KABANATA 54
Paano na ito ngayon? I sighed as I asked myself while staring at the test kits. Paano kung wala naman pala siyang balak na bumalik sa buhay mo? Paano kung sa huli ay ang bagong pamilya niya pala ang piliin niya? At closure lang pala ang gusto niya para sa inyo? Dinagdagan mo pa talaga ang kasalanan niyo... Muli akong napabuntong ng hininga at napailing. I'm sorry, Baby. This is not your fault, okay? Mahal ka ni Nanay. Mamahalin ka namin ni Kuya Air... I was feeling a little weak when I heard door opened and someone came in. Kaagad kong itinapon ang mga sticks sa basurahan, flinush iyong toilet bowl, at saka pa lang lumabas.
"Ay, butiki!" Bulalas ng kapapasok nang magkasalubong kami.
It was Cristina who immediately regained her composure and smiled at me.
"Kayo po pala, Miss Arianne. Good afternoon po," she greeted.
"Good afternoon din, Cristina," I greeted back as I smiled at her and went to the sink, "What a peaceful week, huh?"
She chuckled at that.
"Not really that peaceful, though, Miss Arianne. Mr. President still sends his instructions to me like usual," she divulged as she went to the one next to where I was and began checking her hairdo.
Hindi man niya sadya, may dumaan pa ring pagtatampo sa puso ko sa nalaman.
See? He can't even spare a bit of his time to send me some short emails, kahit pangungumusta man lang... Mapakla kong naisip pero agad ding pinaalis. Ayan ka na naman, Ayana! Hindi siya sa iyo kaya huwag kang mag-inarte! Kastigo ko pa sa sarili.
Nilingon ko si Cristina at saglit na pinanood ang kanyang ginagawa. There was something about her that seemed so familiar to me. Bahagya pang naningkit ang mga mata ko nang muli kong naramdamang parang kilala ko na siya bago ko pa man siya nakilala rito.
She turned to me and got a bit startled when she caught me staring.
"Cristina..." I started.
"Yes, Miss Arianne?" She pressed but I changed my mind in the middle.
Umiling ako.
"Nothing," I said instead before stepping away from the sink, "Um, I'll go ahead," paalam ko pa sa kanya.
She nodded as she smiled at me. Even the way she smiled was eerily familiar to me.
When I got back to our floor, the desperate monkey was already gone. Hindi rin naman ako nagtagal doon. Nagpaalam uli ako kay Eng'r. Ycot na aalis. I needed to see my OB as soon as possible.
"After that fiasco with the financial controller's cousin, you're leaving again?! Hindi ba't may presentation ka pa mamaya?" Tanong pa nitong galit na naman.
"I'm sorry, Engineer, but it's really important."
"This is unacceptable, Cross!" She yelled but I wasn't in the mood for her hate.
"Shitsureishimasu," anas ko pa bago tumalikod at lumabas sa kanyang cubicle.
"Anong 'shit-shit' na iyan, ha? Minumura mo ako?!" Bulyaw nitong sinundan pala ako hanggang sa work area ko.
Nagsitayuan ang mga naroon ko, hindi man lumalapit pero nanonood sa mga nangyayari. Napatingin pa ako sa kanila habang sinasara ang laptop bago ako nagbuntong ng hininga at nilingon ang aming chief engineer.
"Hindi kita minumura, Engineer. It's just a Japanese expression for excusing myself."
"Excusing yourself?! Why? Pinayagan na ba kitang umalis, ha? Ang sabihin mo, wala ka lang talagang modo!"
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...
