we would see one another first thing the next day. However, that didn't happen as well. When I got there, all nervous yet well-prepared, Cristina apologized, then informed me that he left the country for a family emergency with no definite schedule of his return.
I sighed once again at the memory as I go over the line for the fourth time.
"Hoy babaita, ano bang mayroon diyan at para kang na-TOTGA na sitenta anyos na matandang dalaga, buntong nang buntong ng hininga?"
Napaangat ako ng tingin at naabutan si Clau na nakadungaw mula sa kanyang cubicle at may hawak na mug. Humigop pa siya roon bago maarteng sumampa para silipin kung anong ginagawa ko at pagkatapos ay umirap.
"You know what? I think you need to chill. Buong linggo ka nang OT hanggang midnight kaka-code, nasa 97% na ang natapos mo! Ano ito, marathon?"
"Tama si Clau, girl." Sumungaw na rin ang ulo ni Rose mula sa kanyang cubicle. "Hinihingal na rin kami keeping up with your pace. Maawa ka naman sa mga beauty namin."
Palitan kong tiningnan ang mga pagod nilang mukha bago nagbuntong uli ng hininga. "I'm sorry. I just needed to pre-occupy myself these days or else..."
"Or else?" Clau pushed as he leaned in a little closer, an eyebrow raised.
"Lalaki ba ito?" Nakangising usisa ni Rose na ginaya ang ginawa ni Clau.
I opened my mouth to answer when my phone suddenly went off. I turned to it and saw an unknown number calling. Something about the call gave me a hollow feeling on my stomach.
"Hindi mo sasagutin, girl?" Halos mapatalon sa biglaang tanong ni Clau. Napatingin pa ako sa kanya bago ko kinuha ang phone. Then, I swiped the screen to answer.
"Hello?"
Ilang sandali pang walang nagsalita sa kabilang linya. Hindi ko maiwasang isipin na baka siya ang tumatawag. Baka dumating na siya at gusto niya nang makipag-usap. O baka...
"Hi, Babe!"
Lahat nang nauna kong inisip ay parang bulang naglaho nang marinig ang matinis na boses mula sa kabilang linya. I silently cursed myself for expecting so much.
"Love," bati ko rito. Pansin ko naman ang pigil na pagtili ng dalawa kong kasama.
"What?! Love lang? Wala man lang exclamation or question mark sa dulo?" She exaggerated, "You really don't miss me, do you? Ilang linggo mo na akong hindi tinatawagan. Nagsawa ka na ba? Ayaw mo na sa akin?"
Bahagya pa akong natawa sa mga pinagsasabi ng aking kaibigan. Tumayo ako para pumunta sa balcony at doon na makipag-usap sa kanya. Napatingin pa ako sa dalawang may pagtatanong ang mga hitsura at sinenyasan kung saan ako tutungo. Agaran ang pagtutol sa mga echoserang mukha ng dalawa. Clau mouthed that he'd get back to me on this before returning to his cubicle and Rose followed suit. Napailing na lang ako bago tumuloy sa pupuntahan, nasa tainga pa rin ang telepono at hindi pa tapos sa katatalak si Lovenia.
BINABASA MO ANG
Paper Moon
General Fiction"I do," he said and then the man declared their union in front of God and of every person that mattered in their lives. And she, like every girl, thought that the next lines in their story book would be 'and they live happily ever after'. But they w...
